ED 618: Winnie the Pooh and Historical Context

Lesson #1
Courtney Beckham

Lesson Design Template: MAT/Certification Elementary

Candidate Name: Courtney Host Teacher Name: Casey Harmon

Beckham
School: Chugach Optional Grade Level: 5/6 # of Students: 24
Date & Time of Lesson: Week of Length of Lesson: 30-45 min
3/14
Topic of Lesson: Winnie the Pooh Content Area: History/Social Studies
in Historical Context
Materials (Include all materials including types of technology used):
- Projector to show slideshow of OG Winnie the Pooh off my laptop:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11itAvEkD9fhOEFLZlL3Eu35HJqlG
eFARGsvrzcwXTP0/edit?usp=sharing
- 50 large notecards to students to use
- 1 large example notecards with required information on WTP

ALASKA CONTENT STANDARD

A) A student should understand that history is a record of human experiences that
links the past to the present and the future.

6) Know that cultural elements, including language, literature, the arts, customs, and
belief systems, reflect the ideas and attitudes of a specific time and know how the
cultural elements influence human interaction

Alaska Cultural Standard for Educators

E (5) Recognize the need for all people to understand the importance of learning
about other cultures and appreciating what each has to offer.

TRANSFER GOAL(S) (transferability)

Students will be able to independently use their learning to…

Understand that war can change the long-term social creativity and experiences in
each society
 STAGE ONE – Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (meaning)
Enduring Understanding(s): What Essential Questions will be
Students will understand that…. Considered?

Social expression can help a society heal

collectively (through verbal, social,
written, art, etc.)
A singular experience can also be a
shared experience
In what ways can post-war literature
help people process war events
individually and as a collective society?

STAGE ONE: Objectives STAGE TWO: Assessments

Evidence of Learning/Accountability -
Formative/Summative/Performance

Knowledge - What students should know…. Assessment(s)/Other Evidence:

- That literature and art pieces (such as
Winnie the Pooh) can have a greater
context in history
- Students brainstorm other art
pieces or literature that have a
greater context, and why the
students feel that way (such as
Superman, born during the Great
Depression, 1938) *Include pictures
of Superman plus his importance
during that time
- Students will log their partner’s
response for Think/Pair/Share,
comparing AA Milne’s two different
readings (WTP & From A Full Heart)

Skills - What students should be able to do…. Assessment(s)/Other Evidence:

- Students should be able to successfully - Each card will contain a similarity

think/pair/share and concisely and difference between the poems,
document their partner’s answer as told by their partner

STAGE THREE: Opportunities to Learn (Acquisition)

Introduction/Hook

**See GoogleSlides for lesson walkthrough**

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/
11itAvEkD9fhOEFLZlL3Eu35HJqlGeFARGsvrzcwXTP0/edit?usp=sharing
Winnie the Pooh:
True/False
(Read out loud and have students stand up for true, sit down for false)
Discuss: Why are we talking about Winnie the Pooh? Why is this a historical
discussion? (all ideas welcomed)
Processes and products for Learning
Opportunities
Again, see walkthrough of the lesson
in GoogleSlides, linked above
- Have the students create their
response card
- In the whole group, discuss a
quick history synopsis for
Winnie the Pooh:
- First published October 14, 1926
- Characters are Pooh, Piglet,
Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger,
Owl & Rabbit
- Winnie was a real bear,
purchased August 24, 1914 in
Canada, where she was flown to
London and given to a Zoo. This
bear inspired AA Milne
- After WW1, the author’s son was
born (Christopher Robin) and as
he struggled to connect with his
son through PTSD, the author
who wrote Winnie the Pooh
- WW1 was incredibly violent and
after the war ended, men were
sent home without mental health
support. They were told to pick
up where they left off, and return
to life as usual. Many men
experienced PTSD, or what it
was known at the time… “Shell
Shocked”
- **Add photos of stuffed animals
Strategies for Differentiation/
Multimodal Instruction/Universal
Design for Learning
- Start with whole group discussion
so each student has a brief
understanding of WW1
- Choosing a topic that all students
are familiar with through their
course (they will have done some
read-throughs as well as some
singing)
- Partner share to break up the
lesson and allow for more shy
students to share ideas without
having to do share whole class
- Have students share their
partner’s ideas so they don’t have
to speak and share their own ideas
(might encourage someone who
doesn’t usually share)
- There will be example cards for
students to reference the layout of,
including a near-point version
(and in the slideshow). Great for
students who are visual, and for
those who may have difficulty
spelling/hearing
- Tying assignment into current
course content to create universal
examples
 to slideshow**
- Read: From a Full Heart (out
loud), re-discuss the timing of
this poem… during the war,
reflecting on PTSD
- Read: WTP quote out loud, and
read the assignment
immediately after (next slide)
- Read questions, and let them
know how/where to write their
partner’s answer (under T/P/S)
- Flip back to the writings for
students to re-read
- Students have 30 seconds to
think, 5 min to pair, 5 min to
share as a group (walk around
and encourage students to dig
DEEPER)
- As a full group, discuss: “How
may have writing WTP helped
heal Milne?” and “How may have
reading WTP helped heal society
as a whole?”
Closure:

