Teacher: Molly Dawson

Overall lesson topic/title: Timelines

GLCEs for this lesson: 2-H2.0.3 Use an example to describe the role of the individual in
creating history. 2-H2.0.1 Demonstrate chronological thinking by distinguishing among years
and decades using a timeline of local community events.
Materials & supplies needed:
Timeline sheet
Neighborhoods, Book 1
Pencil
Information about Detroit
Content:
Students will be able to create a timeline at the completion of this
lesson and understand the idea of chronological time. This lesson
is relatively simple and shouldnt be very challenging, even for
the most behaviorally challenged students. Its an introduction to
a new unit, and doesnt necessarily build off of previously learned
ideas.

Academic, Social and Linguistic

Support during each event):

Students who have trouble

paying attention or are easily
distracted will be sitting
closest to the teacher so as to
be able to better direct their
attention.

OUTLINE of activities during the lesson

Pre-talk
o Discuss what we know/think we know about
timelines
What do you think timeline means?
Why would we use one?
Are they useful?
Read pp 58-59 in our Neighborhoods book about
Timelines
Discuss reading
o What did we learn?
o Ask questions from book about the timeline in
the book about Kenna, an average Egyptian boy
o Discuss the idea that Kenna has a history,
which is what we are looking at in this timeline,
the things that have occurred in the past and how
they affect his future.
Using a timeline sheet, we will create a timeline for the
city of Detroit paying close attention to decades and
important things that have happened to the city (this
information comes directly from the book. It gave facts in
a list with the date). This will be done on the smart board,

Students will be reminded

they are to raise their hands if
they have something to say.
Reminders that talking out of
turn is not accepted and that
while someone else is talking
or reading they should be
listening.
Give students a heads up that
we will be completing a
worksheet about this reading
and what we talk about. Ill
be looking for girls who are
listening, paying attention,
and can give me some good
ideas (even if theyre not
right!)!

together as a class.
Using timeline sheet, students will individually start to
create a timeline of their lives, starting when they were
born to present day in 2nd grade. This will be completed at
home in case they need the help of someone older to help
them remember things about their lives
o As a class we will generate ideas for our
timelines. These can be:
Birth of sibling
Starting school
Broken bones
Marriage of family members

Closing summary for the lesson

Post lesson recap: Talk about when we use timelines, what
you can make a timeline about, what types of events can go
on it, etc. This is a very informal assessment that would
only use a sample of students.
At this time I am looking for students to:
Tell me a timeline can be for a city, a country, a
person, a family, etc.
That birth (or birth of siblings), marriages, broken
bones, and other significant events go on a timeline.
Basis for assessment (Take Home Timeline, to be started in
class)
The assessment for this lesson is the timeline of the students
own lives. The point is to be able to see students chronological
thinking. Our comprehension strategy in ELA for the week also
happens to be sequence and this ties in really well with that.
This shows another way to demonstrate that things happen in an
order and that that order is significant to your life. Coming up,
we are talking about the role of the individual and how that will
affect communities. This lets them see their own individual
path and it can be an effective aid in talking about their own
imprint on the community. At the end of the assessment, I want
students to have successfully created a timeline that is accurate
and can depict a sequence of events in their lives. At a later
date, we will revisit the idea of individuals affecting history, but
they should be able to know at the end of this lesson, that every
individual has their own history.

Academic, Social, and Linguistic

Support during assessment

Teacher will be walking

around to help all students
who are struggling, as well as
check in on students.
Students who usually have
difficulty completing
individual tasks will be read
the directions one-on-one and
given extra support.
Students will be reminded to
raise their hand if there is a
question or they need help.

Pedagogy:

CollaborativeThinking:Studentswillgenerateideasasaclassfortheirindividual
lifetimelines.Wewillalsoworktogethertocreateatimelineforthecityof
Detroit,usingfactswevealreadylearned,aswellasthosegiveninthetext.
Criticalthinking:studentsmustbeabletotakeatimelinetheyvealreadyseen
(theAfricanboys)andonewevecreatedasaclass(thecityofDetroit)and
connect,clarifyandinferhowtheyrelatetotheirowntimeline.
Inquirybased:Studentsareworkingtoanswerquestionsaboutwhatatimelineis,
whywewouldusethem,whocanusethem,etc.Thesequestionsaresetforthin
theintroductionofthelesson.

ThereareafewthingsItookintoconsiderationaboutmystudentswhenImadethis
lesson.Firstofall,thefactthatmanyofthemmaynotknowwhatatimelinewasand
wouldundoubtedlybeconfusedthatyoucanorganizechronologicalinformationlike
this.Also,thatmanystudentsmaynotthinkanythingworthwhilehashappenedintheir
life,orelse,isnotsignificantenoughforatimeline.Imodeledatimelineafterthecityof
Detroitwiththemtogetherasaclass,butalsoshowedthematimelineofmyownlife,
makingsuretoincludethingsthatcouldberelatedtothem(learningtorideabike,
learningtoread,firstdayofschool,siblingbirths,etc.).Ialsotriedtoplayintostudent
interests,andsparkinterest.
ContentandPedagogy:Thislessonmainlyfollowsasocialistperspectiveofteachingin
thatscaffoldingandmodelingareusedtoteachstudents.Byusingscaffoldingand
modeling,studentsarebeingsupportedinacompletelynewidea.Byusingthestrategies
listedintheprevioussection,studentsaresupportedintheirinquiryandlearning,and
hopefullyhaveinterestincreatingchronologicaltimelinestolearnmoreabouttheorder
ofthingsandhowthatcanhaveaneffectonhistory.Oneofthecontentexpectationsisto
beabletoviewanexampleandbeabletodescribehowthathasaffectedhistory.In
viewinganexampleoftheboyfromAfricaandthecityofDetroit,studentscanbetter
relateandapplytheideaofcreatinghistorytotheirownlives.
Technology:Asstatedinthelessonplan,wewillusethesmartboardbutonlyforthe
timelinewecreateasaclassforthecityofDetroit.Thiswilljustmakeiteasierfor
everyonetoseeaswearecollectivelycreatingit.Iwillalsousetheprojectortoshowmy
ownlifetimelinesothatstudentscanseeiteasilyfromaroundtheroom.Thesmart
boardandprojectoraresimplyusedforconvenienceandsothatstudentscanseeclearly.