differentiated lesson plan: communication developments in the 19th century

DIFFERENTIATED LESSON PLAN

Differentiated Lesson Plan: Communication Developments in the 19th Century

Lara Landry

National University

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Abstract

The following is a differentiated lesson plan for fourth grade California history. It

also integrates standards for language arts and physical education. The lesson follows the

three curricular elements of Teach, Practice, Apply. The Apply section of the lesson asks

the students to create knowledge into something new, an advertisement and an interview

using knowledge from the lesson. There are both heterogeneous and homogeneous

grouping patterns (blue). The Peer pairing strategy, a differentiation strategy for ELLs, is

used throughout the lesson, as is pre-teaching (orange). The quick think focusing strategy

and skimming the lesson are other differentiation strategies listed in Chapter 5 of the text

(green).

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Content Standards:

History

4.4.1. Understand the story and lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail

Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the

contributions of Chinese workers to its construction.

Physical Education

4.1.6. Throw and catch an object with a partner while both partners are moving.

Language Arts

Reading Standards for Informational Text: Key Ideas and Details

3. Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical

text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Reading Standards for Informational Text: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts,

graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and

explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it

appears.

Materials:

Text: Reflections: California: A Changing State

White Boards

Dry Erase Markers

Listening Station

Graphic Organizer Templates

Large Construction Paper

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Markers

Colored Pencils

Lined Paper

Pencils

Assess Student Readiness:

(Day 1)

Prior to teaching the lesson on faster ways of communication to the west, teacher

should assess students' prior knowledge and readiness.

Students work in pairs to answer Think-Pair-Share questions on white boards. The

teacher poses a question and the students have 1-2 minutes to think of and write their

responses, then they share their response with their partner for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Students may choose to change or add to their responses. The teacher then either calls on

different pairs to share their responses, or asks the class to show their responses and then

chooses pairs with correct responses to share.

Questions to ask:

1. What were the different routes to California from the West prior to the 1850s?

2. How would people in California get news from the Capitol in Washington D.C. and

other big cities back east? How would separated families communicate with one another

before 1850?

The teacher can then create a graphic organizer in way of a timeline on the front

board with the students about the history of communicating across long distances. They

list the current means of communication between people today and the first ways of faster

communication. This will allow the teacher to see what the students already know about

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the topic of the lesson. If the students do not list the stagecoach, Pony Express, and

telegraph the teacher should leave the timeline on the board to complete during the

teaching part of the lesson.

Teach:

The teacher sets the purpose of the story they will read about a 17-year old Pony

Express Rider called Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express by Kristiana Gregory.

The students and teacher take turns reading the story aloud and all follow along.

After the story students are paired and asked to list some positive and negative aspects of

working as a Pony Express rider with their partner. Students are in peer pairing; ELLs

are paired with students of higher English proficiency, and lower-level students are pair

with students at a higher level (a heterogeneous group). They also list some details to

support their answers from the story. The teacher calls on pairs to share responses.

The teacher reviews with the students how mail was carried by the Pony Express.

She divides the class into two teams and has them compete in a relay race of their own by

passing a backpack filled with books instead of the mochila (the Spanish word for

backpack) which Pony Express riders carried. This gets the students engaged in a

physical activity benefiting kinesthetic learners.

(Day 2)

Prior to instruction on the day 2, the teacher pre-teaches the English language

learners the vocabulary and key concepts in the lesson. She has the ELLs pre-read the

chapter at a listening station and complete a graphic organizer outlining the main ideas.

This allows ELLs to process the printed content materials and create meaning before

having to engage in class discussions. Fluency is facilitated when students read and

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reread content selections. Low-level students can also benefit from pre-teaching and this

can be determined necessary through pre-assessment and teaching on day 1.

Students (all) are instructed to skim the lesson prior to the whole group

instruction with their partner (peer-pair) and find answers to questions about the content

that can be answered by reading quickly through the chapter headings and accompanying

visuals. Students are in a peer pair, a heterogeneous group, so students of higher

proficiency can assist those of lower ability. The student of higher ability benefits from

teaching the other student. They answer their questions on the white boards and show

them to the teacher when finished. The teacher calls on pairs to respond.

Questions to ask:

1. What early mail routes to California are depicted on the map?

2. Put the routes used in time order.

3. Which was the fastest mode of communication?

The teacher uses whole group direct instruction to outline the elements critical to

the lesson. She brings the students' attention to the vocabulary words for the lesson and

has the students write the vocabulary for the lesson in their history spirals, with a

sentence. Students can use the sentence in the text. If they're more advanced, they should

be encouraged to make their own sentence using the word in context.

The students and the teacher read through the lesson. After each section, and after

important information, the teacher uses the quick think focusing strategy to sharpen

students 'attention on the important facts. The teacher stops when something important is

read and asks the students a question. The students work with their partner to answer the

question. They write it on a shared white board and show it to the teacher when finished.

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The teacher can assess the students' comprehension and see what needs to be retaught to

the whole group and who needs one-on-one or small group additional instruction. The

teacher asks different students to share their responses and serves as "a guide on the side"

as she paraphrases students' remarks and extends ideas to new levels of meaning. The

teacher differentiates instruction as she responds to students and builds on their levels of

understanding.

Practice:

(Day 3)

English language learners are paired with more proficient speakers in a peer

pairing strategy. The heterogeneous group works together to identify differences and

similarities between the three different ways of communication discussed in the lesson;

the stagecoach, the Pony Express, and the telegraph in a graphic organizer. Both students

benefit; the more advanced learns more by teaching someone else, and the ELL student

benefits from the communication. Lower level students should be paired with students of

higher proficiency.

The teacher can work one-on-one with a student or in small homogeneous groups

to reteach the lesson and go over main concepts for any students that did not do well in

the Quick Think Focus Strategy. The teacher works with these students to create the

graphic organizers that the other students are completing.

Apply:

The teacher divides the class into small homogeneous groups of 3-4 and has the

students design an advertisement to recruit Pony Express riders. Students at similar

academic levels can work together to create their advertisements. The lower level

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students and ELLs discuss a strategy for persuading people to become riders and draw a

picture and create a headline. The middle level students include persuasive sentences in

their ad and emphasize the rewards of the job, and the more advanced write a persuasive

paragraph, describing the requirements of the job as well as the rewards.

Students then break up into small heterogeneous groups of 2-3 where students

write questions they would want to ask either a driver for the Overland Mail Company, a

Pony Express rider or a telegraph operator. They ask each other the questions and

respond orally.

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References

Reflections: California: A changing state (2007). Orlando: Harcourt School Publishers.

A Look at... Fourth Grade in California Public Schools and the Common Core State

Standards (2011). California Department of Education. Retrieved from

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/glc4thgradecurriculum.pdf

Ventriglia, Linda D. Ph. D. (2010). Best practices differentiated instruction: the rule of

foot. 8th Edition. Mexico: Younglight Educate.

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differentiated lesson plan: communication developments in the 19th century

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