On Your Notecard: Write 1-2 ways why it may have helped Milne and 1-2 ways it
may have helped society
Bonus: Do you know of any current-day examples of writing, movies, tv that help us
as a society

Reflection:
 After many revisions, I am genuinely happy how this lesson turned out (it was my
enduring lesson design). I struggled creating something cohesive that also had good
cadence, and enough time to go beyond scraping the surface of Social Studies in
context. Overall, I feel that the lesson was successful beyond a few changes I would
make if I were to reteach it.
From the exit ticket we worked on throughout the lesson, I feel that most of the
students met the objective. I had them take notes at two key points, and it was super
helpful afterward once I reviewed what they had written. It also helped solidify their
verbal contributions, as well as anecdotal data I collected as I walked around the
classroom.
The lesson went reasonably predictable, though I didn’t anticipate how far the
students would be away from the projector, so I made a few changes during the
presentation to accommodate that. I wish I had made a few larger changes, but I will
discuss that below.
There were a few students who were able to respond more deeply about the
content than I was expecting, and infer ideas that were unexpectedly specific. I was
also surprised by the students who chose to answer questions as literally as possible
to avoid doing the “work” (such as the student who wrote that the similarities of the
two poems were that they were poetic). If I had had more time, I think I would have
been able to challenge their thinking into a deeper interpretation (such as having
them define what poetic means to them, and why they would classify them both as
such). The students’ responses in the group discussion about the personal/societal
impacts of Winnie the Pooh were insightful, and felt like genuine understanding.
After reviewing the exit tickets one more time, I am circling back with my host
teacher to discuss ways to support that student through additional discussion, or
through small-group final-draft edits of their tickets (the cards are going in their
portfolios).
I greatly wished I was able to incorporate more local and cultural knowledge to
this lesson. It was originally written with a whole second activity around diversity,
but it felt oddly choppy, and not cohesive. After much debate, I separated out the
diversity activity (based around the characters of Winnie the Pooh and the value of
diversity in that story, as well as in our local communities). I saved all of that lesson
and will teach it separately in the upcoming weeks. Though it wasn’t originally
written that way, I feel that it created a much better cadence, and will allow the
students to go deeper into both of the lessons to get the most out of it.
As I mentioned earlier, I was happy I made all the changes before the lesson as
discussed above. After teaching it however, there were a few changes I’d make in
future lessons. First, I would have moved the students to the front of the room after
doing my stand up/sit down trivia hook. I had intended to move them, but got so
into my lesson that I forgot to rearrange their seating. It made it more difficult for
the students in the back to see, and stay engaged. Secondly, I would have discussed
the classroom rules/expectations and attention-getting system for the lesson. I
found it hard to redirect the students mid-lesson, and after discussing it with my
host teacher, she made both of those suggestions. Lastly, I would have made the
lesson a full hour to allow the students to really dig into the content. As mentioned
above, I would have used it to allow for more discourse between the students and
their peers, and the students and me.

Student Work: