Quality Lesson
Name: Jana Horton Time Allotted: 2 hours
Grade Level: 7th Grade Subject: Social Studies
Title: Back to Iraq
Materials Required:
- Projector
- Iraqi IDs
- Iraq Facts graphic organizer
- Iraq powerpoint
- Sticky notes
- Voting ballots
- “Who’d You Vote For?” interview sheets
- Blank paper for News Report or Time Capsule
- Directions for News Report and Time Capsule (from powerpoint)
- Attendance list (to check off students’ names)
- Final formative assessment rubric
- Final summative assessment
GLCEs:
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions). (Bloom’s Knowledge level)
Objective(s):
1. TSW list one accurate basic fact about at least three out of four human characteristics of Iraq (language, religion, economic system, or cultural traditions) by writing them on the Time Capsule/News Report activity during independent practice.
2. TSW identify at least four out of five correct answers about Iraq’s conflict in recent years (government and economy) on the final summative test at the end of the Middle East unit.
3. TSW identify at least two out of three correct answers about Iraq’s government today (especially the new voting rights) on the final summative test at the end of the Middle East unit.
Assessment:
Throughout the lesson, the teacher will be informally assessing the students through various activities and through observation. This will provide her with formative information about whether or not students are prepared to move ahead.
Formative Assessment: During the modeling part of this lesson, students will be given an Iraq Fact graphic organizer. This worksheet will give a spot for them to fill in basic facts about human characteristics of Iraq (language, religion, economic system, cultural traditions). Students will be asked what information they already know about Iraq, and then will use their Iraq I.D.s to find out more information. By having the students help supply the information, the teacher will get a basic understanding of how much students know about Iraq’s human characteristics already. Students will fill this information out as the teacher fills out a similar chart on the board.
Formative Assessment: At the end of the second two slides, the teacher will ask students to give a Dozen Summary of the information on that slide. This means that they will sum up everything on that slide in 12 words. They will have a space on their Iraq Facts sheet to write these summaries. The teacher will then call on students to share their Dozen Summaries. This will allow her to make sure students are following the story of Iraqi history and that they are understanding what is happening. At the end of the lesson, the students will turn these in as well so the teacher can look at them and gauge student understanding of Iraq’s history and recent conflict.
Formative Assessment: For independent practice, students will be given the option to write a short news article based on their interview, as well as information about recent Iraqi conflict and human characteristics of the country learned earlier in the class period, or to create a picture of a time capsule including a description of each item in it (Find directions in this powerpoint). They will be instructed to include at least 2 human characteristics, at least 3 facts about recent conflict and war, and to accurately write about the first democratic election in Iraq.
Formative Assessment: As a final closure for this lesson, students will determine how confident they feel about the objectives by writing a check mark (for very confident), a question mark (for having a question), or an open circle (for not confident) next to the number of that objective on a sticky note the teacher will supply. Students will do this as the teacher reviews the objectives at the end of class.
At the end of this individual lesson, if the students have met the minimum level of proficiency, they will move on to learning about Iran in the next lesson. Students will also be able to compare what they have learned about Iraq with what they learn about Iran. If some students have not met the minimum level of proficiency, the teacher will use the time while students are working on their final news reports to find students who are having trouble understanding the information. She will work with them individually, and provide them with additional help. She also will supply them with additional notes and graphic organizers which may help them better understand.
Summative Assessment: At the end of the unit on the Middle East, students will be given a final summative multiple-choice test over the unit. The test will contain ten questions asking students to identify (Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge level) the correct answer to the last two objectives. Five questions will assess their knowledge of Iraq’s recent conflicts (involving the government and economy) and five questions will assess their knowledge of Iraq’s government and recent voting rights. These questions can be found here.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Instructional Procedure:
Anticipatory Set (10 minutes):
a. Explain behavioral expectations. The teacher will remind students of behavior expectations they have practiced before. She will emphasize that she will be more intentional about calling students out who are not demonstrating good behavior.
b. The teacher will begin by explaining students are not in America today but are instead citizens of Iraq. She will give each student an “Iraqi ID” giving them certain characteristics about themselves. She will then have the students watch a short news clip on the capture of Saddam Hussein. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4urFfbxRljY The teacher will encourage students to think about Saddam Hussein and Iraq during the video. When the video is over, the teacher will lead a short discussion. She will specifically ask what students remember about Hussein and Iraq from personal experience, and will use the discussion to get the students interested in learning about Iraq.
c. The teacher will explain that the students have learned a little bit about the geography of Iraq, and they have probably learned a lot about Iraq just from watching the news while the U.S. was at war there.
d. Today students will learn about some of the human characteristics of Iraq, some basic facts about the wars, and what the government looks like today.
