KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher Candidate: Nicole Bowman
Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Kim May
Group Size: Whole class
Subject or Topic: Social Studies- Pennsylvania facts and places

Date: September 19th, 2014

Coop. Initials: K.M.
Grade Level: Fourth
Allotted Time: 45 minutes

STANDARD(s):
8.2.4.D. Distinguish between conflict and cooperation among groups and organization that
impacted the history and development of Pennsylvania
Ethnicity and race
Working conditions
Immigration
Military conflict
Economic stability
8.3.4.B. Locate historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to United States history.
8.2.4.C. Explain how continuity and change in Pennsylvania history have influenced personal
development and identity.
Belief systems and religions
Commerce and industry
Technology
Politics and government
Physical and human geography
Social organizations
5.1.4.F. Identify state symbols, national symbols, and national holidays.
I.

Performance Objectives

The fourth grade student will be able to

identify the important place and people of Pennsylvania.
discuss, organize and construct a poster with a group of students.
II. Instructional Materials

5 sheets of white poster size paper for each group

Markers
Crayons
Premade fact packets, one set for each group
Instruction sheet
III. Subject Matter/ Content
Prerequisite skills:
o Basic understand of where PA is on the map, who founded it, important cities and monuments
Key vocabulary:
o Pennsylvania
o William Penn
o Benjamin Franklin
Big idea:
o How can we convince an audience that PA is the best state to live in?
New Content:
o None

IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
Teacher will introduce herself to the grandparents in the classroom (grandparents day).
Teacher will say, Now lets impress our grandparents and tell them what we already know about
Pennsylvania.
Teacher will say, Today we are going to pretend that we are travel agents. A travel agents job is
to find people good places to vacation and travel to. It is our job to convince these people that
Pennsylvania is the best place to visit. We need to convince as many people as we can that
Pennsylvania is the most beautiful state there is and there are so many things to see and do when
youre there!
B. Development
Teacher will say, "Now I am going to divide you up into 5 different groups. Each group should
have about 5 people in it. I am going to give each group 5 pieces of paper, some markers and an
informational packet with a lot of different facts and things about Pennsylvania. Between the 5
people in your group, each person will have a task. One person will create a poster about the
attractions and places to visit in Pennsylvania. Another person will create a poster about the
important historical facts of PA. The third person will create a poster about the interesting facts of
PA. The fourth person will create a poster about some of the important people from PA. The fifth
person will use a poster to show the state shape, maps and important cities of PA. Within your
group, you will decide who gets what task. You must work together to find the information for
each poster and be as creative and colorful as possible. Use words that would persuade or
convince other people that PA is the best state. I will give each group a sheet with further
instructions. When you are done creating your posters, you will then work as a group and decide
what you are going to say. The rest of the class will act as the customers while you are presenting
the material in a convincing way."
Teacher will pass out instruction sheet.
Teacher will allow the students 30 minutes to complete the project.
C. Closure
After 30 minutes has gone by, depending on the progress that the students have made, teacher will
ask the students to return to their desks.
Teacher will ask each group to share their posters and their convincing statements.
D. Accommodations / Differentiation
Teacher will purposefully group students with a mixture of low, medium and high levels.
Teacher will make sure that there are grandparents present in each group of students to keep group
on task.
Teacher will roam classroom and make sure that all students are on task.
Teacher will observe classroom discussion and their ability to work together as a class.
E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formative:
a. None
2. Authentic:
a. Poster with rubric
3. Summative:
a. Test at the end of unit
V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Students Performance in Terms of States Objectives

The students were all actively participating. They all created posters and stood in front of the class to show
their work. Most of their posters were complete and filled with facts. Some did not follow the directions

explicitly and work with their group to each take a task. Only two particular groups used their posters to
"convince" the audience why Pennsylvania was the best. Most of the groups just simply made posters about
Pennsylvania and presented them.

B. Personal Reflection
1. What did I do well?
a. I made sure that the task at hand would not be too difficult for them to follow through
with. I utilized my resources and had some of the grandparents in each group to keep the
students on task. This worked very well and although there was a lot of talking, it was all
productive. It also allowed the grandparents to get involved and help their kids. It seemed
to be a great community builder and it reinforced the important facts of Pennsylvania that
they need to know.
b. I also purposefully group the students to put higher level with lower level and the more
talkative ones mixed in with the less talkative so that all the groups were basically equal
with a mixture of skills and outgoing students, along with grandparents to support the
work.
2. What could I have done differently?
a. I probably could have been a little clearer with the directions. I gave each group an
instruction sheet, but still 2 of the groups didn't do exactly what I had asked. I walked
around the room and prompted where I could, but all of them successfully created
posters, which is all I really wanted in the long run.
b. I also could have been more clear in the way I wanted them to try to convince that
Pennsylvania is the best state and why, but the main point was for them to learn more
about PA while using articles and creatively displaying their findings. All in all, I think
this lesson worked very well.

VI. Resources
Pennsylvania Webquest. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2014.

http://av.pasenategop.com/brochures/wmpennactivitybook.pdf
State of Pennsylvania Symbols. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2014.
Pennsylvania Facts for Children | A to Z Kids Stuff. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 18, 2014.

Group #:
Group Names: ________________________________,
_______________________________________,
________________________________________,
_________________________________________,
_______________________________________

Instructions:
You are a travel agent. Your job is to convince your customers that Pennsylvania is
the best place to travel to. Each person will choose one of the following topics and
create a poster:
1) Pennsylvania attractions and places to visit
2) Important historical facts of Pennsylvania
3) Interesting facts about Pennsylvania
4) Important people of Pennsylvania
5) State picture, state flag, maps and important cities of Pennsylvania

Make your posters as colorful and creative as possible. When you are finished
making your posters, you must work as a team to figure out a way to convince your
customers that Pennsylvania is the best state, using both your poster and your
words. Have fun! :)

Name:
Group Number:
Role for poster:

Performance
Assessment:
Pennsylvania
Posters
Participation

Student was
actively
engaged with
group. Created
poster.

Student was
partially
engaged with
group. Created
poster.

Student was not

engaged with
the group and
did not create a
poster.

Creativity

Student used
colors and
pictures on
poster.
Student actively
used resources
provided by
teacher.

Student used
some color and
pictures on
poster.
Student use bits
and pieces of
the resources,
rarely looking at
them.
Student stayed
on task about
80% of the time
provided.
Poster is
readable, with
labels.

Student was
partially
engaged with
group and/ or
created partial
poster.
Student used
mostly pencil
and little color.

Use of resources

On task

Neatness

Student stayed
on task 100% of
the time
provided.
Poster is neat
and organized,
with labels.

Total points: ______/20

Student used a
few facts from
the resources,
but not many.
Student stayed
on task about
50% of the time
provided.
Poster is
readable.

No color or
creativity
involved on the
poster.
Student did not
use resources at
all.
Student did not
stay on task at
all.
Poster is not
readable,
organized and
there are no
labels provided.