EDU 542 Lesson Plan Format

Lesson Title (Size 16)

Constructivist Model
Constructivist Model and Text Pages where this model can be found.
1st Grade and Subject
Lesson plan@ 50 and Reflection/Teaching @ 50
1. MATERIALS/PREPLANNING

 Materials –
 Compass Rose Worksheet
 Mini Poster Handouts
 Town Map Worksheet
 Reading a Map Worksheet
 Using a Map Key Worksheet
 Building a city worksheet
 Pencils
 Sticky Notes
 Vocabulary - List key vocabulary terms needed for this lesson
 Map
 Compass Rose
 Map Key
 Literature - List supporting literature or reading materials
 Follow That Map! Bu Scot Ritchie

2. OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to identify the compass rose, symbols, and the map key as three different characteristics of maps.

Cognitive Taxonomy/ DOK Level

DOK Level 1 & 2

List the standards met by this objective.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10: With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.

3. ASSESSMENT Perfect Assessment Tool Rationale:

This assessment links with and supports problem-
I will assess students using both formal and based learning because students are able to problem
informal assessment. I will informally assess solve with the question allowing them to succeed and
students by monitoring the classroom as fail with support beneath them.
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students are working together to complete their
map worksheets. I will formally assess students
by checking the correctness of students’
worksheets.

4. CENTRAL FOCUS/ PURPOSE (2 parts to include)

The central focus of this lesson is to be able to identify and utilize the characteristics compass rose, symbols,
and the map key in order to read a map.

This lesson will benefit students in allowing them to read a map to find directions and places. It will also allow
them to better understand and search for things on their electronic gps/smart maps.

5. MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING

For the problem-based learning model, we will use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Students are
extrinsically motivated through the presentation of a predetermined, controlled problem. Students are
intrinsically motivated through their need to find the correct solution to that problem through the knowledge
built into the lesson. This lesson promotes growth mindset because in order to solve the problem, students
must learn the terms and what they mean to achieve their goal of solving the problem. Students get to practice
using what they know and learning what they do not yet know.

6. PRE-LESSON - Just before teaching the new lesson do the following:

Show students the map and ask them to identify what it is and what it is used for.

Repeat while holding up the handouts of the compass rose, mini poster symbols, and map key. Be sure to
cover the name of each with sticky notes to reveal at a later time.

After students share their thoughts, take off the sticky notes to reveal each map tool’s name. Display each
picture for the students to refer to. Tell students that for today’s lesson they will learn the purpose of all three
map tools, and how they are used on a map. Explain to students that it is important to be able to read a map
because it helps us get to specific places and can even help us read the maps on our phones or GPS better.

6. LESSON BODY: Provide text page # 300 for your lesson. Follow the exact steps provided in the text for the lesson
you are teaching. Make sure your lesson is clearly developed in content enough for a substitute teacher to follow.
Clarity is the key.

Step 1 Present/Identify the Problem:

 Read Follow That Map! aloud.
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 o During the read aloud, focus on key terms presented in the introduction.
o Ask students to point out examples of each throughout the story. As students identify key
terms, explain that a map is a picture or chart that shows rivers, mountains, streets, etc. in a
certain area, a compass rose is a circle printed on a chart to show direction (N, S, E, and W),
symbols are pictures used to represent a word or group of words, and a map key is a list that
explains the symbols on a map.

 Pass out the Town Map worksheet to each student and explain that
there challenge today is to work together to read their map based on
the information they learned in the story and the definitions we
posted about a map, compass rose, symbols, and a map key.
Step 2 Develop a Plan for Solving Problem:
 Explain that maps have titles, and point to the title of the map the
class is using. Ask student to read aloud the title of this map.
 Tell students that they will look at the Town Map to gain practice in
identifying symbols and reading a compass rose and map key.
o Ask students to point to the compass rose on the worksheet.
Once identified, have students label it with North, South,
West, and East using the first letter only.
 Remind students to use the mini poster for help.
 Next, ask students to identify the map key. Ask students to explain
the use of the map key and its symbols.

