lessonplan

Here's somethings we're learning:

Sandra Mercer, Jess Maguire, Emily Roberge

Unit Topic or Theme: The United States Government

Grade: 2nd Grade

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lesson Topic or Theme: The Roles of the President

Lesson Objectives
The student will be able to identify each of the seven roles that a president plays (which “hats” he wears).

The student will be able to correctly match the hat with the presidential duty.

Instructional Technique

Working in pairs
Exploring the site
Observing the teacher demonstrate step by step directions for the site
Discussion with partner about each question
Working together to find the correct answer.

Website(s) Used:

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4684

Handout to use while they are on the site
Students will use this handout to turn in at the end of class as an assessment. They will write down which answer they picked first, second, and third for each question in the game.
Step-by-step directions handout
Students will use this site to guide their work on the website. It will tell them how to navigate the site, what to click, etc.
Teacher demonstration
Smartboard, and white board
The teacher will guide the students through the website first, supplemented by the step-by-step direction handout.
Scissors and glue
Use scissors to cut out each hat, and glue onto the provided year provided on worksheet.

Theoretical Perspective:
This information is important for the students to learn because they will be learning about the presidents of their country, and about all the different jobs that they have to do depending on which “hat” they are wearing. It is important for the students to learn about the history of their country, the presidents who played a part in creating the United States that they know today, and the specifics that they did.

Procedure:

Introductory Activity (if applicable)

Brief activity related to main body of lesson, something to get them going
To start the lesson, the teacher will create a KWL chart on the board for the class to complete all together.
The teacher will write an example first
Know - A president’s term is four years.
What - What are some of the president's duties?
Learned - What have you learned at the end of the seven hat challenge?
The teacher will then assist the class in filling out the remainder of the KWL chart using what they have already learned in this unit. The “L” section will be left blank and filled out at the end of the lesson.

Step-by-step (descriptive outline)

After the KWL is filled out, the teacher will split the students into groups of 2-3
Each group of students will select a laptop and set it up (i.e. power it on, log in, etc.)
The teacher will ask all of the groups of students to open Google, and will wait until each group has it pulled up on their screen.
The teacher will have Google pulled up on the projector/smartboard, and will be mimicking the students’ steps throughout the lesson
Once all groups have Google up on their screens, one member of the group will type in “seven hat challenge” into the search bar.
The students will click on the first link. It will read, “7 Hat Challenge: Master the Roles of the President | Scholastic.com”
After the page loads, the teacher will give each group the handout titled “Step-By-Step Directions.” The teacher will have the students cross out each step as they complete it.
The students will click the “EASY” difficulty.
The teacher will read the first caption underneath the “START” button.
The teacher will then have each group of students choose a group name and type that group name into the bar under “TYPE YOUR NAME:”
The teacher will read the description on the screen. The students will click “NEXT” after the teacher reads the description.
The teacher will read the description on the screen, and will point out the list of years on the left hand side of the screen. Then, the students will click “NEXT.”
The teacher will read the description on the screen. Then, the students will click “NEXT.”
The teacher will read the description on the screen, and will point out the “Hat-O-Meter” on the right-hand side of the screen. Then, the students will click “NEXT.”
The teacher will read the description on the screen. Then, the teacher will roll over each hat and ask for a student volunteer to read the hat’s caption (seven different volunteers--one for each hat). After all of the hats’ descriptions have been read, the students will click “NEXT.”
The teacher will read the description, and then ask the students to click the “1793” switch. Then, the students will press the red button.
The teacher will read the description, the question, and the three possible answers.
As a class, the students will decide which answer to choose. Each group will click that answer, including the teacher.
If the answer is right, then click “NEXT QUESTION”
If the answer is wrong, then click “CHOOSE AGAIN” and repeat step 17. If the answer is wrong again, the teacher will read the description and everyone will click “NEXT QUESTION”
The teacher will remind students to go in order from top to bottom, oldest year to newest year. Then, the students will click “NEXT” and then the red button.
As the students go through the years answering the questions, they will fill out the worksheet as they go along. The worksheet requires that they write down their answers, whether correct or incorrect, and also match the picture of the hats to the presidential duties by cutting and pasting the pictures of these hats onto the worksheet.

Closure

After putting all of the computers away, and turning in their worksheets, the teacher will have the students come back to the KWL chart on the board.
The teacher will go line by line and ask the students if they can fill out the “L” sections
If they cannot fill out an “L” section, the teacher will ask the students how they can figure out this information
The teacher will help the students to create a game plan as to how they can figure out the answer to the question in the following lesson.
After the teacher gets at least five facts from the students, the teacher will then review what they had written in the “L” section.

Adaptations for different learners

Pair a non-native speaker with a child whose first language is English.
Pair struggling readers with more advanced readers.
Have students cross out each step on the directions worksheet as they go along to avoid confusion or losing their place

Evaluation:
Objective 1: The student will be able to identify each of the seven roles that a president plays (which “hats” he wears).

Objective 2: The students will be able to match the hat to the correct presidential duty.

Concerns or questions you have about teaching this lesson?

Internet might not be working
The difficulty level of navigating the website will be too hard for 2nd graders
Children will just pick random answers to the questions until they get it right, rushing through the game, or not comprehending its content
ELL accommodations will not be enough
Working in pairs, some students may have difficulty working together

Worksheets
home button