Heading:
Subject Area: Social Studies Grade Level: Kindergarten
Concept/Topic: Community- Insects Time: 1:00-2:00
Desired Results:
Lesson Background
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards
5.2.1 Civic Rights, Responsibilities, and Duties
*Identify community workers that exist in most or all communities
9.1a.2 Exploration
*Use instruments to accompany music or songs
Objectives:
-Students will be able to describe what a community is and typical characteristics of their community.
-Students will be able to sing along to a song that pertains to the topic being discussed.
Procedure (Learning Plan):
Materials and Technology:
Teacher: Chart Paper, On the Town by Judith Casely, lyrics to the song and rhyme
Students: Whiteboards, Dry Erase Markers, Paper, musical instruments
Step-By-Step Procedure:
Ex: a group of people or things that live in a certain area
-The teacher will ask students to name things that they think of when they hear the word community and its definition
-The teacher will add words to the web that the students share (friends, neighbors, the grocery store, school, etc.)
-She will read aloud the story, On the Town by Judith Casely. The book tells the story of a little boy and his mother taking a trip around the community to meet the people who live there.
-Following the read aloud, the teacher will ask students to name some of the important people that they know live in their neighborhood.
-Students will supply the teacher with answers and she will list them on the board.
-After a list of people from the community is compiled on the board. The teacher will explain to students that all of these community members have important jobs and help everyone in the community by doing these jobs.
Ex: Garbage man cleans up trash to keep the neighborhood beautiful, the baker makes treats for everyone to enjoy, the doctor takes care of everyone when they are sick
-The teacher will introduce students to a song entitled “Community” by Jack Hartmann. The lyrics discuss how everyone is does their part to help the community.
-The teacher will show students a picture of insects such as butterflies, bees, ants, etc.
-The teacher will ask students to think of ways that insects might help our community.
Ex: Butterflies help make the environment pretty, bees pollinate flowers which help make the neighborhood beautiful, etc.
-Students will return to their seats and will be asked to draw an insect that can be found in their community and show what this insect does to be a helpful part of the community. Students will fill in the sentence frame: ___________ helps the community by ________. The teacher will use this as an assessment for understanding.
-To close the lesson, the teacher will teach students another rhyme about community helpers and will incorporate musical instruments. Students will take turns playing musical instruments during certain portions of the rhyme in order to keep them engaged in the rhyme.
Evaluation:
The teacher will use ongoing informal assessment to monitor student understanding of the concept of community. The drawing at the end of the lesson will also be collected to formally assess student understanding of how living things other than humans can be helpful and important parts of a community.
Differentiation:
ESL Students: Labeled pictures of community helpers will be hung on the board to help students make connections to the names of the individuals being discussed.
Special Education Students: Students will not be required to fill out the sentence frame and will instead simply draw the picture representing their chosen insect and the way it helps the community.
Gifted Students: Students will be asked to write a sentence about their drawing without the use of a sentence frame. These students have developed excellent decoding skills and are able to sound out most words without help.
Subject Area: Social Studies Grade Level: Kindergarten
Concept/Topic: Community- Insects Time: 1:00-2:00
Desired Results:
Lesson Background
- Big Ideas: This lesson revolves around the theme of community. Students will be instructed on the characteristics of community and the role of various aspects of the community. The theme of insects will be tied in to teach students the importance of all things that occur within a community, even ones that may not typically think of.
- Teacher Knowledge: The teacher must be knowledgeable about the topic of community and the things that make up various communities. The teacher must also be aware of her students’ levels of background knowledge on the topic and their specific learning styles.
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards
5.2.1 Civic Rights, Responsibilities, and Duties
*Identify community workers that exist in most or all communities
9.1a.2 Exploration
*Use instruments to accompany music or songs
Objectives:
-Students will be able to describe what a community is and typical characteristics of their community.
-Students will be able to sing along to a song that pertains to the topic being discussed.
Procedure (Learning Plan):
Materials and Technology:
Teacher: Chart Paper, On the Town by Judith Casely, lyrics to the song and rhyme
Students: Whiteboards, Dry Erase Markers, Paper, musical instruments
Step-By-Step Procedure:
- Engagement/Introduction:
- Explain the “hook” or lead-in part of the lesson: The teacher will pass out whiteboards to each student and ask them to draw their communities or what they think of when they hear the word community. The teacher will use these pictures to assess basic prior knowledge of the term community. The teacher will then ask students to look around at their classmate’s drawings and will point out that not all communities are the same.
- Activating Prior Knowledge: The teacher will write the word community on the board which will be used as the basis for a concept web.
Ex: a group of people or things that live in a certain area
-The teacher will ask students to name things that they think of when they hear the word community and its definition
-The teacher will add words to the web that the students share (friends, neighbors, the grocery store, school, etc.)
- Exploration/Explicit Instruction with Modeling and Guided Practice:
- Explicit Instruction:
-She will read aloud the story, On the Town by Judith Casely. The book tells the story of a little boy and his mother taking a trip around the community to meet the people who live there.
-Following the read aloud, the teacher will ask students to name some of the important people that they know live in their neighborhood.
-Students will supply the teacher with answers and she will list them on the board.
-After a list of people from the community is compiled on the board. The teacher will explain to students that all of these community members have important jobs and help everyone in the community by doing these jobs.
Ex: Garbage man cleans up trash to keep the neighborhood beautiful, the baker makes treats for everyone to enjoy, the doctor takes care of everyone when they are sick
-The teacher will introduce students to a song entitled “Community” by Jack Hartmann. The lyrics discuss how everyone is does their part to help the community.
- Modeling:
-The teacher will show students a picture of insects such as butterflies, bees, ants, etc.
-The teacher will ask students to think of ways that insects might help our community.
Ex: Butterflies help make the environment pretty, bees pollinate flowers which help make the neighborhood beautiful, etc.
- Guided Practice:
-Students will return to their seats and will be asked to draw an insect that can be found in their community and show what this insect does to be a helpful part of the community. Students will fill in the sentence frame: ___________ helps the community by ________. The teacher will use this as an assessment for understanding.
-To close the lesson, the teacher will teach students another rhyme about community helpers and will incorporate musical instruments. Students will take turns playing musical instruments during certain portions of the rhyme in order to keep them engaged in the rhyme.
Evaluation:
The teacher will use ongoing informal assessment to monitor student understanding of the concept of community. The drawing at the end of the lesson will also be collected to formally assess student understanding of how living things other than humans can be helpful and important parts of a community.
Differentiation:
ESL Students: Labeled pictures of community helpers will be hung on the board to help students make connections to the names of the individuals being discussed.
Special Education Students: Students will not be required to fill out the sentence frame and will instead simply draw the picture representing their chosen insect and the way it helps the community.
Gifted Students: Students will be asked to write a sentence about their drawing without the use of a sentence frame. These students have developed excellent decoding skills and are able to sound out most words without help.