Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

Name: Hannah Harper Central Focus/Big Idea of the Lesson:

People and events bring changes to communities
Grade Level/Subject: 4th grade Social Studies
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:

4.H.1.2 Explain how and why North Carolina was established.

4.H.1.3 Explain how people, events and developments brought about
changes to communities in various regions of N.C. Date taught: 3/19/18
4.G.1.3 Exemplify the interactions of various peoples, places and cultures
in terms of adaptation and modification of the environment.

Daily Lesson Objective: Students will be able to summarize one main event in North Carolina using at least 4 out of
the 5 of their answers from the Five W Questions. Students will also be able to define the word summary.

1 point for each answer of 5 W question: 5 points total (4 required)

1 point each for using answers in their summary: 5 possible points (4 required)
2 points for defining the word summary

12 total possible points

Receive 10/12 for mastery

21st Century Skills: Academic Language Demand

critical thinking Language Function:

communication and collaboration summarize

Vocabulary:
summary
Freedom
Halifax Resolves
Militia
Revolutionary War

Discourse:
Exit ticket discussion (summaries)

Syntax:
Graphic organizer (who, what, when, where, why)
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Prior Knowledge: Students will need to know how to find who, what, when, and where in an article.

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 Activity Description of Activities and Setting Time
Engage the students in an historical inquiry about the impact of
North Carolina on the United States. Have students start thinking
about North Carolina and relate North Carolina to a person. Ask
students:
“Have you ever admired someone because that person was such a
1. Focus and Review good example? Then say, North Carolina, for instance, has been a 5 min
good role model and leader for other states to follow. North
Carolina led the way for America to become free from England, it
was the first to win a battle against the British troops with gunshots,
and it was the first to make plans for our own government that
didn’t involve the royal crown.”
Students will be able to summarize two main events in North
2. Statement of Objective Carolina using at least 4 out of the 5 of their answers from the Five
for Student W Questions.

The teacher will ask students:

“How can you use the five W questions to summarize an article?”
Students may say, “We can use the answers to write a summary
about what the article was mainly about.” “The answers to the 5 W
questions point out the main parts of the article.”
“Why would we want to do this?”
Students may say, “We would want to do this to make sure our
summary covers the main points of the article.” “It helps us know
3. Teacher Input 10 min
what is important to write in our summary.”
“How is this kind of summary an example of what good readers
and writers do?”
“This kind of summary is an example of what good readers and
writers do because it contains the main parts of what the article is
about.”
The teacher will read the article that talks about “The Halifax
Resolves”.
The teacher will help the class fill out the who, what, when, where,
and why for “The Halifax Resolves”. To answer the questions, the
teacher will practice referring back to the article to answer the
questions. The teacher will write “North Carolina’s Provincial
Congress” for who, “Created a document called the Halifax
Resolves” for what, “April 1776” for when, “In the town of Halifax”
4. Guided Practice 20 min
for where, and “To declare that North Carolina wanted
independence from England” for why. After answering the five W
questions, the teacher will write a one sentence summary using the
answers. The summary will say, “In April of 1776, North Carolina’s
Provincial Congress created a document called the Halifax Resolves
declaring that they wanted independence from England.”
Students will read “North Carolina- Leading the Way to Freedom”
5. Independent Practice 10 min
with a partner on the carpet and fill out the who, what, when, and

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6. Assessment Methods of
all objectives/skills:
7. Closure
where. Students will write a summary using their answers. I will call
on students to read their summaries. Students will then go back to
their seats and independently read “North Carolina Militia Wins First
American Victory”. Students will fill out who, what, when, where,
and why for the article and write a summary using their answers.
Students will also write the definition of summary on their paper.
Students will refer back to the article to help them answer the
questions.
Students will come up with a summary using their answers for “North Carolina Militia
Wins First American Victory. Students will be required to use at least 4 out of 5 answers
for their summary. Students will also be required to define the word summary. Students
who earn 10/12 possible points will have met mastery.
Exit ticket of 1 summary and definition of the word summary

