project plan: pioneers -...
TRANSCRIPT
December 12th, 2014
EDCP 331
Social Studies
Project Plan: Pioneers
Grade 2/3
Overview:
Class Description
This project plan is designed for a grade 2/3 class. This specific class is quite hyper-active and
becomes bored and distracted easily. The students feed off each others' energy, which can be
negative, but also includes their energy to engage in a topic. The gender of the students are an
even mix of boys and girls. There is a great amount of diversity in regards to the academic
abilities in this class- there are students with mixed abilities in reading and writing since there are
only eight Grade 3’s and 15 Grade 2's. There are several students that are behind in their
language arts skills for their age. Some students lack fine motor skills (eg. colouring and
writing). This class includes two students with high functioning autism and has several students
that have a hard time paying attention. Class management strategies are needed a lot during
activity time. There is also diversity in terms of the maturity levels of the children in the class.
Some students are able to work independently and productively in groups, whereas others are
constantly off-task and creating problems with other students.
Rationale
This unit was designed as a progression from the Community unit that the class had completed
prior to. With a background knowledge of what a community is comprised of, this unit will
further develop the students' understanding that communities develop and change over time. This
unit is also intended to broaden their knowledge of how Canada started to grow after European
contact with respect to different cultures, technologies, and environments.
Project Plan Objectives
Students will be able to:
- develop an appreciation of the past
- examine communities growth
- understand the relationship between the environment and family life
- different ways the pioneers used the environment for food, clothing, housing, and
equipment
- compare a pioneer community to our modern community
Strategies of Activities
After much altering of the original lesson plans, these final lesson plans represent more of the
students' needs and interests. With respect to the students' short attention spans, the activities are
kept short and concise, with a lot of question asking to increase engagement. The activities are
also integrated primarily with a language arts focus because of the low reading and writing levels
prevalent within this class. The topics chosen in this unit are easily relatable and comparable to
our communities today. Specifically included is a Pioneer food lesson because there is a healthy
eating focus within this class.
Enactivism is created in these lessons from the students' active participation of interacting with
the environment with complex thinking and constructivism. The activities allow for social
interactions and discussions, making them mostly student-centred learning. The unit wraps up
with the field trip to the museum as an enacted activity that allows learning experiences through
interacting with real life objects, events, and context. The artifacts used in these lessons are the
picture books, the world map for a visual aid, and the field trip to the Delta Museum. Natural
integration occurs in these lessons because the students use their literacy skills to listen, ask
questions, write and read, healthy living skills to categorize different foods, and math skills to
understand how long ago 1840s is from today (2014).
Assessment Methods
Various methods of assessment will be used throughout this unit. These will include, but are not
limited to:
- artifacts created in various lessons, such as completed charts and venn diagrams that
demonstrate understanding of the topic, will satisfy the Social Studies PLO's to identify changes
that can occur in communities over time and identify cultural similarities and differences
- asking students to discuss what they think the book will be about and asking students
questions throughout the reading of the picture books will engages them in active participation
and fulfill the Language Arts PLO's for Strategies (Reading and Viewing): use strategies before
reading and viewing, including: accessing prior knowledge to make connections, making
predictions, asking questions, and setting a purpose.
- if students are able to understand the Pioneer summary sheet by correctly answering the
questions on the corresponding question sheet, as well as asking questions to clarify meaning,
then they are fulfilling the Language Arts PLO's- Strategies (Reading and Viewing): asking
questions, setting a purpose, and using strategies during reading and viewing to construct,
monitor, and confirm meaning, including: predicting and making connections, visualizing,
figuring out unknown words, retelling and beginning to summarize.
- when the students correctly underline the important/key words of the Pioneer summary
sheet, read out each sentence, and orally answer what they think the key/important words are,
they are satisfying the Language Arts PLO's- Strategies (Reading and Viewing): using strategies
after reading and viewing to confirm and extend meaning, including: rereading or “re-viewing,”
discussing with others, and retelling and beginning to summarize.
- if the students can categorize the Pioneer Foods into the correct food group, contribute
examples of different foods within each group, and explain why it is important to eat foods from
each group, this satisfies the Health and Career PLO: to describe practices that contribute to
physical health.
- most assessment during this unit is done continuously and is based off of students'
active participation through discussions and question asking. This on-going assessment will
fulfill the Social Studies PLO's of describing how the physical environment influences human
activities, describing how the physical environment influenced early settlement in a community,
and describing how technology affects individuals. I will note down students who demonstrate
knowledge of the relationship the pioneers had with the environment and how they used it during
our discussions.
Resource Critique
Only one external resource was used for the making of this unit plan since it included many ideas
for lesson activities. The adaptations or modifications of these activities from the resource used
in order to suit the needs and interests of the class, were created entirely by myself and from
discussions with my SA.
