DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

UNIT PLAN TEMPLATE

Teacher Candidate Elaine Segner
Grade Level 1st_____ Content Area:_Social Studies: Symbols___________
Step 1 DESIRED RESULTS
A. Contextual Factors
Contextual Factors:
Total students: 24 students
12 Boys & 12 Girls
2 ELL Students
Ivan- WIDA Level 3
Scarlett- WIDA level 2

No current students on an IEP

Special Considerations:
Kenna: vision problems (Sees
Doubles)
Behavior: Alex- Speaks Out
Landis: Listening, limited attention,
and completing work
Korbin: Speech

High Level Readers:

Mason
Ryker
Kalei
Jaren
Low Level Readers:
Kenna
Joslyn
Korbin

B. Utah State Core or Common Core Curriculum Standard

1st Grade Utah Social Studies Core
Standard 2: (Citizenship): Students will recognize their roles and responsibilities in the school
and in the neighborhood.
Objective 3: Name school, neighborhood, Utah state, and national symbols, landmarks, and
documents.
a. Identify school symbols and landmarks (i.e., mascot, songs, events).
b. Identify neighborhood and community symbols and landmarks (i.e., firehouse, city hall,
churches, other landmarks, city festivals).
c. Identify Utah state symbols, documents, and landmarks.
d. Identify national symbols, documents, and landmarks (e.g., Declaration of Independence,
U.S. Constitution, Liberty Bell, Washington Monument).
C. Enduring Understanding/Big Idea
Citizens recognize symbols that represent the school, neighborhood, state, and nation.
D. Essential Questions/Guiding Questions
What are symbols?
What do symbols represent?
Why are symbols important?
What is a school symbol?
What is a neighborhood symbol?
What is a Utah symbol?
What are national symbols?
E. Concepts
Students will know what symbols are.

Students will know what their school symbols are.

Students will know what neighborhood symbols are.
Students will know why we have different types of symbols.
Students will know Utah state symbols.
Students will know the Statue of Liberty, Bald Eagle, and the American flag as national symbols.
F. Skills
Students will be able to draw school symbols.
Students will be able to describe how school symbols can affect them.
Students will be able to draw and write about a neighborhood symbol.
Students will be able to identify and Utah State Symbols.
Students will be able to read to discover information on the Statue of Liberty and Bald Eagle.
Students will be able to identify the Statue of Liberty, American Flag, and Bald Eagle as national
symbols.
Students will write about national symbols.
Students will be able to identify what a symbol is.
Step 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
1. Pre-Assessments
Students will be given a pre-assessment where the students will identify national and Utah
symbols.
Students will also have to circle national symbols with a red crayon, circle the state symbols and
landmarks with a blue crayon, and circle the community and school symbols with a white
crayon.

2. Formative Assessments/Evidence
Formative assessments will include student discussions and questioning, student drawings,
student writing and sentences, pair-share, thumbs up or down, matching, sorting, acting,
gesturing and observations.
Students will also complete an assessment at the end of each lesson. Students will be graded
using a rubric.
3. Summative Assessments/Evidence
Each lesson will have a summative lesson. The assessments will align with the objective being
taught.
Lesson 1: Students will write a letter to Bob the bobcat explaining to Bob what it means to be a
bobcat. They must use two reasons and write it in a letter format.
Lesson 2: Students will match eight street signs to their names. Students will be able to write
one reason why we have neighborhood symbols.
Lesson 3: Students will glue five state symbols onto the map of Utah and will write one sentence
explaining one reason why we have State symbols. Lesson 4: Students will create the American
flag and will write facts about the flag.
Lesson 4: Students will discuss with their partners about what a national symbol is and
something that they learned about it. Students will write three facts about the American flag.
Lesson 5: Students will act out with their partners how people feel when they see the Statue of
Liberty. Students will write on a piece of paper what the Statue of Liberty means as well as what

Liberty means.
Lesson 6: Students will make a bald eagle. They are going to write what the bald eagle means,
one place they can find it, and one interesting fact about it.
Summative assessment will also be given at the end of the unit. This is the standard benchmark
that will be given to all of the first grade classes. It is similar to the pre-assessment.
Step 3 Lesson Objectives with Instructional Strategies
Lesson 1: I will discuss what a symbol is and why we have them, and will identify the bobcat as
a school symbol.
- Pre-assessment
- Video Production on Symbols (Part 1)
- School Symbols introduction
- What does it mean to be a bobcat (video)
- Write a letter to Bob the bobcat explaining what it means to be a bobcat.
- Invite Bob into the classroom.
Lesson 2: I will discuss what a neighborhood symbol is, why we use them, and will identify
neighborhood symbols.
- Show stop sign from another country and ask what it means. Discussion
- Video Production (Part 2)
- Memory game to learn neighborhood symbols.
- Neighborhood matching
Lesson 3: I will discuss what a state symbol is, why we use them, and will identify state
symbols.
- Read the Book A is for Arches
- Video Production (Part 3)
- Partner-talk about books with a puzzle activity
- Student sort
- Students will identify state symbols and glue them on a map of Utah.
Lesson 4: I will discuss what a national symbol is and will identify the American flag as a
national symbol.
- Brain pop video on U.S. symbols
- Read book about American Flag
- Create a flag with class and ask questions
- Write three facts about the American flag on it
Lesson 5: I will identify the Statue of Liberty as a national symbol and will describe what it
means.
- Read a book about the Statue of Liberty
- Take a virtual tour of the Statue of Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42yO2FUWL6A
- Scholastic news on statue of liberty
- Act out what the symbol means to people who come to America
- Write about the Statue of Liberty.
- Make a Crown.
Lesson 6: I will identify the bald eagle as a national symbol and will describe what it means.
- Video on Bald Eagle
- Chart information
- Scholastic news on the Bald Eagle.

Live nest cam on bald Eagle.

http://sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Decorah_Bald_Eagle_Nest.html
Students will create a bald eagle.