Towson University

Department of Secondary Education

Learning Differences Lesson Plan
Name: Garrett Maternick

Date: 10/5/15

Brief Class Description (contextual information including number of students, subject,

level, IEP/ELL/GT or other special considerations):
I am teaching a seventh grade world cultures GT class of around 32 students. The class is
divided into 8 groups of around 4-5 students per group. Since it is a GT class, there are no IEPs
for students with behavioral issues. However, the lesson will be modified to challenge these
students more than a traditional class.
Mod 10 is also the last class of the day. Therefore I will incorporate student dismissal into my
lesson.

Unit: Africa & Ancient Civilizations.

Lesson Topic: Evaluating the achievements of the Ancient Egyptian civilization.
Prior Knowledge (How do you know the students are ready for this lesson?):

Students understand the criteria that is used to define a civilization.

Students have a reliable basic background knowledge of the geography of Africa.
Students have sufficient knowledge of Egyptian culture.

Alignment:
Standard (State
{CCRS/Other} and
Professional
Organization
Content Standard)
R1.1.2 Uses context
to determine the
meaning of words.

Objective

Assessment

Activity(ies)

SWBAT use context

to determine the
meaning of
vocabulary words.

6.3.B.1 Examine how

physical and human
characteristics shape
the identity of places
and regions and
influence the
development of
civilizations in world

SWBAT evaluate the

achievements of
selected early African
civilizations. (Egypt)

Students will
individually read the
text in order to
identify early
Egyptian
achievements and
gain vocabulary
knowledge.
Students will describe
elements of cultural
achievement such as
political religious,
social, or economic.

Students will
individually read the
text in order to
identify early
Egyptian
achievements and
gain vocabulary
knowledge.
The class will use the
mobile lab laptops
and the textbook to
complete a chart
where they highlight
early Egyptian (3050
BC 332 BC)
achievements, state

history.

R1.3.4 Uses
understanding of the
meaning, coherence,
validity, and relevancy
of ideas to guide
comprehension and
make connections
within and across
texts.

SWBAT utilize online

resources to examine
the meaning, validity,
and relevancy of
ancient Egyptian
achievements and
their lasting effect on
the modern world.

Students will find 3

online resources that
illustrate the
importance and
lasting effect of 3 new
ancient Egyptian
achievements.

whether the
achievement is
political, social,
religious, or
economic, and then
use evidence from the
text to support their
claim.
Students will use the
laptops to research 3
additional ancient
Egyptian
achievements.
Students will have to
find a picture of each
new achievement.
Under each Picture,
the student will have
to write 3 sentences
that include a topic
sentence and evidence
that supports why the
achievement has had a
lasting effect on the
world. Students
should include
whether the
achievement is
Political, Religious,
Social, or Economic
in their topic sentence.

Materials Needed:

Laptops
o Some backup computers in case some laptops are dysfunctional.
o Backup plan: 35 copies of the worksheet.
o System Requirements to Run Google Earth
o Handout Converted to Computer File Format & Uploaded to Student Drive.
World History Text Books (pgs. 102-106)
Internet Connection
Projector (To review directions, and guide the submission process)

Technology Integration/Needs:

Tech: Every student will us the mobile lab laptops to record information from the reading
and classify it in the proper section of the chart. After the chart is complete, everyone will
begin conducting their own research to identify three new ancient Egyptian
Achievements, find a picture of it, and then place the picture into the word document and

explain in three sentences (a topic sentence and 2 supporting evidences) why the
achievement has had a lasting effect on the world.