Purpose and Objective of Lesson:
a. As students, you will learn about some of the human characteristics of Iraq, especially their government.
b. This is important because Iraq is a very important country in the world today and learning about it helps us understand what is going on in the world around us.
Modeling (30 minutes):
a. The teacher will begin by putting a chart on the board which is similar to the Iraq Facts graphic organizer the students have, and asking students what they already know about Iraq’s economy and cultural beliefs. Together the class will fill in the chart on the board and on their individual worksheets. She will then have students take out their Iraqi ID. This card is simply a sheet of paper with basic facts about a hypothetical Iraqi (language he/she speaks, religion he/she practices, etc.). Students will take on the role of Iraqis for the class period. The teacher will have each student hold his/her card up and look around at other students’ cards. She will emphasize that they need to do this silently. After students have looked for a little while, she will ask them to share some characteristics they are seeing about Iraq. As they share these facts, she will record them in a chart on the board and students will similarly record them on their Iraq Facts graphic organizers.
b. After learning about some basic characteristics of Iraqis, the teacher will explain information about Iraq’s history and especially their conflicts with a powerpoint. She will also share a little about Iraq’s recent voting rights. Students will have their books open to page 230 at this time so they can follow along. At the end of each slide, students will be asked to write a Dozen Summary, or summarize what they just learned in exactly twelve words (or as close to twelve words as possible). Before the teacher begins the powerpoint, she will give very clear instructions about the Dozen Summary. She will use the first powerpoint slide to give them an example of her own, which they will be instructed to write down. The teacher will call on a few students each time to share. She will end the powerpoint by briefly discussing the new voting rights of Iraqis. This will lead well into the guided practice.
Guided Practice (20 minutes):
For guided practice, students will participate in a mock election as Iraqi citizens just given the right to vote. Each student will receive a ballot. Because there were many forces involved in this first election in 2005, especially that most Sunni voters boycotted the election after being threatened with violence, Sunni voters will be “threatened” that if they vote they may have their homework tripled at the end of the day (of course this will not actually happen). Students will be given the choice to vote, will fill out their ballot, and put them face down on their desks. After students have voted, the teacher will lead students in a short discussion about how the voting went. She will use the “Who’d You Vote For?” worksheet as a guide for asking questions. Students will be instructed to write down answers to the questions on their own worksheet. The teacher will count up the votes before the next class period and let students know during this class period who won and how their results compared with the real results in 2005.
Independent Practice (20 minutes):
When the voting discussion is over, the teacher will explain the independent practice. Students will be given a choice between two activities to prove their understanding of the information learned today. The first option is for them to write a short news article about the person they just interviewed, also including other human characteristics discussed in class. The second option is to create a picture of a time capsule representing human characteristics and the government of Iraq. They will be instructed to include at least 2 human characteristics, at least 3 facts about recent conflict and war, and to accurately write at least 2 sentences about what voting was like for Iraqis when they were first given the right to vote, no matter which option they choose. The teacher will show one example of each of these activities as she explains them and will post the examples on the board for students to look at. If students finish early, they will be able to add extra detail to their articles/capsules or to start quietly brainstorming ideas with each other for a news broadcast based in Iraq. If students do not finish, they will take the project home as homework.
Differentiated Consideration:
If students are struggling with the information in the lesson, there are several options for them. First, there are several modes of formative assessment which will let the teacher know how students are understanding the information. She will be able to spend some individual time with students who are struggling while other students are working on their independent practice and closure activities. Also, there are two options for independent practice, so students who think they would struggle writing an entire news article have the option to create a time capsule picture instead.
Offering options for independent practice also provides differentiation for different learning styles. Students who are more analytical and logical may prefer writing a news story. On the other hand, students who enjoy being creative or representing information artistically will probably choose the time capsule activity.
If students understand the information early, they will be encouraged to think more deeply about problems in Iraq. Because Iraq is such a high news item, they will be encouraged to find a news article online about Iraq and come up with an opinion about what they read. They will write an “opinion column” about this opinion, and will be able to share it with the class.
Closure (15 minutes):
a. The teacher will highlight the objectives again (on board), and will ask the students to decide how well they feel they are meeting the objectives. Each student will be given a sticky note to indicate how confident they feel about the objectives. First, the student will number the bottom of their page from 1 to 3. As the teacher highlights an objective, the student will place either a check mark (got it!), circle (Don’t get it yet), or question mark (question) next to the number of that objective.
b. As one final wrap-up activity, the teacher will divide the class into three teams. Each team will be given four minutes to come up with an idea for a one minute news broadcast on an Iraqi TV station about Iraq. Students will be instructed that everyone needs to participate at least once in the news broadcast and must broadcast true information, but other than that they can be as creative as they wish. While students present, the teacher will keep track of students who participate. She will also listen for misconceptions and correct these at the end of each presentation.
