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Communities in History

Module by: Kristine Krukar. E-mail the author

Summary: This is a 5-week thematic unit of study on communities in history. It is especially designed for special education and English-learning students. It is a simple, basic, crash-course on world history. It ends with the California Mission Era and the Gold Rush. Feel free to use and edit it as you wish!

COMMUNITIES IN HISTORY: OVERVIEW

This is a social studies thematic unit especially designed for special education and English language learning students. In it, the students will engage in learning activities across the curriculum. Specifically, the children will learn about European exploration, the trade routes, the Mission era, the American colonies, and the fight for American independence.

Grade Level: Third Grade

Subjects:

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Math
  • Social Studies
  • Grammar
  • Spelling
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Art

Standards:

Social Studies :

  • Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled, the people who continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and contributions.

3.2.4 Discuss the interaction of new settlers with the already established Indians of the region.

Reading Comprehension

2.2 State the purpose in reading (i.e., tell what information is sought).

2.4 Ask clarifying questions about essential textual elements of exposition (e.g., why, what if, how)

2.5 Restate facts and details in the text to clarify and organize ideas.

2.7 Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.

Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development

  1. 1.0 Recognize and use knowledge of spelling patterns when reading.
  • Read aloud fluently and accurately and with appropriate intonation and expression
  • Identify simple multiple-meaning words.

Written & Oral English Language Conventions

  • Recognize and use the correct word order in written sentences.
  • Identify and correctly use various parts of speech, including nouns and verbs, in writing and speaking.
  • Spell basic short-vowel, long-vowel, controlled, and consonant-blend patterns correctly.

Writing Strategies

1.1 Group related ideas and maintain a consistent focus.

1.2 Create readable documents with legible handwriting.

Mathematics:

  • Find the sum or difference of two whole numbers up to three digits long.

5.1 Solve problems using combinations of coins and bills.

ELD Standards:

  • Use English to interact in the classroom.
  • Use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written

form.

  • Use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply academic knowledge.
  • Retell familiar stories by using gestures, objects, and expressions.

2.7 Ask and answer simple questions by using phrases or simple sentences.

Objectives

Table 1
  Objective Activity Materials
Knowledge The student will be able to read, write, classify, organize and do math regarding historic communities. Visiting MuseumCollecting graphics and picturesWriting stories Books, paper, art utensils, visuals
Comprehensive Students will be able to create maps with descriptions regarding where to find various locations of historic communities. Students will use pictures to sequence a time line to locate various communities in time periods. Paper, markers, string across white board.
Application The students will use information to show how people have moved over the centuries and how communities have evolved. Students will play a sort of Monopoly/Jeopardy game to aid in understanding. Game board, questions, markers.
Analysis Students will know the various departments of the grocery store and where the different products come from Students will be able to write and match item names, locations, and origins on paper. Worksheet, poster board, writing materials.
Evaluation Students will know the basics of the American colonization and will be able to point out major colonies and trade routes. Students will draw a mural illustrating the American colonies, missions, and trade routes. Large sheet of butcher paper, pencils, markers, paint.
Synthesis Students will understand how to locate information regarding geography, food, shelter & clothing used in communities Students will do colonial home, Indian shelter, and Mission projects. Various kits from hobby shop.

Accommodations for ELD Levels:

Beginning and Early

  • Cooperative groups with various levels.
  • “Yes” and “No” questions
  • Lots of visual aids
  • Very short writing assignments
  • Support from teacher/paraprofessional
  • Students will not be forced to participate

Intermediate

  • Cooperative group work
  • Step by step process with repetition
  • Modified work as needed
  • Simple writing assignments
  • Support from teacher/paraprofessional
  • Participation encouraged, not forced.

Advanced

  • Cooperative group work
  • Longer writing assignments
  • Oral presentations
  • Modified work as needed
  • Assistance from teacher/paraprofessional

Cultural Components:

Students will learn about people from all over the world. Students will learn about different environments all over the world from rain forests, deserts, coastland, and agricultural valley.

Students will learn about the important role of migrant workers getting food from field to grocery store to table.

Food from around the world will be brought in as a culminating activity.

COMMUNITIES IN HISTORY

Lesson 1: European Explorers

Teacher: Kristine Krukar

Grade: 3rd/4th Learning Handicapped, Special Day Class

Content Area: Social Studies

Framework/Standard:

  • Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled, the people who continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and contributions.

3.2.4 Discuss the interaction of new settlers with the already established Indians of the region.

EL Standards:

  • Use English to interact in the classroom.
  • Use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written

form.

  • Use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply academic knowledge.
  • Retell familiar stories by using gestures, objects, and expressions.

2.7 Ask and answer simple questions by using phrases or simple sentences.

ELD/SDAIE Strategies at Various Levels:

Beginning and Early

  • Cooperative groups with various levels.
  • “Yes” and “No” questions
  • Lots of visual aids
  • Very short writing assignments
  • Support from teacher/paraprofessional
  • Students will not be forced to participate

Intermediate

  • Cooperative group work
  • Step by step process with repetition
  • Modified work as needed
  • Simple writing assignments
  • Support from teacher/paraprofessional
  • Participation encouraged, not forced.

Advanced

  • Cooperative group work
  • Longer writing assignments
  • Oral presentations
  • Modified work as needed
  • Assistance from teacher/paraprofessional

Lesson Modifications for special population students: Lower students may have material read to them, and they may also have very small groups with adult supervision. Higher students may use the computer to find extra information for research projects and may play education games involving the thematic unit.

Technology used: Overhead projector

Anticipatory Set.

  • Ask the students if they have relatives who come from Europe. Where did they settle?
  • Focus the learner: Administer Pre-test.
  • Stating the objective: Using the results of the pre-test, tell the children what they will be learning in the next five lessons.
  • Transfer from past learning: Remind the kids that they have studies earlier about the Pilgrims.
  • Setting a purpose for learning: Show timeline, tell children that they, too, are an important part of history.
  • Instruction.
  • Direct teaching: Vocabulary. Discuss Time Line
  • Modeling: Show Trade Routes.
  • Checking for understanding: Show spices & fabrics. Ask key questions.
  • Guided Practice
  • Give children copies of maps. Have them correctly mark Asia, Europe, North America, West

Indies.

  1. Closure/Evaluation/Assessment
  2. Walk around room, making sure children are marking their maps correctly. If they are not, have them fix their mistakes. Model on overhead projector.
  3. Independent Practice
  4. Have kids make a model trade route out of construction paper.

Lesson 2:

Going Back in Time: Where Civilization Began

Teacher: Kristine Krukar

Grade: 3rd/4th Learning Handicapped, Special Day Class

Content Area: Social Studies

Standard: 3.2.2 Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled, the people who

continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and

contributions.

EL Standard: 2.5 Use English in the classroom.

EL Strategies

ELD: Very short writing assignment, modified work as needed.

SDAIE: Brainstorming.

Lesson Modifications for Special Populations: This is a special education classroom, so this lesson is specifically designed for special education.

Technology used: Overhead projector, laptop computer.

  1. Anticipatory Set: Ask children if they have ever wondered where the first people ever settled.

Focus the learner: Show map of the world, and ask children to guess where the first civilization was.

Stating the objective: Students will be able to locate Mesopotamia on the map and state very basic facts about the world’s earliest known civilization.

Transfer from past learning (prior knowledge): Remind student that we have discussed the Ice Age where people lived in caves and had to follow animals around in order to survive.

Setting a purpose for learning: Children need to understand where people came from in order to interpret more modern historical times.

  1. Instruction:

Direct Teaching: Bible: Gives us clues to the beginning of civilization. Archaeology: The study of beginnings. Show the children Ur, where Abraham, father of Hebrew people was born. The first governmental system came from this time. There was now literature and school. The Sumerians were the first to farm and irrigate, rather than chase animals. The Sumerians made Ziggurats. They invented the wheel. Wrote with pictographs.

Modeling: I will point to the various locations on the map. I will write & illustrate a new card about Mesopotamia for our Time Line.

Checking for understanding: The children will come up individually and point to the locations on the map. They will add to their own Time Line and will put the card in its proper place.

  1. Guided Practice: The children will write a very short essay on the history and basic attributes of ancient Mesopotamia. They will brainstorm their ideas before they write. Higher learners may learn the pictograph alphabet if they finish early.
  2. Closure/Evaluation/Assessment: Pop quiz on Mesopotamia Trivia.
  3. Independent Practice: The children may make a plow or a chariot out of modeling clay.

Graded work attached. POP QUIZ.

Lesson 3:

Going Back in Time: Ancient Egypt

Teacher: Kristine Krukar

Grade: 3rd/4th Learning Handicapped, Special Day Class

Content Area: Social Studies

Standard: 3.2.2 Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled, the people who

continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and

contributions.

EL Standard: 2.7 Use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply academic knowledge.

2.5 Use English to interact in the classroom.

EL Strategies

ELD: Cooperative group work, lots of visual aids.

SDAIE: Anticipatory Guide, Choral Reading.

Lesson Modifications for Special Populations: All lessons in this unit are targeted toward special education students.

Technology used: Overhead projector, laptop computer, VCR, television.

  1. Anticipatory Set: Show the students two model sarcophagi. Ask them what they are, and what they are used for. Write their answers on a chart. Save for later to see if the children were correct.

Focus the learner: Ask if they’ve ever been to a cemetery. Ask if they know what a tombstone is.

Stating the objective: The student will be able to locate Egypt on a map, describe a pyramid and its use, and the basics of Egyptian religious belief.

Transfer from past learning (prior knowledge): Remind the students that they have heard of King Tut. Remind them that a pyramid is simply a big gravestone.

Setting a purpose for learning: Students will be better able to interpret more current history if they know the past.

  1. Instruction

Direct Teaching: Show students model pyramid of 3,000 years ago. Explain about pharaohs, tombs, mummies, afterlife. Read about hieroglyphics together. Show film about Ancient Egypt.

Modeling: Locate Egypt on map. Locate Nile River on map. Allow children to handle pretend sarcophagus and mummy.

Checking for understanding: Ask strategic questions regarding material.

  1. Guided Practice: Use the dictionary to look up pharaoh, pyramid, mummy, and sarcophagus. Write down definitions in vocabulary journal.
  2. Closure/Evaluation/Assessment: Pop quiz on Egypt!
  3. Independent Practice: Have children copy their names in hieroglyphics, if time.

Graded work attached. POP QUIZ.

Lesson 4: Ancient Greeks

Teacher: Kristine Krukar

Grade: 3rd/4th Learning Handicapped, Special Day Class

Content Area: Social Studies

Standard: 3.1.1 Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled, the people who

continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and

contributions, 3.1.2, Using the local region and modifying the environment, 3.2.1, National

identity, religious beliefs, various customs and folklore.

EL Standard: 2.1 Use English in the classroom, 2.2, Use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide

subject matter information in spoken and written form.

EL Strategies

ELD: Cooperative work, support from teacher/para, modified work as needed.

SDAIE: Illustrated Timeline

Lesson Modifications for Special Populations: Specifically designed for special education students.

Technology used: Overhead projector, laptop computer, VCR, television.

  1. Anticipatory Set: Ask students if they have ever seen the White House. Who lives there? How did our government come to be? Did you notice the style of the building? Why doesn’t it look like a pyramid or a Ziggurat?

Focus the learner: Many governments of the world are based on that of the ancient Greeks. A government is an important part of civilization, and few communities can survive for long without it.

Stating the objective: The students will become aware of the basics of Greek government, mythology, architecture, and sports.

Transfer from past learning (prior knowledge) The students know that we have a president, rather than a king. They are aware that some cultures, such as the ancient Egyptians, worshiped many gods. They are aware that being able to build buildings is one of the things that sets people apart from animals and other living things.

Setting a purpose for learning: To be able to put American and California history in perspective by studying about past civilizations.

  1. Instruction: As an introduction, show film about Ancient Greeks. Pause now and then to emphasize important points like how Greek architecture influence many American buildings, like the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and many buildings in California, such as the capitol in Sacramento and the McHenry Museum in Modesto.

Direct Teaching: Show students models of Greek architecture. Explain about food, clothing, gods. Read a myth together.

Modeling: Locate Greece on the map.

Checking for understanding: As a class, make up a myth together and write it up as a class book.

  1. Guided Practice: Short writing assignment: How the Greeks influenced our history. Look for such facts as government, architecture, and sports.
  2. Closure/Evaluation/Assessment: Quiz!
  3. Independent Practice: If time, the students can make up a myth and share it with the class. For those who are not able to do this, they may write the Greek Alphabet and make up a secret code.

Graded work attached.

Lesson 5:

Now That You’ve Seen the Past: The New World & Mission Era

Teacher: Kristine Krukar

Grade: 3rd/4th Learning Handicapped, Special Day Class

Content Area: Social Studies

Standard: 3.3.2. Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled here, and the people

who continue to come to the region. 3.3.3 Trace why a community was established and how the

community changed over time. 3.4.1 Determine the reasons for rules, laws, and the U.S.

Constitution.

EL Standard: 2.5 Use English to interact in the classroom, 2.7 Use appropriate learning strategies to construct

and apply academic knowledge, 2.8 Retell familiar stories by using gestures, objects, and

expressions.

