EDUP 590 Middle/High School Theory, Complete a Lesson Plan for Your Content Area

Viterbo University
Essential Element Lesson Plan
Name: Jim Ivory

Date: 5/4/5015

Materials and Resources: iPads

with camera, Safety Sign Checklist
Sheet, white board, dry erase
markers, overhead projector,
sharpened pencils, clip boards

Lesson Title: Safety and Survival

Sign Scavenger Hunt

Grade Level: CD 6-8

Time Frame: 2 - 45 minute class

periods back to back

Curriculum Standards:
EE.RI.6.1 Analyze a text to determine
what it says explicitly as well as what
simple inferences should be drawn.

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

Science G-H.4.1 Identify the

technology and habits that help
people learn or work safely.
Reading 1.A: Use context clues to
understand the meaning of words.

Rationale/Theoretical Reasoning
Students have been practicing
The students will locate and identify
identifying safety and survival signs
safety and survival signs across the
all year with our Life Skills curriculum.
school grounds and be able to explain This activity prepares them for an
to their peers what each means.
increase in time out in the community
as good weather is starting to be
upon us. These students will take
these skills to allow them to move
safely as a group and individually out
in the community with our class and
on their own time with their families.

Lesson Objective: objectives must be measurable TWS will(learning behavior from Blooms verbs,

DOK and Multiple source synthesis)

The students will keep their brain and body in their groups of three as they work together to complete the task of
locating safety and survival signs across the school environment.
The students will record each sign found by taking a photo of it with at least one group member standing by the
sign.
Upon gathering evidence of at least 12 safety signs, students will present their evidence to the whole class and
explain where each sign was found and what it means.
Academic Language: What is the key language demanded? What academic language will you teach or
develop? What is the key vocabulary and or symbols? What opportunities will you provide for student
to practice content language/ vocabulary and develop fluency?

The main academic language and symbols of this lesson comes in all the safety signs and their titles. Students will practice
identifying each of these symbols as signs throughout the building and grounds during this lesson as they come upon them. Many
signs will be found multiple times adding to the repetitive practice the students need to be successful in future identification.
Students will also practice these terms during their partner flash card activity to start class.
We are also focusing on group dynamics through group learning together to accomplish a successful scavenger hunt. Group
dynamic language such as: brain and body in the group, cooperation, take turns, leader, together, decisions, roles, etc will be used
and has been previously introduced. These terms may need to be re-explained along the way and may provide teachable moments.
The term scavenger hunt will be explained during the explanation of the activity.

Assessment /Evaluation:
Formative: How will student demonstrate understanding of lesson objective(s)? How will you monitor
and or give feedback? How will feedback promote student understanding?
Student performance will be assessed through their knowledge of naming each sign they find along the way and
its purpose. They will share this information with the adult supervisor in the group who will facilitate any further
discussion to help with understanding of why each sign is located where it is.

Summative: What evidence will you collect and how will it document student learning/mastery of
lesson objective(s)?
Students will take a photograph of each sign they find off the checklist. Each group will share their findings with
the whole class, projecting their images on the overhead projector and explaining what each is and where they
found it. Each student will turn in a paper or digital copy of their completed check list in combination with their
presentation as an informal assessment.

Instruction:
Set Motivation/Anticipatory Set:

To begin class, all students will start off in their assigned seats in the classroom. Each set of table partners will pull out their Safety
Sign flash cards and quiz each other for the first five minutes to see who can get the most signs correctly identified. Each partner
group winner will get a jolly rancher.

Instructional Procedures/Learning Tasks: Provide specific details of lesson content and delivery
based on students prior knowledge, strengths and weakness.

1. After the safety sign warm up, ask the students what safety signs we have been studying they think they might see while out
on the scavenger hunt.
2. Give some suggestions such as: when you have to use the restroom, is there a sign there to tell me which one to go in? to
get the discussing going
3. Allow several minutes of discussion time on the different types of safety signs found right inside the classroom.
4. Give directions for the scavenger hunt and lay out expectations for walking through the school during class time hours (go
over Hallway Expectations Matrix for review).
5. List the prearranged teams (listed below) on the board with the students initials and make sure each knows what group they
are in.
6. Have the students practice taking a photo of a group member on their iPads and help anyone who is having trouble with
that task.