Lesson Procedure:
Opening Activity (describe your warm-up/engagement/hook/motivation):
The opening of class will start with the students walking through the door, taking a seat,
and opening up their folders to pull out their drill sheets and previously graded work. Students
will be asked to transition the graded work into their binders and begin their drill that is listed on
the board. The drill will read, Think about what you have already learned about cultural
diffusion. List 2-3 household items that are examples of cultural diffusion. The drill should only
take the first 2-3 minutes of class. As students are finishing up their drill they will raise their
hand as a signal for the teacher to stamp their work. (If a student has a stamp on their drill, they
receive a small amount of extra credit). After the first 3 minutes of the drill, the teacher will lead
a short class discussion about what they have written.
Time Allotted: 6 Minutes

Adaptations (for IEP, ELL, culture, and other special needs):

Students who have an IEP for writing or reading will receive extra assistance from a
teachers aide. This aide will scribe and read to these students who are struggling.
Students with special needs will be given some extra time to receive a stamp.
ELL students can receive a translated version of the text. (none in this class though)

Transition (explicitly linking concepts/activities/objectives):

After the short discussion of the drill, the teacher can transition into the reading activity
by saying, Okay everyone! Can we please put our drill sheets back into the left hand side of the
folder and put the folder in the middle of the group? Now, can I have everyone grab a textbook
from the middle of the group and open to page 102 while I pass out laptops? (I would have two
student volunteers help me pass out laptops).
Activity 1 (describe activity):
Once every student has received his/her laptop and has the text open to page 102 Section
4: Egyptian Achievements, the teacher will guide the students with the projector about how to
open the file with the classwork for today. Students should open Microsoft word, click open, my
computer, find the student drive, and then open Mrs. Seiferts folder. From here they will open
the classwork template. Students will be instructed to read Section 4 (pgs. 102-106)
independently and identify six ancient Egyptian achievements from the text. They will then need
to collaborate to determine whether the achievement is social, political, religious, or economic
and lastly explain why they choose social, political, religious, or economic. We will begin this
activity by reading the first page together and identifying one achievement, stating which
classification it is, and then explaining why. Students will then be expected to pick up the
directions from there.

Time Allotted: 19 minutes (4 minutes instructing, 15 minutes working on the worksheet)

Adaptations:
Students with special needs will only have to identify 4 of the 6
achievements.
Students who have an IEP for writing or reading will receive extra
assistance from a teachers aide. This aide will scribe and read to these
students who are struggling.
ELL students can receive a translated version of the text and assignment
directions. (none in this class though)
Transition:
After 15 minutes have surpassed, the teacher will transition into the next assignment by
explaining the directions to the second page, online research. The directions read,
Use google to conduct your own research. Find 3 additional achievements of the ancient
Egyptians.
List each achievement and include a picture.
Under each picture write 3 sentences that include a topic sentence and evidence that
supports why the achievement has had a lasting effect on the world. (Include whether
the achievement is Political, Religious, Social, or Economic in your topic sentence!)
If/when you finish early, use google earth to find modern examples of the achievements
they researched.

Activity 2 (describe activity):

Students will take the next 12 minutes of class to complete the online research
assignment. Students will Use google to conduct their own research and find 3 additional
achievements of the ancient Egyptians. Each example should include a picture and under each
picture should include 3 sentences that include a topic sentence and evidence that supports why
the achievement has had a lasting effect on the world. We will model one example together, then
the students will be expected to find 3 achievements on their own.
Time Allotted: 12
Adaptations:
Students with special needs will only have to find and explain 2 new
achievements.
Students who have an IEP for writing or reading will receive extra
assistance from a teachers aide. This aide will scribe and read to these
students who are struggling.
ELL students can receive a translated version of the text and assignment
directions. (none in this class though)
Transition:
Once 12 minutes have elapsed, the class will be instructed to complete the exit ticket on
exitticket.org before they leave.

Additional Activity(ies) -- add as necessary with adaptations and transitions:

Directions to the additional activity is provided on the worksheet of activity 2. Students

who finish early will use google earth to find modern examples of the achievements they
researched.
Closing Activity (summarize learning and/or revisit objective):
The closing activity will be an exit ticket from exitticket.org.

Safety Valve (What will you have students do if you have time left in class?):
If the class excels with the content and completes all of the assessments early, we will
hold a class discussion. Groups who finish early can collaborate on their google earth
findings.