Grade Level: 7th Grade Subject: Social Studies
Title: Back to Iraq
Materials Required:
- Projector
- Iraqi IDs
- Iraq Facts graphic organizer
- Iraq powerpoint
- Sticky notes
- Voting ballots
- “Who’d You Vote For?” interview sheets
- Blank paper for News Report or Time Capsule
- Directions for News Report and Time Capsule (from powerpoint)
- Attendance list (to check off students’ names)
- Final formative assessment rubric
- Final summative assessment
GLCEs:
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions). (Bloom’s Knowledge level)
Objective(s):
1. TSW list one accurate basic fact about at least three out of four human characteristics of Iraq (language, religion, economic system, or cultural traditions) by writing them on the Time Capsule/News Report activity during independent practice.
2. TSW identify at least four out of five correct answers about Iraq’s conflict in recent years (government and economy) on the final summative test at the end of the Middle East unit.
3. TSW identify at least two out of three correct answers about Iraq’s government today (especially the new voting rights) on the final summative test at the end of the Middle East unit.
Assessment:
Throughout the lesson, the teacher will be informally assessing the students through various activities and through observation. This will provide her with formative information about whether or not students are prepared to move ahead.
Formative Assessment: During the modeling part of this lesson, students will be given an Iraq Fact graphic organizer. This worksheet will give a spot for them to fill in basic facts about human characteristics of Iraq (language, religion, economic system, cultural traditions). Students will be asked what information they already know about Iraq, and then will use their Iraq I.D.s to find out more information. By having the students help supply the information, the teacher will get a basic understanding of how much students know about Iraq’s human characteristics already. Students will fill this information out as the teacher fills out a similar chart on the board.
Formative Assessment: At the end of the second two slides, the teacher will ask students to give a Dozen Summary of the information on that slide. This means that they will sum up everything on that slide in 12 words. They will have a space on their Iraq Facts sheet to write these summaries. The teacher will then call on students to share their Dozen Summaries. This will allow her to make sure students are following the story of Iraqi history and that they are understanding what is happening. At the end of the lesson, the students will turn these in as well so the teacher can look at them and gauge student understanding of Iraq’s history and recent conflict.
Formative Assessment: For independent practice, students will be given the option to write a short news article based on their interview, as well as information about recent Iraqi conflict and human characteristics of the country learned earlier in the class period, or to create a picture of a time capsule including a description of each item in it (Find directions in this powerpoint). They will be instructed to include at least 2 human characteristics, at least 3 facts about recent conflict and war, and to accurately write about the first democratic election in Iraq.
Formative Assessment: As a final closure for this lesson, students will determine how confident they feel about the objectives by writing a check mark (for very confident), a question mark (for having a question), or an open circle (for not confident) next to the number of that objective on a sticky note the teacher will supply. Students will do this as the teacher reviews the objectives at the end of class.
At the end of this individual lesson, if the students have met the minimum level of proficiency, they will move on to learning about Iran in the next lesson. Students will also be able to compare what they have learned about Iraq with what they learn about Iran. If some students have not met the minimum level of proficiency, the teacher will use the time while students are working on their final news reports to find students who are having trouble understanding the information. She will work with them individually, and provide them with additional help. She also will supply them with additional notes and graphic organizers which may help them better understand.
Summative Assessment: At the end of the unit on the Middle East, students will be given a final summative multiple-choice test over the unit. The test will contain ten questions asking students to identify (Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge level) the correct answer to the last two objectives. Five questions will assess their knowledge of Iraq’s recent conflicts (involving the government and economy) and five questions will assess their knowledge of Iraq’s government and recent voting rights. These questions can be found here.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Instructional Procedure:
Anticipatory Set (10 minutes):
a. Explain behavioral expectations. The teacher will remind students of behavior expectations they have practiced before. She will emphasize that she will be more intentional about calling students out who are not demonstrating good behavior.
b. The teacher will begin by explaining students are not in America today but are instead citizens of Iraq. She will give each student an “Iraqi ID” giving them certain characteristics about themselves. She will then have the students watch a short news clip on the capture of Saddam Hussein. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4urFfbxRljY The teacher will encourage students to think about Saddam Hussein and Iraq during the video. When the video is over, the teacher will lead a short discussion. She will specifically ask what students remember about Hussein and Iraq from personal experience, and will use the discussion to get the students interested in learning about Iraq.
c. The teacher will explain that the students have learned a little bit about the geography of Iraq, and they have probably learned a lot about Iraq just from watching the news while the U.S. was at war there.
d. Today students will learn about some of the human characteristics of Iraq, some basic facts about the wars, and what the government looks like today.
