Where I'm From:
A Final Project
Grade Level: 4th Grade Subject: Social Studies
Time Needed: 2-3 weeks Topic: Immigration
Time Needed: 2-3 weeks Topic: Immigration
What School of Education Standards did you try to address in this lesson?
· Standard 3: Demonstrates Sophisticated Curricular Knowledge: Social studies education taught within a rich and thematic context that engages students helps them develop skills in a personally meaningful way. This final project on immigration includes a variety of components that will interest the students and help them develop a deeper understanding of the subject.
· Standard 12: Accommodates for All Students: The specific accommodations I have made for my students are listed throughout this document.
· Standard 13: Is a Reflective Practitioner: As an educator I am constantly reflecting on how my lessons are going as well as how my teaching affects my students. Not only would I reflect on this lesson afterwards, but I would also plan to make adjustments during the lesson as I saw it develop.
MMSD Standards
History
· Use reference and information research skills to gather and organize information
· Explain how other regions of the world influenced the history of the United States
Behavioral Science
· Compare personal cultural history with other diverse cultures
· Give examples of valuable contributions to the United States made by many cultural, ethnic, and racial groups
NCSS Standards
· Time, continuity, and change
· People, places, and environment
· Individual development and identity
· Global connections
Essential Questions
Overall:
· What contributions have different immigrant populations made to the United States?
Specific:
· What kinds of traditions, customs, foods, etc. did they bring with them?
· Where have they primarily settled?
Materials Needed:
· Computers/ variety of resource materials
· Research guide for each student
· Pencils
· Poster board
· Any materials necessary for students to create posters
· Additional things relevant to their country for fair (not required)
Objectives
· SWBAT use prior knowledge and research skills to create a final project about their background
· SWBAT create a poster that displays their research
· SWBAT present their poster to a larger audience and discuss what they learned
Lesson Context
This is the final portion of the immigrant unit, which brings everything together that we have talked about so far and makes it more meaningful for students. They will be creating a final research project about a specific immigrant group. To do this they will choose part of their background and will look at the history of the country, where the country is located, when people have/had immigrated from there, why they have/had immigrated, where they have primarily settled, and some contributions they have made to the United States.
Lesson Opening
To begin this lesson I will tell students that they are going to be starting a final project that will incorporate everything we have learned so far. What they are going to be doing is to think about their own background and choose one country where they have origins. I will tell them that I am part Russian and part German, so I would choose one of these to do my project on. The reason I am having them pick something from their own background is because it will make the project more meaningful for them because it relates to their own life.
Procedures
NOTE: All of this will take place over the course of 2-3 weeks. The exact time will vary depending on the group of students.
1. Once students pick their country (they might have to go home and ask their parents), they will begin to do research on their topic. I will have a guide (see research guide) to get them started and that will tell them the main ideas I am looking for. These will be the headings they should include on their poster. If there additional points of interest they would like to include they can feel free to do as much research as they want. I am just providing these guidelines so that they have some structure and direction for the project. Also, I will be open to other ways of them presenting their final material besides a poster if they have ideas.
2. The interview assignment the students completed in the third lesson might be an extremely valuable resource if they were able to interview someone from their family who has immigrated to the United States. This might give them some interesting things to include in their poster.
3. During the research phase we will spend a lot of time in the library and computer lab to give students a chance to use as many resources as possible.
4. Once students are completed with their research they will assemble their final poster.
5. We will then get ready for our final “Immigration Fair”, which will take place either in the classroom or in a larger space in the school if it is available. Students will each have a booth where they will have their poster set up and all of the other fourth grade classes (and parents) will come and visit. For the fair I will encourage students to bring in something that pertains to their country/immigrant group, although this will not be required. For example, they could bring in a food to share with people who come to their booth, play a song, dance, etc.
6. Have the fair!
NOTE: Before the fair actually begins I will give my students a chance to walk around and see what everyone else has done.
7. After the fair we will clean up and come back to the classroom. We will then have one last debriefing session to talk about how the how they thought the fair went and their impressions of the research process.
Closing
We will end by doing a class Wordle and have each student say 1-2 things about what they think immigration means now. We will then compare it to their original Wordle to see what they have learned and how their opinions might have changed since the beginning of the unit.
Special Considerations and Accommodations:
· I am having students research their own background for the final poster to make it more meaningful for them
· I will be open to alternative presentation ideas besides the poster to accommodate differences in my students. They can also do additional research beyond what I have in my guidelines.
· Although I will encourage students to bring in something relevant to their country/immigrant group for the fair, this will not be required
· I am inviting other fourth grade classes and parents to the fair so my students can share their hard work with a larger audience
Assessment:
There will be informal assessments throughout the unit as I conference with students and check-in with them on their progress. I will use a rubric (see sample rubric) at the end of the project to formally assess their poster and the research they did. The final Wordle will also be a good assessment tool to see what my students have learned and how their opinions might have changed since the beginning of the unit.
