Gwynedd Mercy University

School of Business and Education (20 points)

Name: Mia Doto Grade Level: 2nd Grade
Topic: Social Studies (Urban, Rural, and Suburban Communities)
PA Core or Academic Standard(s): PA Standard - 7.2.2.A Identify the physical
characteristics of places. (1 point)
Big Idea(s): Learning how communities are different and discovering what features are
found in rural, urban, and suburban communities .
(1 point)
Essential Questions:
-What are the three different types of communities?
- What characteristics are typical of each type of community?
(1 point)
Lesson Objective/Performance Expectation: What will students know and be able to
do as a result of this lesson? “Students will (action verb/content) by/through
(assessment).” (1 point)
-Students will identify and define the three types of communities (urban, suburban, and
rural) by working together in groups to illustrate and include its characteristics.
-Students will identify pros and cons of the three types of communities in terms of
environmental concerns, population, transportation, production and use of goods, and
careers.
Domain I: Planning and Preparation

1. Briefly describe the students in your class, detailing all those with special needs.
Include an explanation of how you will meet the needs of ALL learners through
Differentiated Instruction.
(2 points)

-My second-grade class has 20 students altogether. I got lucky this year because I have 10
male students and 10 female students. There are two students in the class with learning
disabilities and one student with hearing loss. My two students with learning disabilities
have autism and have a one-on-one aide with them at all times. If these students need a
break they have the option to hang out in the back of the classroom where I have a carpet.
On the carpet, they can play with puzzles, fidget toys of their interest, and read books
from our classroom library. In addition, I have a student with hearing loss. To
accommodate this student, I wear a special microphone that is connected to her hearing
aids. This feature makes it easier for my students to hear me better. In order to
accommodate all learners throughout the lesson I will be monitoring all students in their
groups and ensuring they all are receiving positive reinforcement. If a student is
struggling throughout the lesson or does not finish in time, they can work on it at the end
 of the day. I have a set time at the end of the day, which is 20 minutes long, where
students can get one-on-one help if needed while other students read a book of their
choice. Usually, I can see those who struggle, but parents are more than welcome to
request individualized support.

2. Explain and show evidence of the psychological principles/theories you used in

constructing this lesson. (Example: Explain how the use of scaffolding during a
mathematics lesson would evidence a reference to Vygotsky’s theoretical
approach.)
(2 points)

-Throughout my lesson, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theories of learning and

collaborative learning are used. My lesson incorporates group work which is
enforced by Vygotsky’s theory. Group work/collaborative learning is perfect for
students to come together and interact with one another. Social interaction at a
young age is key and helps with social skills which are vital in life.

Domain II: Classroom Environment

3. Managing the Classroom: Describe the effective classroom routines and

procedures in place that result in little or no loss of instructional time. (Example:
“Students know to get their math journals on the back table on their way to the
carpet, and come with pencils ready.” Morning arrival, afternoon dismissal, etc.”)
(2 points)

● Students start their morning around 8:50 by coming into the classroom and
unpacking their bags.
● Once unpacked they have morning work to complete which will then lead into
whole group reading once everyone is finished.
● Depending on what our reading time consists of we either meet on the carpet as
a class or popcorn read in their assigned seats.
● After reading we normally follow up with guided reading groups. Where student
groups meet with me as a group or do literature centers on their own.
● After 20-35 minutes we then eat snack and watch an educational video of the
day which can include interesting facts about an animal.
● After snack we move on to phonics for 2o minutes
● Then we move onto writing which has recently been focused on animals.
Students are writing about any animal of their choice and looking up facts about
their animal in their books from the library.
● Around 11:45, recess and lunch come. At 12:45, students return back to the
classroom and put away their lunches.
● This is when math starts and students are always know to take out their red math
books.
● After math we move onto social studies or science
 ● Right now we are focusing on social studies and learning about communities.
Social studies lasts around 25 minutes until we move on to science. Science
tends to take longer depending on what curriculum we are covering.
● To wrap up the day we have dear time
● At 2:45, the students head to specials which alternates every day. After special
students return back to the classroom to copy homework in their homework book.
Once completed, students have dear time where they can also work with me
one-on-one if they are struggling in a subject.
● After 20 minutes, it’s finally the end of the day. Students listen to afternoon
announcements while packing up and waiting for their bus to be called.

4. Managing the Behavior: Identify what you would do to set clear standards for
student conduct and behavior management. (Example: “When students work in
table groups, they know their productivity and cooperation will result in adding a
marble to the jar.”) (2 points)

● In August, the first thing that we reviewed together were the classroom rules and
expectations. This is when I introduced my behavior chart, which is located next
to my whiteboard on the wall.
● The chart has every student's name with a green, yellow, and red card. If a
student isn’t following a rule, I tell them to switch their card to yellow.
● If a student has a yellow card they meet with me 10 minutes before recess so we
can discuss why they have a yellow card and how they can change their
behavior to prevent this from happening again.
● If the student continues to make poor behavioral choices that same day, they
have to move their card to red which results in a phone call home.
● In addition, I hand out “Paw Prints” when students exhibit an act of kindness or
responsible behavior. This provides positive reinforcement for appropriate
behavior.
● The students have the opportunity to save their Paw Prints and get a reward at
the end of each month from my reward bin.
● Every month we go over the behavior chart so that students don’t forget the daily
expectations.

