CIED 3622 Lesson Plan

Spring 2015
Title of Lesson: Australia
Grade: 7th
Alignment with Oklahoma Academic Standards
Literacy Skills Standard 1: The student will develop and demonstrate Common Core Social Studies reading literacy
skills.
A. Key Ideas and Details
2. Provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
B. Craft and Structure
4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
specific to domains related to history/social studies.
C. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.
LiteracySkillsStandard2:ThestudentwilldevelopanddemonstrateCommonCoreSocialStudieswritingliteracy
skills.
A. Text Types and Purposes
2. Write informative/ explanatory texts
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among
ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
B. Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Content Standard 1: The student will analyze data from a geographic perspective using the skills and tools of
geography.
1.
2.

Cite specific geographic information to support analysis.

Integrate visual information.

Content Standard 2: The student will examine the human and physical characteristics of the major regions of the
Eastern Hemisphere.
1. Integrate visual information in order to describe specific political regions of the Eastern Hemisphere, and
identify on a political map the major urban areas and countries.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to recall information learned about Australia and write a travel brochure about it.
Students will be able to look up information in their book and include it in their travel brochure.
Students will be able to make a recommendation of what they think would be helpful tips for travelers
considering the climate and environment of Australia.
Students will be able to differentiate between the facts and opinions listed on their brochures that they
create.

Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions

The students will be able to picture the everyday lives of Australian people and be sensitive to their cultures
because they have been learning about the life styles of different people around the world all year long.
They will also be able to form thoughts about what the geography and climate of Australia might be like
because they will be familiar with descriptive vocabulary relating to these topics. This is a basic lesson that
is just meant for informing the students therefore, there should not be any learning gaps associated with it.
The only possible learning gap I can think of is some vocabulary relating to different topics concerning
Australia in which case I will have a section in their fill in the blank notes that I provide for them where
they write down difficult or unknown terms for future reference.

Common Errors and Misconceptions

A misconception that students may have about Australia is its geography and climate.

Launch: 5 minutes
I will engage the students in this lesson by first asking them what they know about Australia. I will type
what they know on the first slide of the PowerPoint or smart notebook presentation. This will get the
students minds in the right place before I start the lesson and it will also give them a chance to speak and
be involved in the teaching part of the unit. I will save these facts that students tell me and then we can go
back at the end of the unit if there is time and go over if each one is true or false.

Instruction: 20 minutes

I will provide students with a handout that has notes with fill in the blanks on them where they will
write down the answer to the blank as they hear it in my PowerPoint presentation. This will keep the
students engaged while not taking up so much time that them actually writing notes themselves would
take.
I will have check in questions at the end of each PowerPoint slide or so asking someone to raise their
hand and answer a question that will be either asking them to summarize what we have learned so far
or to tell me their thoughts about a concept that they will have to think abstractly about. For example, a
check in question might ask students to Name some plants or animals that are indigenous to
Australia or to What is the advantage of marsupials having pouches?. I will make sure that every
student is engaged by asking him or her to only answer once until everyone has had a chance to answer
a question.
For some discussion questions, I will pose them to the whole class. I will do this by asking them to
think about their answer and then pair and share with their elbow partners.

Structured Practice and Application: 15-20 minutes

I will ask students to make a travel brochure over Australia as to give them a chance to apply the
knowledge that they just learned.
I might have students pair up and do this activity with a partner.
I will ask for 3 facts about anything that they thought was interesting about Australia that a tourist
should know when visiting. I will also ask them to show their creative side by including something that
the students think would be a fun activity that tourists should do while they are there. Although I want
them to be somewhat creative with this part of the brochure, their activity should relate to the content
that they just learned such as tourists should snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef or visit a koala habitat.
This activity will allow for me to provide feedback on and assess if they understand the information
because I will just read their brochures and make sure that they included an appropriate amount of
correct facts and it will be easy for me to see in their writing if they actually understand the content.

Closure: 5 minutes
To wrap up the lesson, I will have a few students to volunteer and come up and share their brochure and what
they learned with the class. This part would be better if they partnered up.

Differentiation/ Planned Support:

How will you provide students access to learning based on individual and group needs?
o I think that my lesson plan is compatible for almost any type of student. It is a creative
assignment in which students write down facts that they have just heard or that are right in
front of them on their notes so it does not matter if some students are behind others
academically. This means that I do not necessarily have to group students with similar needs.
o Students with IEPs or 504 plans can draw pictures on their brochure and explain them to the
class if writing and labeling is a task for them. If using partners for this activity, IEP students
can tell their partner their thoughts of what to write on the brochure and his or her partner
can do the writing and drawing.
o Early finishers can add some practical tips that tourists should know when travelling to
Australia such as what the climate is like and how to dress for the weather.
o There should be no common errors or misunderstandings but if there are, I will address them
by explaining myself more thoroughly. If a student is still confused, I could ask a different
student that understands what I am asking of the class to explain the activity because I know
that kids can sometimes understand other kids better than teachers because they use the same
words and have similar thought processes.

I will provide a list of vocabulary to fill in any gaps that students might have learning gaps about. I
will also have an example of a travel brochure with me to show the students in case they have never
seen one before.

Materials:
I will need a computer, a PowerPoint or Smart Notebook presentation, and a handout with fill in the blank
notes printed on it that pertain to my presentation. The students will need a piece of paper and a writing utensil.

Academic Language:

There are many key vocabulary words related to Australia that I will need to explain the meaning of
when teaching this lesson. These include;
o

Urban

Salinization

Depleted

Immigration

Labor force

Alliance

Free trade agreements

Reserves

Assimilation

Adventure tourism

I will teach these by explaining their meaning as I go on with my presentation as well as including a
fill in the blank form of the definitions in the note handout I give them.

I will give them the opportunity to use the new vocabulary that they have learned by asking for them
to use it in their travel brochures.

Assessment:
An informal way of assessing the students understanding of this lesson is to listen to their answers when
responding to the check in questions that I will include at the bottom of every other slide on my PowerPoint
presentation.
A formal way of assessing the students is to check their travel brochures to make sure that they met all of
the requirements asked of them and to read their facts thoroughly and determine if they are accurate. If they
are, then the students learned something and understood the lesson.
I will not have a rubric since this is just a quick and simple in-class project. I will also write on the board
what is expected of the students and I think that this will be a good enough rubric for them to reference if
they forget.