Solski, Ruth. "In Pioneer Days" (2000). Print.
This book is a teacher's guide for teaching a Pioneer Unit to grades 2-4. It includes 40 different
activities that provide reading comprehension, writing, creativity, and critical thinking. I was
given this resource by my SA, but it is available to order online at sites such as Amazon and
Google Books. I found it a useful reference for information and activities. However, it has a lot
of content, and therefore a teacher would never be able to cover it all in one unit, or school year
for that matter. It is necessary to pick and choose areas to focus on. One thing I noticed about it,
is that it only includes information from a European perspective. It does not touch on any
Aboriginal perspectives, so I think this is important to be aware of when deciding which
perspective you would like to teach from.
Sequence of Lesson Plans
1. Introduction of Pioneers*
This lesson provides the students with a brief introduction on when and why the Europeans came
to Canada and where they settled. Students will be able to form their own visual of Pioneers from
a picture book, and then receive more knowledge from reading a summary sheet. They will then
answer some questions that correspond to the summary sheet, furthering their understanding.
2. Pioneer Communities (focus on the buildings in the community)*
Students will learn about the buildings that created a Pioneer Community and what their role was
for the Pioneers. They will take a look at various pictures of these buildings, as well as pictures
of what Ladner used to look like as a Pioneer Village, in order to connect their learning to the
real world. The students will then compare and contrast the buildings in a Pioneer Community to
buildings that exist in the Community they live in today using a venn diagram. They will finish
off by playing a game that addresses some roles within each building.
3. Pioneer Homes (what was inside of them)
This lesson will provide an overview of what the inside of a typical Pioneer home looked like
through picture books, how different objects within the home were utilized, what materials
Pioneer homes were made of, and the roles each of the family members held. Students will use
Pioneer Homes vocabulary words to arrange under specific headings. They will then compare
and contrast their homes
today with a typical Pioneer Home using a venn diagram.
4. Life at Home (focus on food)*
Students will be introduced to the types of food Pioneers ate through a picture book. They will
then learn about the different food groups: dairy, meat, vegetables, fruit, and grains. Then they
will receive pioneer food vocabulary words to arrange under food category headings: dairy,
meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, and other. Lastly, they will compare and contrast food preparation
in Pioneer Times to today in a fill-in-the-blank chart.
5. Life at Home (focus on clothing)
Students will learn about the different types of clothing the Pioneers wore through the use of
pictures from the internet, as well as in books. They will learn the process the Pioneers went
through to make their clothing, and how the whole family contributed. The students will then
experience a hands-on activity where they will learn the basics of how to sew by hand.
6. Field Trip to the Delta Museum
The unit will be wrapped up by experiencing what Ladner used to look like as a Pioneer Village
by visiting the Delta Museum and its' surroundings (Ladner's Landing). Students will learn about
life in early Ladner and how the community has grown to meet the needs of the people. They
will take a 30 minute guided walk through heritage rich Ladner Village while hearing the history
of how Ladner came to be. Upon returning to the Museum, students will build a town following
a historical timeline, from pioneer days to present. Students will also explore the trades and
technology of early store owners in a turn-of-the-century street scene and learn about the
challenges of transportation and communication in early pioneer communities. This field trip
enables the students to connect their knowledge of the Pioneers with the real world. Students will
then reflect on what they had learned and enjoyed from their experiences upon returning to class.
(*) indicates the fully developed lesson plans
Lesson Plan #1- Introduction of Pioneers
Subject: Social Studies Grade: 2/3
Objectives
Social Studies Prescribed Learning Outcomes (from IRP):
– organize information in chronological order
– identify changes that can occur in communities over time
– describe how the physical environment influenced early settlement in a
community
– describe how technology affects individuals
Language Arts PLO's (from IRP):
Strategies (Reading and Viewing):
- use strategies before reading and viewing, including:
– accessing prior knowledge to make connections
– making predictions
– asking questions
– setting a purpose
- use strategies during reading and viewing to construct, monitor, and confirm
meaning, including:
– predicting and making connections
– visualizing
– figuring out unknown words
– retelling and beginning to summarize
- use strategies after reading and viewing to confirm and extend meaning,
including:
– rereading or “re-viewing”
– discussing with others
– retelling and beginning to summarize
Time
(mins)
N/A
Materials and Resources
- "Going West" (My First Little House Books) by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Renée
Graef (Illustrator)
- "Who were the Early Pioneers" summary sheet and worksheet for each student
N/A
(Prep time)
Lesson Hook
(formation: students still sitting down in the calendar corner)
10
- "Today we're going to learn about some of the first settlers of Canada- called the
Pioneers"
- use pioneer picture book- "Going West" (My First Little House Books) by Laura
Ingalls Wilder, Renée Graef (Illustrator)
- students will predict what this book will be about (from reading the title
and looking at the cover) by talking with a partner and then sharing to the class
- book takes place in 1840s- explain to students how long ago that was
- 2014-1840= 174 years ago- ask students how many
hundreds, tens, and ones that number has so they can understand how big a number
that is (1 one hundreds, 7 tens, and 4 ones)
Introduction
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
- then brief lesson on when and why the Europeans came to Canada and where they
settled (show on map)
- ask students why they think Europeans came to Canada
5
Activities
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
First Activity
(hand out summary sheet)
- Read aloud to the students "Who were the Early Pioneers" summary sheet
(Appendix A)
- Show the students on the world map where North America, Canada, Europe,
Asia, and the Atlantic Ocean are
- Explain difficult words: eg. explorers, unsettled, overcrowded
- Ask questions, eg:
Why do you think Europe was becoming overcrowded?