Step 3 Implement the Plan:

 Tell students, now that we have a plan and labeled our map, it is time to use these labels to answer the questions below.
Lets read the directions first. Read the directions to students.
 Read the first question to students: Harriet heads ___________ to go to school. Let’s find Harriet’s house. When you have
your finger on Harriet’s house give me a thumbs up.
 Now where should we look to find out which building is the school? (the key) Good! Let’s look at our compass rose, does she
need to head north, south, east or west to school? (North).
 I am going to walk around as you finish up the rest of the problems. Work with your table group to discuss how to solve each
problem together.

Step 4 Evaluate the Implementation:

 Review each question allow each table group to give their answer and explain how they solved the
problem. Resolve any misdirection and celebrate mistakes as they show us we are learning.

7. ASSIGNMENT
 Design a brain compatible Perfect Assignment to support this lesson.
 Explain why it is the perfect assignment based on how the brain learns.
 Attach a copy.
For home practice, students will be given Reading a Map worksheet (front and back). Students are able to
utilize the information that they have learned to connect the pictures to the content and terms. Students are also
able to use the information in different activities to practice retrieving that information. This is the perfect

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lesson because it challenges students appropriately and ensures success and learning. I will adapt this
worksheet for students with IEPs according to the needs listed and known.

For students who need more of a challenge, they will complete the
Build a City worksheet. Students will need to place symbols on the grid
of a map. They will need to draw a compass rose and map key.

8. Student Work Examples/Technology Support

 Attach samples of student work.
 Include a variety of levels of performance
 Add technology support (ex. www resources/interactive activities etc.)

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 Reflective Thinking/Curriculum Evaluation @25 Points
9. Reflective Thinking/Curriculum Evaluation – this section should be comprehensive and thoughtful
in order to receive full credit. Do not provide just a one sentence answer or each prompt as that is
not a reflection. This is where you distinguish yourself as a professional at the graduate level.

Relevance: Explain how this lesson demonstrates your competence with one of the Graduate SLOs below? Delete unused
SLOs.

SLO 1: Demonstrate advanced understanding of the trends, issues, and research associated with education in
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 general and with their respective specialization.
SLO 4: Articulate worldview and perspectives for enhancing student learning.

Analysis/Evaluation: Using careful analysis and evaluative thought, address several points listed below. Add other pertinent
information that supports our competence by using this lesson model. This should not be a short answer for each bullet.
Remove the prompts and make your reflective analysis a graduate level written response. Response Below

Ideas for Consideration – do not limit yourself to these ideas and do not provide a one sentence response:

 Explain how this lesson supports helping students reach levels of deeper learning.
 How does this model make learning stick in long term memory?
 Provide examples and rationale for appropriate use of this teaching model and where it is suitable throughout your
curriculum. Indicate/discuss strengths/weaknesses based on theology/theory.
 How will you support advanced/ELD/Special needs learners through using this model?
 Provide links to the Common Core State Standards and explain how this lesson could support the CCSS.