Domain III: Instruction

*List materials needed for your lesson (Example: children’s literature, iPads, bear
counters, cotton balls, markers, etc.)
-Big white sheets of paper
-Markers/Crayons
-Pencils
-Computer/Projector
 5. Motivation Activities/Strategies: How will you generate interest in your lesson
topic? What will you do to focus students’ attention on your lesson from the very
beginning?(1 point)

-To generate interest I will project a picture of a rural, urban, and suburban community
on the board. I will ask my students which community looks like ours. In addition, I will
have students raise their hands to come up to the board to point to different
characteristics within each community (tall buildings, many cars, houses, farms, farm
animals, lots of open space, etc.) I then will ask my students if they have ever visited a
place that had the same characteristics of a rural and urban community. We will discuss
the three different pictures of communities as a class before we begin the lesson.

6. Prior Knowledge Activities/Strategies: How will you “activate” students’ prior

knowledge of your lesson topic? ( Example: KWL Chart, “Yesterday, we
learned…”)

-To activate prior knowledge I will discuss how yesterday we learned about what
the four essential elements of a community are.

-”Yesterday we learned about places within a community where we can solve

problems like the police station, play, live, and work. We made our own posters
and illustrated places within a community. In addition, we learned about people
who are in a community and help us like police officers, doctors, and teachers!”

-”Today we will be learning about the three different types of a community! This is
a tricky question, but does anyone know the three different types of
communities? When you look at our community do we have tall buildings like a
city? Does our community have lots of farms? What characteristics does our
community have? Why might someone prefer to live in a big city rather than on a
farm?”

(1 point)

7. Sequence of Lesson: This is your lesson sequence: the step-by-step

description of how you will present your lesson. Beginning with the introduction,
and progressing to how you will engage your students, you will show how you
then enable your students to understand and apply the new concept/skill. Include
independent practice, if applicable, whole group and/or small group instruction,
and any 1:1 instruction you have determined is necessary. How are you
monitoring and guiding the students’ performance? How will you show your direct
instruction is purposeful and focused? Be sure to include relevant vocabulary.
(This section of your plan should utilize bullet points as you illustrate your
lesson sequence.) (3 points)
● To begin my lesson students will turn and talk with a partner to brainstorm the
pros and cons of each community. Prior to this lesson we discussed what pros
and cons are so that they have background on what the terms mean.
● I will then ask my students to share what they came up with. We will write on the
white board as a class the pros and cons of each community.
● After we have the pros and cons of each community, I will introduce to my
students the names of each community (rural, urban, suburban.)
● Next I will ask the following questions to ensure my students grasped the
difference between each community: “Does a rural community have tall buildings
and lots of streets filled with cars? Can anyone tell me which community does?
What does a suburban community look like? What jobs would be in a rural
community? What jobs would be in a suburban community? What jobs would be
in an urban community?”
● Once my students have answered the questions that I have asked them I will
introduce our little project that we will be making.
● “Today we will be working together in groups to illustrate the three different types
of a community. I will place everyone in a group and one person will go to the
front of the classroom to grab a big white paper. The papers are already
sectioned into three categories.”
● “In one box you will draw an urban community, in one box you will draw a
suburban community, and in the last box you will draw a rural community. While
you are drawing, think of all the characteristics we pointed out for each
community.”
● “On the board I have an example I made but be sure to use your imagination and
include some different things in your pictures. You can also label things in your
illustrations so it’s easier for your classmates to understand.”
● I then will ask my class If they have any questions about the project
● Once any questions are answered I will inform my students that once they are
finished they can raise their hands for me to approve their poster.
● Students will then break up into their groups and begin working.
● I will monitor my students by walking around the classroom and assisting them
with ideas if they need help or with spelling.
● Once students have their posters checked by me they can read their DEAR time
books until the whole class is finished.

8. Assessment Evidence: How will you know if students grasped the material?
What techniques/strategies will you use to assess learning (Example:
questioning, slate drills, thumbs up/thumbs down, written test, product/project
completion, etc.) using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide. Here you will identify
which formal and/or informal assessments you will use to monitor student
learning and progress. Indicate whether the assessment is formative or
summative. Always refer back to your learning objective/performance
expectation to be sure you have remained focused on assessing what you have
taught. (2 points)
 - To know if my students grasped today’s lesson I will have each group come up
and discuss as a group what is illustrated on their poster. After explaining their
posters to the class we will discuss what each group included in their urban, rural,
and suburban drawings. The class will give a thumbs up or thumbs down if they
agree with what the group put in each box. This class activity will be a summative
and informal assessment.

9. Lesson Closure: What will you do to bring this lesson to closure? Include a
summary of your lesson with a final check for understanding and be sure
to preview the lesson that will follow. “Today, we learned…(summarize the
lesson). Does anyone have a question? And, tomorrow, we will learn…(tell about
what they will learn in the next lesson). (1 point)

-”Today we learned about the features of urban, rural, and suburban communities. In
addition, we discovered the pros and cons of the three types of communities. Does
anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?”
-”Tomorrow we will be watching a video about the three different communities and
discussing their differences in more depth!”
https://youtu.be/bIVVn6tFK7s