EL Strategies

ELD: Lots of visual aids, cooperative group work, step by step process with repetition.

SDAIE: Cooperative dialog.

Lesson Modifications for Special Populations: Specifically targeted for special education.

Technology used: Overhead projector, laptop computer, VHS, television.

1. Anticipatory Set: Remind the children that we studied about European exploration.

Focus the learner: Ask the children to observe our timeline. It’s getting pretty full! What comes

next? How did we get here?

Stating the objective: The students will be able to state the basics of American colonization,

government, routes to California, Spanish colonization, and the Mission Era.

Transfer from past learning (prior knowledge): Discuss with the students what we have already

learned. The students know about the Pilgrim Era. We have already discussed Columbus and his

fateful journey. We already know the basics of government.

Setting a purpose for learning: To see how modern day California is heavily influenced by the past.

To learn more about the state in which the student live. To have fun building a model California

mission.

  1. Instruction: Film: English and Spanish Explorers.

Direct Teaching: Discussion: Compare English/Spanish exploration. What were their motives (Religious freedom? Economic gain? To conquer the world?) Later, the Spanish arrived in California. They encountered and attempted to change the ways of the Native American people. Missions were built to reinforce Spanish presence in California, to spread Christianity, and to tame the Indians.

Modeling: Show the children the world map. Display the trade routes (already discussed), Pilgrim’s route, Spanish exploration route. Next, there was the overland exploration to California.

Checking for understanding: In small groups, the children will discuss the main reasons that the Spanish built the Missions.

  1. Guided Practice: The students will cut out a paper mission and build it with help, and a practice for the actual models they will build.
  2. Closure/Evaluation/Assessment: Quiz
  3. Independent Practice: Build a mission! This may take several days. The students don’t read well enough to be able to follow directions on their own, and they don’t have the support of their parents at home. Therefore, teacher will provide 4 mission kits and the students will build them in small groups.

Graded work attached – see photos!

QUIZ: Mesopotamia

  1. The word Mesopotamia means:
  2. Between two rivers
  3. A type of soup
  4. The Sumerians were:
  • A group of people who lived in Mesopotamia.
  • A group of people who like to do math.
  • What is irrigation?
  • The feeling of being a little angry
  • Putting water on plants to make them grow.
  • The word civilization means:
  • Not having to chase animal herds in order to live.
  • A fabric made from goat fur.
  • Government is:
  • The place where your parents taxes go.
  • People and laws put into place in order to create organization and peace for everyone.

Quiz: Ancient Egypt

  1. A Pharoah is:
  2. A king who was also a god.
  3. A rock star.
  4. A type of grain used to make bread.
  5. Why did the Egyptians make mummies?
  6. To preserve the body for the afterlife
  7. To keep a body warm.
  8. To take care of children and pets.
  9. A pyramid is really just a:
  10. Church
  11. Grave
  12. House
  13. What is the Nile:
  14. A river.
  15. A country
  16. A television show.
  17. What is a sarcophagus?
  18. A kind of disease.
  19. A church ceremony.
  20. A coffin for a mummy.
  21. A tomb.

Quiz: Ancient Greece

  1. Greece is nearest to which ocean?
  2. The Atlantic
  3. The Pacific
  4. The Mediterranean
  5. True or False: The ancient Greeks worshipped many different gods.
  6. A myth is a:

A. A movie.

B. An unmarried woman.

C. A story that explains why things happen in the world.

  1. True or False: The ancient Greeks invented the Olympics.
  2. Architecture is:

A. The study of spiders.

B. The study of how structures are designed and built.

C. A religion.

D. The name of the Greek god of games.

Quiz: Spanish Exploration and the Mission Era

  1. Who was Juan Cabrillo?
  2. A Spanish explorer who first explored the California coast.
  3. An Indian who led a fight against the missions.
  4. A Spanish Priest.
  5. A king.
  6. Who was Father Serra?
  7. Paul Serra’s dad.
  8. Santa Claus’s helper.
  9. A Viking explorer.
  10. A Spanish priest.
  11. What is a mission?
  12. A place to eat and sleep for free.
  13. A sort of church and city.
  14. A sort of tortilla.
  15. A group of people looking for adventure.
  16. Why did the missionaries want the Indians to join them?

A. They wanted them to put on some clothes.

B. They wanted them to go to church

C. They wanted them to stop acting like savages.

D. All of these.

  1. How many missions are there in California?
  2. ten
  3. eighteen
  4. fifty
  5. twenty one

Kris Krukar

May 5, 2009

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