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Lesson Planning Support for Preservice and Inservice Teacher-Librarians

Resources created by: Judi Moreillon, Ph.D.


IRLS 581: Collaborative Lesson Plan Assignment

Lesson Planning Support (Curriculum Standards, Information Literacy Standards, Rubrics)

Sample Completed Collaborative Planning Form

Resources for Student and Educator Use for this Lesson, including Internet Pathfinder

Materials: Bibligraphy Form, Notemaking Sheets, and Notemaking Rubric

Excerpts from The Atlantic Slave Trade

Sample Collaborative Lesson Plan - 8th-grade Social Studies: The Middle Passage

Note: This lesson was taught as the introductory lesson in a unit of study (as outlined below).

1. Motivation
(TL) Bookwalk through Tom Feelings book The Middle Passage: White Ships, Black Cargo. Show the illustration of Africans backed tightly on a slave ship. (CRT) Ask for volunteers to simulate the arrangement of people in the slaver hold (6 or 7 square feet, 2 to 3 feet of head room, ankles shackled with neighbor). Ask students to respond to this tableau by writing a note in their response journals. (TL) Record questions if students have them at this point.

Pose the question: How do we know what it was like on slave ships? Discuss primary source documents and the roles of the people who wrote the ones the CRT will read.

2. Student-friendly Objectives - At the end of this lessons, students will be able to:
* Develop questions while listening to primary sources.
* Organize and use the information to make notes.
* Collaborate in small groups to classify the roles of people (and artifacts) involved in the slave trade.
* Form study groups.

3. Presentation
* (TL) Record bibliographic information for The Atlantic Slave Trade by Johannes Postma on the bibliography form.
* (TL) Review types of notes: single words, short phrases, lists, abbreviations, sketches, and reference to a page number.
* (CRT) Read selections from the *Primary Documents of The Atlantic Slave Trade,* chapter in this book. See excerpts page.
* (Both) Help student identify the person, his/her role in the slave trade, and make class notes, which the students will copy onto individual notemaking sheets.
* (TL) Record students' questions as they are generated during the read aloud.

Modeling
* Project the notemaking and bibliography rubric. Assess the class notes. Remind students that their inquiry notes will be assessed using this rubric.
* Using the notes, begin a "List, Group, and Label" web by making a list of some of the roles and artifacts in the slave trade. Examples: captured slaves, slave ship captain, slave ship crew, slave traders, slave ship, shackles and irons.
* Let students know they will work in a small group to utilize their notes to complete this web.
* Remind students that they are organizing for inquiry topics, which they will pursue in small groups.

4. Student Practice Procedures
Students will work in groups to:
* Analyze the class notes/their notes.
* Complete the list, group, and label web.

5. Guided Practice
Both educators will support small group of students as they complete their list, group and label the slave trade people and artifacts on their web.

6. Closure
By rotation, ask groups share the items on their lists. Ask groups to contribute to the class web by sharing the groups on their webs. Label the groups and distribute cards for students to record their first and second choices for their inquiry projects. Let students know that in the next lesson they will be formulating questions for their study. Ask students to share their initial responses to this information with a neighbor.

Pose the question: From what types of resources will your inquiry group make notes? Share the topical text set and let students know there is an Internet pathfinder to support their small group study.

Not required:

Summary of Unit:
Lesson #2:
Motivation: What is an expert? Although all groups will know something about each perspective, only one group will become experts from that point of view.
Objectives: Students will
* Review their initial notes and determine which of their notes will be useful for their expert group research.
* Use their initial notes to brainstorm and then prioritize questions for their research.
* Record questions on a Concept Ladder.
Assessment: The students' questions (using a concept ladder approach) will demonstrate their focus for their research topics.
Bridge: In addition to books, what other resources could we use to answer our questions?

Lesson #3: (Multiple sessions for notemaking)
Motivation: What is the difference between watching a movie for pleasure or watching for information?
Objectives: Students will
*Rotate through centers in order to make notes and keep records from various sources.
*Utilize a rubric to assess their notes.
Assessment: The students' notes will demonstrate their comprehension of the materials: video, trade book resources, and Internet resources. A rubric will be used to access the students' individual note-making strategies and bibliographic records.
Bridge: What can we do with our notes? List possibilities, including writing a poem.

Lesson #4:
Motivation: Play some blues tunes. What makes the blues a unique genre of music?
Objectives: Students will
*Analyze a blues poem for rhythm and theme.
*Utilize their notes to web ideas for a blues poem stanza.
*Compose a stanza using figurative language, compose a class poem, and perform it.
Assessment: The small research groups will synthesize the facts and utilize figurative language to compose blues poem stanzas.
Bridge: There is a song that was inspired by the life of a famous slave named Harriet Tubman. Sing "Lifeline" by Walter Robinson and present outline of Tubman's biography.


Last updated: 18 August 2007