7. While the students are taking photos, pass out the Scavenger Hunt Checklists, make sure to give Tia and Stuart the Checklist
with pictures.
8. Explain when the group finds a safety sign they are to take a photo of the sign with a group member standing next to it and
then check it off on the Safety and Survival Sign Checklist provided on paper or digitally on the iPad.
9. Adult supervisors are to offer suggestions and hints when a group is stuck to activate thinking. Students are to discuss the
purpose of each sign with their adult supervisor to ensure they all know what each sign means before moving on.
10. Head out and begin scavenger hunt on school grounds
11. Meet back in the classroom to share and explain findings via overhead projector (help fill in the gaps and get all group
members to participate in explaining sign or meanings)

Groups:
1. Tia, Mike, Zavious with you
2. David, Jennifer, Suzie with Mrs. Q
3. Tierney, Devin, Collin with Miss Mathews
4. Andrew, Jacarria, Erica with Mr. Vang

Questions and/or activities for higher order thinking: These cannot be answered by yes or no.
1. Explain what each sign means and why it would be located where you found it.
2. Tell me where else you might find a particular sign?
3. What other signs might you find in a hospital that you didnt find in a school?
Closure: Verbalize or demonstrate learning or skill one more time. May state future learning.
Have the students count how many Safety and Survival Signs they were able to find and identify. Ask students if
they were surprised to find any particular sign or if there was one they thought they would find but didnt come
across. If there is time, give the students one more crack at the flash cards game with their table partner and give
each student a jolly rancher at the end of the period. Explain to students that we are going to be adding more
signs that you would find when out in the community to our list and eventually take our scavenger hunt to
downtown Eau Claire. It will be important to keep the signs they already know in mind as many of them will also
be found on that scavenger hunt too.

Adaptations to meet individual needs: How will you adapt the instruction to meet the needs of
individual students?
Emma will be allowed to use the elevator to access signs on the second floor of the school. She will also have
here safety sign checklist digitally accessible on her iPad so she doesnt have to write.
Tia will be given a Safety Checklist Sheet with actual clip art pictures of the signs to assist her in knowing what
she is looking for.
Stuart will be placed in a group with preferred peers. He will also be given the Safety Checklist with pictures to
alleviate some of the stress of the assignment.
Management/Safety Issues: Are there any management and/or safety issues that need to be
considered when teaching this lesson?
An adult will accompany each group for supervision purposes. The students are allowed to venture into areas they
may have never been before including the loading dock, custodial area, teachers lounge, different grade level
wings, and storage areas. There may be items that could be dangerous such as cleaning agents, stacked
equipment, or wet floors so having an adult there to oversee the movement around the building is necessary.

Brief Narrative:
I chose to use Group Instruction and Field Trip as my procedures for instruction. My students need as much
practice as they can get on cooperative learning, as in many instances, the only opportunities they get are at
school. It allows them chances to practice other social skills we have worked on imbedded in learning the
important life skills at the focus of this lesson. Teacher supervision is also there to help keep everyone involved
and to see that behavioral expectations are met. I also like to include the field trip idea of just getting up and
out of the room where most of these kids spend the majority of their day. It is a self-contained classroom but that
doesnt mean we have to always stay in the room. This lesson is a great way for my students to venture out, even
if only on school grounds, and further explore and learn more about the environment they spend so much time in.
It is more hands on and it brings the flash card work from the classroom to real life relevance just outside the
classroom door.
Four specific things to my Instructional Procedure that relates to middle school aged students are:
1. Focused acceptance by peers I formed the groups specifically to avoid students feeling left out and to

try and create good mixes of students that may have had good working history or have certain strengths or
weakness that another group member compliments well. That way not only are there no hard feelings but
when they are working together, students are more apt to learn from each others strengths than be so
quick to ask the adult in the group for help.
2. Intensely curious Just get them out of the room they spend so much time in! We dont have to go far to
make it a little adventurous. This lesson also opens up their eyes to signs that have been there all along
but they may have not noticed before. Having the flash cards come to life will hopefully make the
exploration part outside the room more intriguing and engaging.
3. Being part of a middle school team This activity gets my students outside of the team they are
assigned to be a part of for most activities. They get to roam the areas of the building they generally dont
go because there is no real reason for them to go. This exposes them to areas where they will one day
have classes or need to go and provides them with experiences to draw upon.
4. Inclined to test limits of acceptable behavior This is precisely why we have an adult supervisor tag
along with each group. Many of my students are daily practicing acceptable behaviors as part of their day.
This is an opportunity for them to get more practice outside of direct behavior instruction. It is good for
them to have these opportunities but when put in groups it makes it more difficult to behave. It is
necessary to have an adult supervise these groups to remind of expectations even though we go over the
Matrix prior to leaving the classroom.