Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

I. Describe the Class: I am teaching a third-grade class. The class is made up of 24 students.
One of the students has ADHD, as he struggles to do simple assignments and is
constantly distracting other students/wanting to discuss off-topic things. The disruptions
cause his classmates at his table to either get off-topic or miss important parts of the
lesson. The classroom is divided into small groups of four. This provides students with
the ability to go from teacher-student instruction to working independently or with their
group mates, depending on the lesson.

II. Subject/Skill: For this lesson, I am teaching students the map of the United States as well
to identify the directions north, south, east, and west when examining a map of the United
States. Additionally, students will learn the names and spellings of all fifty states.

III. Objectives:
- After reflecting on their prior knowledge of the United States, students will be able to
identify the state they were born in on the map (if born in the United States.) Students
will share with the class what they know about that state, as well as connect with their
group mates about the states. Students born outside of the United States can share with
the class any stories they know about the country they were born in or something they
would like to learn more about.
- After studying a map of the United States, students will be able to identify at least
fifteen states on the map on their own.
- After forming an understanding of direction (in relation to reading a map using the
compass) students will be able to identify north, south, east, and west on a map, as well
as differentiate where states are located.

IV. Procedures:
- State learning objective/establish mental set: “Today, we will be examining a map of
the United States and begin learning all of the fifty states' names and locations on the
map. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to plot at least 15 out of the 50 states
on a map. You should know the names of all the states.”
- Review prerequisites: First, I will have students reflect on their knowledge of the
United States. I will put up a blank map on the board, and have each of the groups work
together independently for five minutes to see how many states they can plot on their
worksheets based on prior knowledge. (the first side, see Materials V) After the five
minutes is up, a member from each group will come up to the board to see if their guesses
were correct (a filled-in map with the states will be shown after every student has shown
their map.) After, we will have a brief class discussion on which states students were born
in, what they know about that specific state, and connect with their classmates about it.
 Students who were born out of the country can share with the class where they were born
and what is something they would like to learn about the country they were born in.
- Present new material: Following the class discussion, I will show a map of the United
States and explain the regions as well as the directions on the map. I will also explain the
purpose of knowing the states and their locations, and how it impacts everyday societal
things, such as navigation or even politics. I will then have students flip their worksheets
over onto the backside and begin filling in their maps with the correct states.
- Conducting learning probes: After the completion of the maps, I will have students
turn their papers back over. I will then show a blank map on the board, and call on
students in a circle around the room to show me a random state that appears on the board.
If the student doesn’t know, they can turn their paper back over for five seconds to try to
identify the correct state. If the student still can’t figure out the state, their turn will go to
the next student. The students who guess correctly the most will win a prize at the end of
the game.
- Independent practice: For independent practice, students will put their personal maps
away and be given a new worksheet where they will list at least 15 out of 50 states from
memory. Additionally, they will be given another map where they will have to plot the 15
states they can remember onto the map.
- Assess performance and provide feedback: Call on students to share 5 of the 15 states
they chose and plot them on the board for everyone to examine.
- Provide distributed practice: Beginning this lesson on a Monday, we can learn 10 new
states Tuesday-Thursday, and on Friday learn 5 states. This way, students are learning
states each day on top of their original 15. This serves to not be too overwhelming for the
student and allows them to build on knowledge gained from the day before.

V. Materials:
- First worksheet containing blank maps - front and back
- Independent worksheet containing numbered list 1-15 and a blank map

VI. Grouping Structures:

- Students will be organized into their usual groups of 4. There will be a combination of
general classroom instruction and interaction as well as small group interaction.

VII. Modifications:
- For my student with ADHD, he will be required to only list and plot ten of the assigned
states rather than fifteen. I hope that this method will keep him engaged longer and make
him less likely to lose interest in the subject.

VIII. Assessment:
- At the end of the lesson (end of the school week) students will create a small
informative poster focusing on one state. Each student will be assigned a different state.
This project will include things like:
1) What is the state flower?
2) What is the state flag?
3) What is the capital of this state? Who is the governor?
4) What is the state bird? State flower?
5) What is a fun fact you learned about this state?