- they didn't know of other land- they didn't know about Canada, families were
growing and there was nowhere to spread out
Why was land for farming disappearing?
- more people were claiming/using it
Why were jobs difficult to find?
-too many people already took the jobs available
Why would the people on the ships run out of fresh fruit and vegetables?
- there were no fridges back then- can't keep fruit and vegetables fresh for 20 days
Why would they die from not eating them?
- fruits and vegetables have vitamins, eg. vitamin C- without having vitamins for a
15
long time, you can become very sick and die
Why would the weather affect their journey across the ocean?
- bad weather like storms can cause the ocean to become rough with big waves,
and the people on the ships can get seasick
- Then students will take out a ruler and pencil and underline the important/key
words
- Do this together as a class- have one student (alternating) read out each
sentence one at a time and ask the students what they think the key/important
words are
Second Activity
(hand out worksheet)
- Go over the sheet with the class
- Read aloud the questions, and ask the students to talk to their desk partner
about them- then call on students for their answers
- Write the answers on the board- the students will copy down the answers
10
Lesson Plan #2- Pioneer Communities (focus on buildings)
Subject: Social Studies Grade: 2/3
Objectives
Social Studies Prescribed Learning Outcome's (from IRPs):
– describe how the physical environment influences human activities
– describe how the physical environment influenced early settlement in a
community
– describe how technology affects individuals
– identify changes that can occur in communities over time
– identify cultural similarities and differences
Mathematics PLO's (from IRPs):
- relate passage of time to common
activities
Language Arts PLO's (from IRPs):
Thinking (Oral Language):
- engage in speaking and listening activities to develop a deeper understanding of
texts (e.g., listening to the telling of a story from an oral tradition, listening to
information text from science or social studies)
Time
(mins)
N/A
- use speaking and listening to develop thinking, by
– acquiring new ideas
– making connections
– comparing and contrasting
Reading and Viewing Purposes (Reading and Viewing):
- view and demonstrate comprehension of visual texts (e.g., signs, illustrations,
diagrams)
Thinking (Writing and Representing):
- use writing and representing to extend thinking by presenting new understandings
in a variety of forms (e.g., comic strip, poem, skit, graphic organizer)
Materials and Resources
- Venn diagram handout for each student
- Pictures of buildings
N/A
(Prep time)
Lesson Hook
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
Ask the students questions- ask them to talk about it with their desk partner:
What do think communities looked like before?
- what was village life like?
- what did the town look like?
- what does a community need, not want?
5
Introduction
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
- Show pictures on the projector of what Ladner used to look like
- Explain that Ladner village used to be a pioneer village
- Ask: What did you notice the village had? What buildings does a community
need in it?
- Explain that back then they had more needs and less wants- they had a harder
life and worked really hard to live
- Then use the projector again to show pictures of the main buildings in the pioneer
villages/communities (Appendix B)
- Explain each one that corresponds to the picture (using sheet- Appendix B)
- Throughout explanations, ask: What do you notice? What's different or the
same about these buildings from the buildings we have in our communities today?