Name:
Period:
Date:
Egypt 3050 BC 332 BC
Achievements

Political, Social, Religious, or

Economic

Why did you pick Political,

Social, Religious, or
Economic

Online Research
Achievements of the Ancient Egyptians

Use google to conduct your own research. Find 3 additional achievements of the ancient
Egyptians.
List each achievement and include a picture.
Under each picture write 3 sentences that include a topic sentence and evidence that
supports why the achievement has had a lasting effect on the world. (Include whether
the achievement is Political, Religious, Social, or Economic in your topic sentence!)
If/when you finish early, use google earth to find modern examples of the achievements
they researched.

After the Lesson:

Reflection (How did you adjust instruction based on student responses to your
formative assessments? What are the implications for future instruction?)
What part(s) of your lesson were successful in terms of student learning? On what
evidence are you basing this opinion? Why do you think your students met with success?
o In terms of student learning, students collaborated very well and were able to
successfully fill out the chart on ancient Egyptian achievements. Based on the
evidence and results from exitticket.org, the students successfully comprehended
all of the key vocabulary from the reading. The only misconception that the exit
ticket identified is that students thought that Egyptians still wrote in
hieroglyphics.

I believe that my students were met with success because they were fully engaged in the
work. Whenever my 7th grade class has the opportunity to use the mobile lab, everyone is
excited to start working for the day. Also, since students could scroll down the page and
see that when they were finished they could start the google earth activity, they had an
incentive to read and work together to finish the chart.

What parts of your lesson did not quite go as you expected? (This can be positive or
negative. For example, you may not have expected the high quality of the response you
received from lower-ability students.) What is your evidence? Why do you think your
students responded the way they did?
o A few things did not go quite as I expected them too in this lesson. First, all of the
computers were working properly during first period, but as the day progressed,
many of the computers started to shut down and became unable to open or save
any work. In order to compensate for this issue, I printed out plenty of back up
worksheets that contained the work for the day. I was surprised at this point in my

lesson as well because even though some students were given a worksheet, they
remained engaged in the activity because they could collaborate with peers and
work with a partner on a computer for the google earth activity. I think that my
students responded positively to the technology failure because they are sort of
used to it. From what I saw, the servers were out of date and the computers
seemed to malfunction often. In conclusion, I believe that technology and
collaboration work hand in hand in making a lesson successful.
What feedback did you receive from your mentor teacher or any other observer of this
lesson?
o I received primarily positive feedback from my lesson. The only
recommendations I received were to align my objectives for the day to better suite
my lesson. Both my mentor teacher and professor Foley thought that the exit
ticket application was a great aspect of my lesson.
What, if anything, would you change if teaching this lesson again? What results would
you anticipate from this change?
o The only think I would change about this lesson is the mobile lab. Provided my
future school has more funding, I believe that if I substitute the laptops for tablets
then students will be able to successfully complete more of the activities in the
lesson. Tablets would make running google earth and the exit ticket app faster and
easier for students. In addition, students could read the history text on an
application, which would have them more engaged in the lesson.
Which InTASC Standards were demonstrated in this teaching segment? Explain how
your lesson incorporates each of these Standards.
o Standard 2: Learning Differences: I was able to slightly modify the lesson for
the exceptional and struggling students.
o Standard 3: Learning Environments: Since the start of the year, my mentor and
I created a positive learning environment for the students. We established mutual
respect between us and the students as well as provided everyone with positive
feedback for encouragement.
o Standard 4: Content Knowledge: I was able to structure the lesson and provide
my students with the tools necessary to assure mastery of the content. This was
proven with the exit ticket.
o Standard 6: Assessment: I was able to assess my students in multiple ways to
monitor learner progress through multiple sources and allow students to track
their own progress.
o Standard 7: Planning for Instruction: I planned my instruction so that students
could use cross-disciplinary skills to connect political, social, and economic
achievements of the ancient Egyptians.
o Standard 8: Instructional Strategies: Learners had access to technology, texts,
and maps.