Purpose and Objective of Lesson:
a. As students, you will learn about some of the human characteristics of Iraq, especially their government.
b. This is important because Iraq is a very important country in the world today and learning about it helps us understand what is going on in the world around us.
Modeling (30 minutes):
a. The teacher will begin by putting a chart on the board which is similar to the Iraq Facts graphic organizer the students have, and asking students what they already know about Iraq’s economy and cultural beliefs. Together the class will fill in the chart on the board and on their individual worksheets. She will then have students take out their Iraqi ID. This card is simply a sheet of paper with basic facts about a hypothetical Iraqi (language he/she speaks, religion he/she practices, etc.). Students will take on the role of Iraqis for the class period. The teacher will have each student hold his/her card up and look around at other students’ cards. She will emphasize that they need to do this silently. After students have looked for a little while, she will ask them to share some characteristics they are seeing about Iraq. As they share these facts, she will record them in a chart on the board and students will similarly record them on their Iraq Facts graphic organizers.
b. After learning about some basic characteristics of Iraqis, the teacher will explain information about Iraq’s history and especially their conflicts with a powerpoint. She will also share a little about Iraq’s recent voting rights. Students will have their books open to page 230 at this time so they can follow along. At the end of each slide, students will be asked to write a Dozen Summary, or summarize what they just learned in exactly twelve words (or as close to twelve words as possible). Before the teacher begins the powerpoint, she will give very clear instructions about the Dozen Summary. She will use the first powerpoint slide to give them an example of her own, which they will be instructed to write down. The teacher will call on a few students each time to share. She will end the powerpoint by briefly discussing the new voting rights of Iraqis. This will lead well into the guided practice.
Guided Practice (20 minutes):
For guided practice, students will participate in a mock election as Iraqi citizens just given the right to vote. Each student will receive a ballot. Because there were many forces involved in this first election in 2005, especially that most Sunni voters boycotted the election after being threatened with violence, Sunni voters will be “threatened” that if they vote they may have their homework tripled at the end of the day (of course this will not actually happen). Students will be given the choice to vote, will fill out their ballot, and put them face down on their desks. After students have voted, the teacher will lead students in a short discussion about how the voting went. She will use the “Who’d You Vote For?” worksheet as a guide for asking questions. Students will be instructed to write down answers to the questions on their own worksheet. The teacher will count up the votes before the next class period and let students know during this class period who won and how their results compared with the real results in 2005.
Independent Practice (20 minutes):
When the voting discussion is over, the teacher will explain the independent practice. Students will be given a choice between two activities to prove their understanding of the information learned today. The first option is for them to write a short news article about the person they just interviewed, also including other human characteristics discussed in class. The second option is to create a picture of a time capsule representing human characteristics and the government of Iraq. They will be instructed to include at least 2 human characteristics, at least 3 facts about recent conflict and war, and to accurately write at least 2 sentences about what voting was like for Iraqis when they were first given the right to vote, no matter which option they choose. The teacher will show one example of each of these activities as she explains them and will post the examples on the board for students to look at. If students finish early, they will be able to add extra detail to their articles/capsules or to start quietly brainstorming ideas with each other for a news broadcast based in Iraq. If students do not finish, they will take the project home as homework.
Differentiated Consideration:
If students are struggling with the information in the lesson, there are several options for them. First, there are several modes of formative assessment which will let the teacher know how students are understanding the information. She will be able to spend some individual time with students who are struggling while other students are working on their independent practice and closure activities. Also, there are two options for independent practice, so students who think they would struggle writing an entire news article have the option to create a time capsule picture instead.
Offering options for independent practice also provides differentiation for different learning styles. Students who are more analytical and logical may prefer writing a news story. On the other hand, students who enjoy being creative or representing information artistically will probably choose the time capsule activity.
If students understand the information early, they will be encouraged to think more deeply about problems in Iraq. Because Iraq is such a high news item, they will be encouraged to find a news article online about Iraq and come up with an opinion about what they read. They will write an “opinion column” about this opinion, and will be able to share it with the class.
Closure (15 minutes):
a. The teacher will highlight the objectives again (on board), and will ask the students to decide how well they feel they are meeting the objectives. Each student will be given a sticky note to indicate how confident they feel about the objectives. First, the student will number the bottom of their page from 1 to 3. As the teacher highlights an objective, the student will place either a check mark (got it!), circle (Don’t get it yet), or question mark (question) next to the number of that objective.
b. As one final wrap-up activity, the teacher will divide the class into three teams. Each team will be given four minutes to come up with an idea for a one minute news broadcast on an Iraqi TV station about Iraq. Students will be instructed that everyone needs to participate at least once in the news broadcast and must broadcast true information, but other than that they can be as creative as they wish. While students present, the teacher will keep track of students who participate. She will also listen for misconceptions and correct these at the end of each presentation.