This lesson supports helping students reach levels of deeper learning through exploration and multiple
examples of uses for this content in real life. This lesson demonstrates competence with SLO 1 because
education has emphasized cross connections between subjects and making learning realistic. Students have
seen parents use GPS and mapping systems to get from place to place, and this lesson allows students to grasp
this concept at an age appropriate level and challenge. This lesson also dips into SLO 4 with advanced and
some special needs learners in the assignment. By allowing these students to draw their own maps in their
enrichment version of the assignment, they are able to articulate their worldview and perspectives. They can
simply copy the images given or draw their own view of a park, a train station. This learning sticks into long
term memory because students are able to connect these terms to visuals and dual code them into their minds.
They are also asked to retrieve this information in order to answer many questions about these maps, not
merely repeating this information, but using it to solve a problem. This model is great for teaching students
how to deal with problems in everyday life. You use what you already know to figure out and learn what you
do not. I think this would be an effective model for teaching life cycles, or even introductions to word
problems with an emphasis on vocabulary and searching up the meanings to key words in order to solve either
problem. I will support advanced/ELD/Special needs learners by finding appropriate problems for their
abilities and strengths so that they are able to be successful with the problem. My ELD and Special needs
learners may need more supports or framing around the planning portion of the problem but have equal
opportunity for success. Other advanced and special needs learners may need more enrichment with their
problem where they receive less structure and more freedom to explore their own plans to solve the problem.
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/ This lesson particularly supports the ELA literacy standards, but it begins
to introduce some social studies through the reading of maps. This interweaving across subjects supports the
common core state standards goal of making learning connect to across subjects and topics. When learning
remains in boxes according to categories, it stops students from thinking outside the box and finding new paths
to learning.

Links to Theory:

Be sure you discuss several supporting links to theory from various different sources.

 Link lesson model to Understanding How We Learn text info.

 Explain the links between this lesson model and the supporting theory (i.e., behaviorism, info processing, social learning or
constructivist).
 Link this lesson to one or more of the Big Ideas and provide a rationale.
 Link this lesson to one or more of strategies, or principles of the New Learning Sciences and provide rationale for your
selection and descriptive examples. In what way does this lesson model fit with the ides presented in any one/more of the
learning sciences articles?

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  Describe technological resources you have found useful.
See Response Below
Growth Mindset

How does this lesson help a student develop a stronger positive growth mindset? Provide specific examples. Include ideas on how
you might reward learning according to the Growth Mindset research.

See Response Below

Professional Actions/Areas for growth: What are your next professional steps in this area to keep moving forward as a
professional?

 Discuss what went well and what changes you have made for improving learning.
 What have you learned about how learning happens?
 What more do you need to read or learn?
 How does this add to your credibility to supervise student teachers?

The problem-based learning model can be linked to concept that knowledge is constructed from the
How We Learn text as well as the Constructivist theory. The problem-based learning model follows this idea
that students are presented with a problem, they make a plan, they implement the plan, and then there is an
evaluation of that implementation. This supports the idea of constructing your knowledge through solving a
problem. The constructivist theory emphasizes this idea of less lecture, but more guiding students and
allowing them to find learning. I think it is useful to allow students to be creative in the way they solve
problems and allow them to use technology. The idea is that students are using and retrieving the knowledge
that they already have and using it to discover what they don’t know and need to learn to solve the problem.
This is students showing a growth mindset. This allows students to develop a positive growth mindset because
they begin to view learning as a new problem to solve. If we put in the appropriate supports and challenges,
students approach learning with tenacity and are eager to learn because they believe in their own abilities to be
successful and have built that self confidence that will be vital for future learning.
We did not get the opportunity to teach this lesson in class, but what I think would have went well is
first attaching these concepts or vocabulary with images from the story. I think initially dual coding this
information is essential to the success of this lesson. I think students are more likely to recall an image of the
concept than the definition. I also have learned that students are more willing and eager to learn when I put
that trust in them to discover learning, rather than lecturing them to it. I think that I need to learn how to be
more of a guide to learning or expert learner, rather than the expert lecturer. I have really even seen in my own
classroom, the eagerness and increased number of students learning the content better when I put that trust in
my students to play and work with the content rather than it being lectured. I think this adds to my credibility
because even I have been able to see where my own teaching can be better and how I have attempted to use
learning that I have read about in my own classroom and made a conscientious effort to utilize it. I think
supervising student teachers is less about lecture and more about being a guide and showing your own
mistakes in learning to be a teacher and how you worked to make your own teaching and lessons better.

Teaching 25 Points

Prepare to teach your lesson in class in a small group of 3-5 colleagues. Be sure to have a
lesson plan and to teach not just tell about the lesson. The point is to see this theory and
research in action.

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