GCSS Resource Book 150 Quick, Easy, Effective Lessons Editors Patricia H. Klein, Ph.D. Georgia College and State University Nadine A. Wright, Ed.S. Elbert County Comprehensive High School 2005 Yearbook Project of the Georgia Council for the Social Studies Introducing “GCSS Resource Book: 150 Quick, Easy, Effective Lessons” We hope you enjoy using the 2005 yearbook project from the Georgia Council for the Social Studies. As curricular emphases shift and place increasing demands on teachers’ time, social studies often takes a back seat to other disciplines. Because social studies is such a vital discipline, we want to ensure that the quality and quantity of social studies instruction remain high. Whether you’re a new teacher with minimal social studies experience, or a veteran teacher with insufficient planning time, we think you’ll find some helpful ideas for instruction. Every lesson is formatted in a simple template, so that they will quickly become familiar and easy for you to use. Another criterion for this project was that all lessons use those materials and/or technology that is readily available in most schools. In a separate file, a blank template is included. In the left column, you’ll note that the purpose of that portion of the lesson plan is explained. You may choose to use this template for your own lesson planning, since it contains all of the parts of a well-planned lesson. Another important – and very useful – inclusion in this resource is a set of annotated bibliographies (Literature Banks) that contain teacher-created notes on the books and suggestions for the concepts the book could be used to teach. These suggestions will be especially helpful for those teachers who incorporate social studies instruction with their language arts instruction. From the time this project was first conceptualized, it was the goal of the GCSS Board of Trustees to provide a useful tool for teachers. We hope that the GCSS Resource Book helps to ensure that social studies is taught on a consistent, high-quality basis. As always, the GCSS Board of Trustees welcomes your feedback, especially in regard to the usefulness of this product and suggestions for future yearbook offerings. GCSS Yearbook Committee: Dr. Trish Klein, Editor Nadine Wright, Editor Lynn McCoy Wilson Chris Pratt-Consoletti Lesson Title Author: (Name and School or District) Grade Level(s) Essential Question * (objective in the form of a question) Hook * (motivates and links to prior knowledge) Teaching Strategies * (instructional activities) Summarizer * (causes students to answer the essential question) Materials * (resources to gather prior to the lesson – must be readily available in the classroom or media center Lesson Title Which One Do You Want? Grade Level(s) K-3 Authors Donna Hitchcock, Jennifer Simpson, Jennifer Smith, Allison Huff Essential Question Why do we have to make choices? How do we count money? Hook Begin by giving each student play money: Three $1 bills, 2 quarters, 4 dimes, 1 nickel, and 5 pennies (for a total of $4). Show students items (toys, food items, classroom items, etc.) with various prices. Tell students to count their money and to think of what they might do with the money. (They should already know how to count money and how much each bill or coin is worth, so this is a way to assess their skills with money). Teaching Strategies x Ask students (a few volunteers) how much money they have. When they tell you, ask the rest of the class if this is the same amount of money they have. If they say that they have a different amount of money, help them count to make sure. Make sure each student understands that they have $4. x Tell students that they are going to have a chance to spend their money. x Show the students the various items that are for sale and their prices. x Remind the students that they can spend only the $4 that they have been given. x Talk to the entire class about how sometimes you do not have enough money for everything you want. When this happens, you have to make a choice of which item(s) to purchase. Explain to students what a choice is. (Use an example to show this. Pretend that you want two items, a $2 and a $3 item, etc. and tell the students that these items together cost $5. Explain to them again that you only have $4, so you will have to decide which item you want or whether to put both items back and start over.) Summarizer Have a grand conversation (large group) with the class and talk about how when making purchases they had to make choices because they could not afford everything in the store. Give examples to show this (ask questions like could I have gotten this $2 item and this $3 item?). Allow each student to have a turn telling which item(s) they are going to buy. When they tell you the items, ask them the price of each and the total price. Then ask students to count out the correct amount of money. This will assess students on counting money as well as making decisions on which items they want to get. Materials Play money School supplies or age-appropriate items with price tags (use various prices and items) Level 1 1 Lesson Title Importance of Classroom Rules Grade Level(s) K-3 Author Donna Hitchcock, Jennifer Simpson, Jennifer Smith, Allison Huff Essential Question How are rules made? Why do we have rules? Why should rules be followed? Hook Start by telling the students that they are about to help you complete a very important job. Ask the children to think of a classroom without any rules. Let them raise their hands and describe to you what a classroom without rules would be like. This will get them thinking about ways that rules are beneficial. Teaching Strategies x Explain to students that we have rules in order to make sure that everyone is safe. Explain to them that without rules, the classroom would not be a very fun place. It would not feel safe, there would be no fairness, and it would be hard for students to work together. x Explain the concepts of respect and fairness to your students. Give them examples to help them remember the concept, “You are showing respect to your mother and father when you listen to them when they ask you to do something. When you ask someone if you can borrow their crayons instead of just taking them, that’s showing respect for that person and their property. You are showing fairness when everyone gets a turn.” x Allow students to raise their hands to give suggestions about what rules they feel are needed in the classroom. Discuss these suggestions as a class. Ask, “Why do you think we need this rule? Will this rule help us make fair decisions? Will this rule keep everyone safe? Will this rule help us work together as a team?” After the rule has been discussed and accepted, write it on a sheet of chart paper. x Display the rules in a prominent spot in the classroom. x Explain to the students that we have our rules in the classroom, but that there are different rules for different things. Explain to them that their parents have rules set at home. Explain to them that those Level 1 2 rules are there to keep them safe and to keep things fair, just like in the classroom. Ask the children to think of some other places where they have to follow rules. Summarizer As your children discuss other places where they have to follow the rules, ask them why we have rules. Ask them to explain how and why they are going to follow the rules. Materials x marker x chart paper Level 1 3 Lesson Title Community Helpers Grade Level(s) K-3 Author Donna Hitchcock, Jennifer Simpson, Jennifer Smith, Allison Huff Essential Question What kind of work do community helpers do? Hook Tell students that you have some pictures to show them of community helpers. The teacher will then show students pictures of various community helpers (firefighter, policeman, teacher, mail carrier, doctor, etc.) to help them understand the roles of community helpers. Teaching Strategies x Ask the students, “What do you know about community helpers?” Students will brainstorm answers. The teacher will then record the responses in the appropriate space on a KWL chart on the board or chart paper. This chart should have the following headings: What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Learned. x The teacher will ask the students what they want to know about community helpers. The students brainstorm. The teacher will record the responses in the appropriate space on the KWL chart. x The teacher will tell the class that together they are going to read What Can We Play Today? A Book About Community Helpers by Jane Moncure. Tell the students to listen for more information for the KWL chart. x After reading the book, the class will discuss the helpers in the book and their roles. Ask the students to think of people who have jobs that help others. The teacher will facilitate a grand conversation (large group) about various helpers in the community and their responsibilities. x The teacher will ask the students what they learned about community helpers and their roles from the book and the discussions. The teacher will record the responses in the “L” space on the KWL chart. Level 1 4 Summarizer The teacher will give each student a sheet of drawing paper.