10/ 26 students received 12/12 points

4/26 students received 11/12 points
4/26 students received 10/12 points
3/26 students received 9/12 points
3/26 students received 7/12 points
8. Assessment Results of
1/26 students received 6/12 points
all objectives/skills:
1/26 students received 5/12 points

**18/26 students met mastery**

Targeted Students Modifications/Accommodations: Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations:

For ELL’s, I can have a modified article worksheet that For students who finish early, I will have them research one of
is in their language. I can also have pictures on the the three events and find out more information about it.
worksheet that can help them.
For students who are struggling, they will only be required to
Students with special needs: read one article and fill out only 5 questions. In their summary,
they will only be required to include two answers.
For students who have ADHD, I will have them sit at
certain spots on the carpet. I will also allow them to
use different colored highlighters to highlight
information in the text and I will have them paired
with certain students for partners.

Materials/Technology:
First in Freedom Article Volume 19 Issue 3
First in Freedom Summarizing the Events worksheet
PowerPoint

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References: First in Freedom Article Volume 19 Issue 3

Reflection on lesson:

In this lesson, the intro about North Carolina got the students engaged. When I connected North Carolina to a
person they admired, the students became interested in what the lesson was going to be about. Having a copy of the
article on the SMART board was helpful for students to know where we were at in the article. I liked that I gave each
student a copy of the article so they could follow along and highlight throughout. In order to keep the students
engaged, I did multiple turn and talks then I would call on a student to answer. I think this lesson made it easy to do
multiple turn and talks because there were the 5 “W” questions I had students talk to their neighbor about. When
students worked with a partner on the second article, me going around the carpet was effective in helping students
when they got stuck on a question. Lastly, having the directions on the board on what the students were supposed to do
for their exit ticket was helpful in preventing a lot of similar questions on what to do.
One thing that could be improved on is the time management. My class did not allot a lot of time to social studies,
therefore, I felt like my lesson was rushed. I spent a lot of time with the students on the carpet so by the time I sent
them back to their seats to work on their exit ticket, there was not much time left. Many students had to finish their exit
ticket the next day during cougar time. Also, when sending the students back to their seat, I needed to give them a time
limit when they should begin working. For example, I could have said, “You need to be seating at your desk working on
this assignment by the time I count to ten.” Giving them this time limit causes them to go back to their seat quickly and
begin working on task.
Throughout my IMB experience I learned that there is a lot of differentiation in the classroom. The teacher would
pull a small group of students who were struggling and adults would come in the classroom and pull students for extra
help. I also learned that while teaching you need to have confidence in what you are teaching. Having confidence makes
the lesson run smoother and causes the student to respect you more as an individual. Also, being consistent with
behavior and expectations helps with classroom management. Some students who do not like to do work thought that
if they didn’t finish my exit ticket the first day then they wouldn’t have to do it at all, but the teacher kept being
persistent until they got the assignment done. I was surprised at how quickly I learned the students in the classroom; I
caught on to the ones who constantly wanted attention, the ones who did not like to do their work, the higher level
students, and the students who got off task very easily.
In the future, I would want to teach this lesson more depth and have it more engaging. I may would have the
students research more about one of the article topics and make a poster or brochure about that topic. I would spend
more time on this lesson instead of trying to summarize three huge events in one day. I was surprised at how little of
time was spent on science and social studies in the classroom. Since these two subjects are not state tested in 4th
grade, there is not enough time allotted to go in depth, therefore, the teacher tried to integrate as much as possible.
Also, CMS provides the materials that are required for the social studies lessons. They provide the articles and the
activities to go with each article. I personally did not like this because the teacher had no freedom to make the lessons
more engaging or alter the lesson the way she wanted to. I would rather CMS give a few ideas but allow the teacher to
teach the material how he/she wanted to because after all, he/she knows how his/her students learn the best.

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