1. The Assure Methods
Analyze the Learners
Characteristics
The students are a group of fourth graders with 20 students in all. The ratio of girls to guys is
slightly uneven with 11 girls to the 9 guys in the class. The class is multicultural consisting of 2
Muslims, 3 Jews and 2 African Americans, between these groups multiple holidays are
celebrated.
Entry Competencies
The 4th graders have these abilities
o Work in groups
o Have basic research skills
o Hold discussions in class
o Make crafts and other arts
Learning Styles
The students at this point would still require hands on activities, and methods that will keep
their attention focused on the topic. Due to the stage of development in the student’s brains,
lectures and large text reading would be something to stay away from.
State Objectives
My students will describe the popular holiday traditions of multiple cultures after watching
YouTube videos, making group posters, listening to podcasts, taking polls on twitter, and
constructing crafts after 3 weeks with 80% accuracy.
State Methods Media and Material
Computers- Computer time in the schools media center will be needed to complete group
research for a class presentation.
Craft Supplies- Crafts will be used to demonstrate basic icons in each holiday discussed. The
crafts will determine the student’s ability to recreate and discuss some information about the
2. craft created. The craft supplies will be purchased at a local crafts store or through a school
catalogue.
Podcasts- students will listen to a podcast the teacher had created about the holidays in the
unit plan, and then asks questions or comment about the holidays.
Poster Boards- I will use the poster boards as a way to get the students engaged in group and
class discussion about different holidays. The poster boards will be bought from a local store
and provided for the class.
Twitter- Twitter will be used to create a poll that will find out what holiday is most popular
among the students in the class. It will also be used as a quick quiz tool to poll how much the
students know about the holidays beforehand.
YouTube- Creative videos will be used to portray different holidays and their traditions. The
teacher will fill in any extra information after each holiday is portrayed to students. The videos
will be used to generate class discussion about how different cultures differ in holiday
traditions. The videos will be found in video stores, or through the school media room.
Utilize Media and Materials
Preview the Materials
I will review the content of each video, construct crafts for examples, and prepare my own
sample research poster to present to the class.
Prepare the Materials
I will create a daily lesson plan and organize the materials into separate folders according to the
day they will be used.
Prepare the Environment
During the first few days the desks will be arranged for best viewing of videos in the classroom.
The will be reorganized later into groups during arts and crafts for better communication
between classmates while doing the craft project. During research time I will need to make sure
all the computers in the media center work before the class is brought there to do research.
The desks in the classroomwill be reorganized to prepare for group presentations. At this point
the desks will be organized to best view a poster presentation.
Prepare the Learners
During the videos I will start the discussion to get a class discussion going about the differences
in holiday traditions. I will provide examples of crafts and posters, and give examples on how to
3. create and present a craft and poster project. I will present a rubric and go through it explaining
what is expected during each section of the lesson plan.
Provide the Learning Experience
o Craft Supplies- students will be provided with craft materials to make icons for different
holidays, i.e. Christmas would be a manger or tree, Chinese New Year could be a dragon.
Students will be graded on participating and attempting to make a craft with their best
effort.
o Podcasts- The students will listen in class to a podcast, and shortly after ask questions
and comment about the podcast they listened to.
o Videos- Students will be shown multiple videos on different holiday traditions from
many cultures. After each holiday is presented a class discussion about the traditions
will be started. Students will be graded on participation in the group discussion.
o Research Poster- Students will choose or be assigned a holiday from a list of cultural
holidays, in pairs each group will do basic research on a holidays traditions, and present
it to the class. Students will be graded on their ability to work with their partners, and
their participation in presenting to the class.
o Twitter- Students will have access to computers to take a twitter poll on the teachers
twitter account for the class.
Require Learner Participation
Small-Group Activities
Students will work in small groups to create projects, and cooperate with a partner to present
their topic to a larger group. Students will also be engaged in small group discussion while
creating crafts. They will be discussing the tradition behind their craft with other students in
their small groups. They will then work together to write a paper about the similarities and
differences between their holiday crafts.
Large-Group Activities
Students will discuss the different holidays and their traditions as a class after watching the
videos on holiday traditions. The students will discuss how different holidays ae similar and
different to those they had experienced in their lives. Each student will add input into the
conversation, so no student is left out. Students will also describe their researched holidays to
the class, and will be expected to give a small amount of information about the traditions of the
holiday.
Evaluate and Revise
Assessment of Learner Achievement
4. The following is a guideline and grading rubric to track the progress the students made in
learning the holiday traditions discussed is class. This rubric will rack the accuracy in which the
students were able to perform the set tasks.
Twitter (5)
o Did the students participate in the polls offered on twitter?
Podcasts (5)
o Did the students participate in the question and comment session after the short
podcast?
Crafts (15 points)
o Did the student accurately create a craft for the holidays they were given?
o Was a clear effort put into creating the crafts?
o Did the student participate in the small group discussion?
YouTube/Video (20 points)
o Did the student listen and watch the video when it was presented?
o Did the student participate in the class discussion?
o Did the student add to the conversation?
o Was the student respectful of others opinions about the topics?
Research Poster (30 points)
o Did the student research the topic they picked?
o Did they research their topic accurately?
o Did they use the databases and websites the teacher presented to them for
accurate research?
o Did the student communicate with their partner?
o Did the student work well with their partner?
o Did he student present their information to the class?
o Was the student respectful to hose presenting their topics?
Evaluation of Media and Methods
5. The teacher will examine and valuate the student’s response to group discussions, as well as
evaluate the students attempt at the group and partner projects. The teacher will supervise the
students as they undergo he tasks they were presented, as well as give feedback and
encouragement during while the students are attempting their projects.
Evaluation of Overall Instruction
Both the teacher and the student will evaluate the different tasks that were performed in the
class. A task evaluation will be presented to the students to evaluate what they liked about the
assignments, and what the instructor could have done better. The instructor will also look
evaluate the students’ progress, and find the areas that worked well, and what the instructor
could change to help the students further grow in knowledge. The instructor will revise the
lesson plan on a daily bases to consistently improve the way the topics are presented to the
students.