Diana L. Sammis

2^nd Grade

Lesson Duration:  1.5 hours

Curriculum Area:  Math, Science, Technology and Social Studies

 

Dwellings

 

Lesson Overview:  The IP model of Problem Solving will be used for this lesson.  Students will be asked to search for how different types of humans have lived in different habitats or parts of the world.  Already they have learned how different animals live around the world based on their surroundings and environment.  This will further teach students how the environment can impact how animals and humans live.

 

Standard:  MST 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design
Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

 

Performance Indicator: Identify different dwellings of humans based on habitat and their characteristics.

 

Goal: The student will explore and learn about how the environment impacts how different peoples around the world live according to habitat.

Goal:  The student will reflect on their own ways of dealing with environmental adversity and compare them to civilizations of long ago.

 

Objective:  Given web sites and books on three different civilizations of the world, the student will research and generalize how these civilizations lived by building replicas with 3 distinguishing characteristics about how environment made these dwellings appropriate for each civilization.

 

Materials: 

-  Books on the topic of Native Americans

-  Computers with internet access

-  URL’s to appropriate web sites about each civilization

-  Paper for note taking

-  Assorted crafts for building the replicas

 

Lesson Implementation: 

 

Anticipatory Set:  While seated on the rug, I will ask the students about how they deal with the seasons by asking, “When it’s cold out, what do you do to keep warm?  When it’s hot out, how do you keep warm?”  Some of them may say they wear coats and gloves.  I will let them know that these things are similar to how animals keep warm by having extra skin or fur.  Then I will connect to the new lesson by asking, “How do you keep your houses warm?”

Perhaps answers of electric or oil heat will pop up and fireplaces.  Also, solar panels and other devices used for heat production.  Then I will ask, “How do keep your houses cool in the summer?”   Answers of air conditioners and open windows and shades drawn will abound.  “Well how do you think people kept warm and cool before electricity and before modern times?”

 

“We’re going to take a look at different types of dwellings of people across the world and how they lived before there was electricity.”  They used different ways of keeping warm just as we use things to keep ourselves warm.  How do you think they lived and kept warm or cool in warm weather?  Let’s find out and explore some different civilizations like the Iroquois, Egyptians and Eskimos.

                                                            

Information Processing Model to be used:  The students will be using problem solving skills to find out how Eskimos, American Indians and Egyptians lived.  I will assign each group a civilization to research using books and the internet. 

 

Monitoring Inquiry Process:  There are computers in the classroom as well as several reference books about the topic that I have set aside which will avail to the students many resources for their projects.  I will circulate around the room to ensure that all students are researching the correct material and not going too in depth or onto other subtopics of each civilization.  I will periodically remind them that we are looking for the types of dwellings people lived in. 

A worksheet will be given to the students to aid in the process of staying on task.  The worksheet will have boxes and is attached as a visual aid.  The student should locate three facts for each box.  There are different ways to answer the questions as each civilization may produce different answers from each student/group. 

Accommodations:

For students who are highly-able, I will assign them to be the chief researchers in the group.  For students with special needs, they will be assigned the role of reading aloud the final results of the group’s research. 

The replica building allows for much creativity.  This allowance does not call for there to be accommodations made for the replica building.  I am interested to see how each student sees each dwelling.

 

Use of technology:

These are the URL’s of web sites with material relevant to this lesson:

For Egypt

http://www.touregypt.net/kids/

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/environment/index.htm

http://www.clevelandart.org/kids/egypt/roseff.html

http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/egypt.html

 

For Native Americans and Inuit

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/NativeAmerhome.html/nativeamhome.html

http://iroquoisindians.freeweb-hosting.com/

http://www.native-languages.org/kidfaq.htm

Independent Practice:  After the research section is completed, I will ask the students to build a replica of the dwellings they read about.  These could be pyramids, igloos or long houses etc. 

 

Closure: 

1. The students will present the results of their research to the rest of the class in small groups.
2. Meta-cognitive Moment: Once the students have drawn and specified their features, I will ask them to explain how they went about gathering the information.  Then, I will ask them to tell me why this lesson was important and what they can draw from it as far as the ingenuity of humans’ ways of dealing with adversity before the invention of electricity.

 

Critique:  As I was doing the anticipatory set, did I feel as though the students were adequately able to participate based upon their answers to my questions?  If their answers were inappropriate or outside the realm of correctness, I would offer some more information about the types of answers I am looking for.

Were the websites and books I provided appropriate for the research assignment?  In other words, how challenging was it for the students to find the information and was the language in the books and sites age appropriate?

At the point where I introduce the replica building, were my explanations of what was expected understood by the students?   Was the research I assigned able to help them get the information they all needed to complete the assignment?  (Did I ensure they all had three answers in each box?)

 

Diagnostic Assessment:  During the anticipatory set, I will refer back to our lesson on how animals dealt with adversities in the environment.  From there I will have the students brainstorm how they are able to deal with adversity in their own environments.  Based on their answers, I will assess how well they are able to proceed with lesson based on how much information I have to offer short of giving the answers to the questions.

 

Formative Assessment:  They will be building the replicas in class.  I will check to make sure they have three elements of how that particular civilization dealt with adversity in the environment.

 

Summative Assessment:  Each student will present their replicas to the class and show where they placed each adaptation on their dwellings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you and your group conduct research, fill in the boxes with answers that you find on the computer and in your book.			Environment:  Where did they live?
Egyptians
Inuit
Native Americans