15
Activities
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
First Activity
- Create venn diagram on the board using students' answers
15
Pioneer Communities Communities Today
- students then copy down what's written on the board
Second Activity
Oral Game- buildings in a pioneer town
- Divide the class up into Team A and Team B
- Give them a minute to discuss their answer for each question and one student
from each team will report their final answer
- Where would you go to get a spoon?- Blacksmith shop
- Where would you go to get pants?- General store
- Where would you go to get candy?- General store
- Where would you go to mail a letter?- Post office
- Where would you go to get wood?- Sawmill
- Where would you go to get flour?- Gristmill
- Where would you go to learn?- Schoolhouse
- Where would you go to pray?- Church
5
Lesson Plan #4- Life at Home (focus on food)
Subject: Social Studies Grade: 2/3
Objectives
Social Studies Prescribed Learning Outcomes (from IRP):
– describe how the physical environment influences human activities
– describe how the physical environment influenced early settlement in a
community
– describe how technology affects individuals
– identify changes that can occur in communities over time
– identify cultural similarities and differences
Time
(mins)
N/A
Health and Career:
- describe practices that contribute to physical health
Language Arts PLO's (from IRP):
Strategies (Reading and Viewing):
- use strategies before reading and viewing, including:
– accessing prior knowledge to make connections
– making predictions
– asking questions
– setting a purpose
- use strategies during reading and viewing to construct, monitor, and confirm
meaning, including:
– predicting and making connections
– visualizing
– figuring out unknown words
– retelling and beginning to summarize
- use strategies after reading and viewing to confirm and extend meaning,
including:
– rereading or “re-viewing”
– discussing with others
– retelling and beginning to summarize
Materials and Resources
- "Christmas in the Big Woods" (Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder,
illustrated by Renee Graef
- set of Pioneer Foods vocabulary words for each student
- Compare/Contrast Food Preparation Chart handout for each student
N/A
(Prep time)
Lesson Hook
(formation: students are sitting in the calendar corner)
- read "Christmas in the Big Woods" (Little House Books) by Laura Ingalls
Wilder, illustrated by Renee Graef
- students will predict what this book will be about (from reading the title and
looking at the cover) by talking with a partner and then sharing to the class
- focus on the pictures of the kitchen and food and ask students what they notice
that is different from what they see today
10
Introduction
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
- explain different categories of food and why they are important to include in
every meal: dairy, meat, vegetables, fruit, grains
- ask students for examples of each and write them on the board
10
Activities
(formation: students are sitting in their desks)
First Activity
Categories
- use pioneer vocabulary words to arrange under food category headings: dairy,
meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, and other
- each student gets a set of vocabulary words to categorize:
Pioneer Foods
soup, stew, cheese, baked beans, berries, potatoes, corn, pumpkins, carrots, fish,
duck, lamb, beef, chicken, butter, maple syrup, corn bread, honey,
porridge/oatmeal
Second Activity
Compare/Contrast Food Preparation in Pioneer Times to Today
Eg.
Food The Settlers We...
Butter Churned, pressed it,
stored it
Buy it at the store
wrapped in paper
Milk Milk cows, stored it in
pitchers
Buy it in cartons
Bread Made the dough and
baked it in the oven
Buy it at the store in
plastic bags
Eggs Collected them from the
barn
Buy them at the store in
styrofoam or cardboard
containers
Vegetables Grew them in a garden Buy them at a store or
market
Meat Hunted and killed, and
preserved it
Buy it at a store
Fruit Gathered from the forest Buy it at a store or
market
- students will each get this chart with the "We..." column blank to fill in
* remember to tell students that some people who live on farms still do these
things today, so not everyone's "We..." column will be the same and that is okay
10
10
Appendix A
Who were the Early Pioneers
Many years ago North America was first visited by many explorers from Europe. They
were searching for Asia when they accidentally bumped into Canada. They were also looking for
gold.
Other Europeans heard of this discovery of new unsettled land, and also wanted to have
their own land. Europe had become very overcrowded and land for farming was disappearing
and jobs were difficult to find.
Sailing ships carried these new pioneers to North America across the Atlantic Ocean.
Poor people could only afford to stay below the deck for the entire trip. This area became very
dirty and smelly. The journey to a new land was not always a happy one. They were often bored
with nothing to do. Many people never reached their destination because they became sick and
died from a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. These trips lasted from 20 days to 3 months
depending on the weather.
Who were the Early Pioneers
Name:_______________
Number:________
Date:_______________
1. Who were the first visitors to reach North America?
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why did these people come to North America?
___________________________________________________________________
3. Why did other people want to come and settle in North America? (Give two reasons).
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. Why was the trip to North America a difficult experience for the new settlers?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Appendix B
Pioneer Communities Buildings
General Store
- usually in the centre of the village
- sold clothes, tools, food items, cloth, etc.
- not like a grocery store today- it was a meeting place of the community- people gathered
outside the store to talk about news or play games like cards or checkers
- very little money was used- people traded things instead
Post Office
- picked up mail there
- dropped off mail there
- ask students: how do you think the mail was delivered? by who? was it fast?
Gristmill
- the mill that ground wheat, corn, and oat into different types of flour
- used energy from the water- had a water wheel to create power
Sawmill
- also used energy from the water
- saw/cut logs into planks
- everything the pioneers made was mainly from wood
- they needed wood to build their homes, barns, storage bins, barrels, furniture, wagons, wheels,
etc.
Blacksmith shop
- where the metal worker made many things out of black iron
- made fireplace tools, cooking utensils, nails, farming tools, horseshoes for horses, etc.
As the village grew larger and there were more people, more buildings were made, such as...
Schoolhouse
- the school of the village
- all the grades were in one classroom
Church
- people would go there to pray and practice their religion
Corresponding Pictures of Pioneer Buildings