· Standard 3: Demonstrates Sophisticated Curricular Knowledge: Social studies education taught within a rich and thematic context that engages students helps them develop skills in a personally meaningful way. This final project on immigration includes a variety of components that will interest the students and help them develop a deeper understanding of the subject.
· Standard 12: Accommodates for All Students: The specific accommodations I have made for my students are listed throughout this document.
· Standard 13: Is a Reflective Practitioner: As an educator I am constantly reflecting on how my lessons are going as well as how my teaching affects my students. Not only would I reflect on this lesson afterwards, but I would also plan to make adjustments during the lesson as I saw it develop.
MMSD Standards
History
· Use reference and information research skills to gather and organize information
· Explain how other regions of the world influenced the history of the United States
Behavioral Science
· Compare personal cultural history with other diverse cultures
· Give examples of valuable contributions to the United States made by many cultural, ethnic, and racial groups
NCSS Standards
· Time, continuity, and change
· People, places, and environment
· Individual development and identity
· Global connections
Essential Questions
Overall:
· What contributions have different immigrant populations made to the United States?
Specific:
· What kinds of traditions, customs, foods, etc. did they bring with them?
· Where have they primarily settled?
Materials Needed:
· Computers/ variety of resource materials
· Research guide for each student
· Pencils
· Poster board
· Any materials necessary for students to create posters
· Additional things relevant to their country for fair (not required)
Objectives
· SWBAT use prior knowledge and research skills to create a final project about their background
· SWBAT create a poster that displays their research
· SWBAT present their poster to a larger audience and discuss what they learned
Lesson Context
This is the final portion of the immigrant unit, which brings everything together that we have talked about so far and makes it more meaningful for students. They will be creating a final research project about a specific immigrant group. To do this they will choose part of their background and will look at the history of the country, where the country is located, when people have/had immigrated from there, why they have/had immigrated, where they have primarily settled, and some contributions they have made to the United States.
Lesson Opening
To begin this lesson I will tell students that they are going to be starting a final project that will incorporate everything we have learned so far. What they are going to be doing is to think about their own background and choose one country where they have origins. I will tell them that I am part Russian and part German, so I would choose one of these to do my project on. The reason I am having them pick something from their own background is because it will make the project more meaningful for them because it relates to their own life.
Procedures
NOTE: All of this will take place over the course of 2-3 weeks. The exact time will vary depending on the group of students.
1. Once students pick their country (they might have to go home and ask their parents), they will begin to do research on their topic. I will have a guide (see research guide) to get them started and that will tell them the main ideas I am looking for. These will be the headings they should include on their poster. If there additional points of interest they would like to include they can feel free to do as much research as they want. I am just providing these guidelines so that they have some structure and direction for the project. Also, I will be open to other ways of them presenting their final material besides a poster if they have ideas.
2. The interview assignment the students completed in the third lesson might be an extremely valuable resource if they were able to interview someone from their family who has immigrated to the United States. This might give them some interesting things to include in their poster.
3. During the research phase we will spend a lot of time in the library and computer lab to give students a chance to use as many resources as possible.
4. Once students are completed with their research they will assemble their final poster.
5. We will then get ready for our final “Immigration Fair”, which will take place either in the classroom or in a larger space in the school if it is available. Students will each have a booth where they will have their poster set up and all of the other fourth grade classes (and parents) will come and visit. For the fair I will encourage students to bring in something that pertains to their country/immigrant group, although this will not be required. For example, they could bring in a food to share with people who come to their booth, play a song, dance, etc.
6. Have the fair!
NOTE: Before the fair actually begins I will give my students a chance to walk around and see what everyone else has done.
7. After the fair we will clean up and come back to the classroom. We will then have one last debriefing session to talk about how the how they thought the fair went and their impressions of the research process.
Closing
We will end by doing a class Wordle and have each student say 1-2 things about what they think immigration means now. We will then compare it to their original Wordle to see what they have learned and how their opinions might have changed since the beginning of the unit.
Special Considerations and Accommodations:
· I am having students research their own background for the final poster to make it more meaningful for them
· I will be open to alternative presentation ideas besides the poster to accommodate differences in my students. They can also do additional research beyond what I have in my guidelines.
· Although I will encourage students to bring in something relevant to their country/immigrant group for the fair, this will not be required
· I am inviting other fourth grade classes and parents to the fair so my students can share their hard work with a larger audience
Assessment:
There will be informal assessments throughout the unit as I conference with students and check-in with them on their progress. I will use a rubric (see sample rubric) at the end of the project to formally assess their poster and the research they did. The final Wordle will also be a good assessment tool to see what my students have learned and how their opinions might have changed since the beginning of the unit.
