Teacher: Alex Prittie Room #:
W 224
Lesson # in unit:
Period (s):
6
Topic:
Song Dynasty
Social Studies Lesson Objective and Assessment:
By the end of class the student will be able to:



Describe elements of Song Dynasty culture
Describe key innovations during the Song Dynasty
Understand how Chinese society changed as a result of the Golden Age (Song and Tang Dynasties)
NCSS Thematic Standards
Culture and Cultural Diversity
Power, Authority, and Governance
Time, Continuity, and Change
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
People, Places, and Environments
Science, Technology, and Society
Individual Development and Identity
Global Connections
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Civic Ideals and Practices
Supporting Diverse Learners
Not only do I use a very visual Powerpoint during this lesson, but I also have the students play a
review game that helps students learn the content while having fun.
Strategies/Activities Selected:


Powerpoint – Many visuals
Trashketball – A lighthearted review game
Methods for Instruction
Class/Group Discussion
Cooperative Learning
Small Group
Guided Practice
Lecture or Direct
Instruction
Bookwork (Reading)
Question/Answer
Learning Stations
Teacher Modeling/Demo.
Journal writing
Role Play
Hands-on
Inquiry Learning
Game
Simulation/Role Playing
Independent Learning
Other
Use of Materials
Teacher Manual pg #
Student Text pg #
Picture Books
More Activities That Teach
Handouts:
Manipulative
Maps
Artifacts
Related Equipment:
Other:
Adapted materials
Use of Technology
Cell Phone
PollEverywhere.com
CPS Clickers
Elmo Document Camera
Software
Student Computers
Teacher Computer w/LCD
Video Clips/DVD
Website
Other
Lesson Agenda
Warm up: How will you support students in accessing prior knowledge, personal, real world and/or cultural connections?
None – I want the kids to have enough time for the game during class.
Transitioning and Stating Objectives: We talked about the Tang dynasty on Friday. After today’s lesson, you will
have a better idea of how the Tang dynasty transitioned into the Song, what qualities made the Song dynasty
unique, and the lasting legacy both of these dynasties had.
Transition to Instruction: What support strategies will you use to scaffold students learning so they meet or exceed
targeted?
I use an engaging Powerpoint with numerous pictures to talk about the history of the Song Dynasty. I feel that the
pictures that I use throughout this Powerpoint are necessary in understanding the culture of the Song Dynasty
because much of it was rooted in art and architecture. My plan is to keep this section of the lesson to a maximum
of 12 minutes because I want the students to have enough time to play the review game and discuss its
significance at the end.
Transition Guided Practice: For my guided practice, I am going to use a review game to help the students review
what they have learned about the Tang and Song Dynasties over the last two classes. The review game is called
trashketball. I will divide the class into two groups. I will then ask one student from one group to come up and
answer a multiple-choice question about the Song or Tang Dynasties. If they get the question correct, they will get
1 point for their team and the opportunity to toss a tape ball into a wastepaper basket. There will be three spots to
throw the tape ball from and each tape-line will be a different point value. It is my hope that this game will help
get the students up and energized wile also sparking their interest in the content.
Transition to Independent Practice and Conferencing: None
Transition to Wrap up/Closing: How will you engage students in self-assessment and/or reflection on key concept?
The Final component of my lesson will require students to simply share their opinion with the rest of the class. I
will ask them which Dynasty they thought made the bigger difference to China today.
Daily Assessment How do you know your
students met your lesson objective(s) and to
what degree?
Bloom’s Taxonomy
knowledge
comprehension
application
analysis
synthesis
evaluation
Formative:
Class discussion
CPS clickers
Email teacher
Entrance/Exit slip
Teacher Observe
Listened to conversations
Quiz
Thumbs up, neutral, or down
Homework check
Video quiz
Voting
Whiteboard Check
Other – review game
Summative:
Test
Project
Report
Presentation
Final Exam
Other
Additional Teacher Preparation:
Copy:
Locate:
Daily Reflection This would be a section at the end for the teacher to note any strengths or weaknesses of the plan. What are next the
steps for students and how will you get them there? What worked well?
I was very pleased with how this lesson went today. One thing that was definitely a strength was how nicely this
lesson transitioned from the lesson I gave on Friday. We reviewed for a very brief period of time at the beginning
of the class and then went seamlessly into the Song Dynasty. It was very refreshing to see students so engaged in
the teacher-led component of my lesson. The students had many more questions today than they have in previous
lessons and I was fortunate enough to know the answers to all of them. The best part of this lesson however, was
the review game! Students were so excited to get out of their desks and actually play a game. The students knew
the answers to nearly all of the questions and in many cases, didn’t even need to look at their notes. This tells me
that they grasped the factual content of the lessons I taught both on Friday and today.
The one weakness that I felt this lesson had was the conclusion. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to have the students
continue playing the game that they seemed to enjoy so much, or cut them off to do the final closing conversation.
In the end, I chose to let the students continue playing the game. In hind site, I should have stopped the game and
had the final conversation because nearly the entire class was spent working with factual knowledge, and the
conclusion I had ready for the students would have asked them to analyze what we were learning. In the future, I
will stick with the plan the whole time because that’s why I made it!