Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 1

7 Day UNIT PLAN for EDCI 4125 Elementary Social Studies

Name of teachers who created this lesson: Sarah Mangiafico and Jennifer Zaffetti

Title/topic of unit: In what ways has our town and Connecticut changed and/or stayed

the same?

This unit plan is intended for students in third grade.

School: Kennelly School

Description of School: Kennelly is a large public school in Hartford that provides

educational services for students from pre-k to eighth grade.

Influences on Unit: While Kennelly does not have a social studies curriculum, we

created a unit that focuses on the early life and development of Connecticut, including

the introduction of key historical figures that lived in Hartford.

Location: Hartford, Connecticut

Description of Students: The classroom consists of twenty students. There are two

English Language Learners, five students in special education, and thirteen typical

students.

Influences on Unit: In order to accommodate for the English Language Learners and

students in special education, we made sure that our unit/lessons contained many SIOP

strategies (shown below, in brackets).

Source for SIOP Strategies:

http://jeanporter.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/SIOP%20Matrix...suggested%20instru

ctional%20activities...%202012%202013.pdf/469450156/SIOP%20Matrix...suggested%

20instructional%20activities...%202012%202013.pdf
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 2

Curricular context:

Prior to this unit, students have learned about Native Americans living in Connecticut

before the arrival of European settlers.

Description of additional lessons:

Day 1

To begin the unit on early Connecticut, students will examine the painting, “Indentured

Servants and Colonists in Colonial America.” The teacher will implement VTS (Visual

Thinking Strategies) by leading a discussion about the painting, encouraging students to

notice fine details, and make observations/inferences about what life was like during

early Connecticut.

Source: https://www.landofthebrave.info/indentured-servants.htm

Day 2

See lesson below.

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 3

Day 3

On Day 3, the teacher will introduce early key figures from Hartford and Connecticut,

focusing on Thomas Hooker and Captain Wadsworth. The teacher will then have the

students view the following videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61tjsa2j6oA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOM1h0iANU

After viewing the videos, the teacher will have the students discuss with a partner about

who Thomas Hooker and William Wadsworth were, and how they changed Connecticut.

The teacher will provide students with a vocabulary list with the definitions for the words

“charter,” “representative government,” “colonist,” and “constitution.” The teacher will

lead a discussion about why the charter oak tree story is important to the history of

Connecticut. Together as a class, they will write a children’s book about the significance

of the charter oak tree story, incorporating Thomas Hooker and William Wadsworth.

Day 4

See lesson below.

Day 5

On Day 5, the teacher will utilize the SmartBoard to display the following website to the

class: http://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/. The teacher will show the

students traditional clothing that men, women, and children living in early Connecticut

wore. The class will discuss how fashion has changed since then, thinking about how
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 4

people dress today. As a special classroom guest, a historian (from a local museum)

will present historical artifacts, clothing, and headwear.

Days 6-7

On the final days of the unit plan, students will work in groups assigned by the teacher

(5 groups with 4 students in each group) to design a poster about what they have

learned about how Connecticut has developed over time, in terms of technology

(subtopics: clothing and food), government, and daily life. The teacher will assign each

group one topic to make their poster on, using what they have learned about each topic

in the unit. After being given some time to complete the posters, each group will have

the opportunity to present their topic/poster to the class. After everyone has shared,

students will do a museum walk to leave sticky notes with questions and comments on

other people’s posters.

Elements of the New State Frameworks:

Hist 3.2: Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today (45).

Hist 3.3: Generate questions about individuals who have shaped significant historical

changes and continuities (45).

Hist 3.4: Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at

the time (45).

Hist 3.8: Infer the intended audience and purpose of a historical source from

information within the source itself (45).

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 5

Compelling question(s) addressed:

Compelling Question: In what ways has our town and Connecticut changed and/or

stayed the same?

Supporting Question: How was life in early Connecticut similar/different to life in

Connecticut now?

UNIT Content Objective(s):

1. SWBAT compare/contrast their lifestyles with the lifestyles of the people who

were living in early Connecticut.

2. SWBAT identify how Connecticut has developed over time, in terms of

government, technology, and daily life.

3. SWBAT recognize key figures that have changed the town of Hartford during the

colonial period.

UNIT Language Objective(s):

1. SWBAT explain how their lives are different and similar to the lives of people who

were living in early Connecticut.

2. SWBAT use language frames in order to explain their thinking.

3. SWBAT describe specific vocabulary pertaining to early Connecticut, presented

to them by the teacher.

LESSON 1, written by Sarah

Content Objective(s); please have 2 or 3 per day:

1. SWBAT compare and contrast aspects of their lives to people living in early

Connecticut, after learning more about early life in Connecticut.

2. SWBAT compare and contrast what they learn about in Ox-Cart Man with what
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 6

they observe in the painting, “Indentured Servants and Colonists in America.”

3. SWBAT identify how Connecticut has developed over time, in terms of

technology and daily life.

Language Objective(s); please have 1 or 2 per day:

1. SWBAT to explain how their lives are similar and different to the lives of the

people living in early Connecticut based on what they learn in Ox-Cart Man and

from what they see in the painting, “Indentured Servants and Colonists in

America.”

2. SWBAT answer guided questions using language frames to identify how

Connecticut has developed over time [Comprehensible Input].

Key Vocabulary with Definition(s) [Building Background]:

-Kettle - A metal pot with a spout that is used for boiling liquids or cooking food

-Sheared - Cut or clipped with shears or scissors

-Shingles - Thin pieces of wood or other material that is used to cover the roof of a

building or house

-Yoke - A curved piece of wood that fits over an ox’s neck

-Shawl - A type of clothing that covers the head or shoulders

-Whittling - Carving off bits of wood from a knife

-Loom - A frame that is used to form a cloth from materials like yarn or wool

-Linen - Cloth

-Tapped - The process of removing a liquid from something (in this case, removing

syrup from a tree)

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 7

Definitions found on:

https://quizlet.com/42379468/vocabulary-for-the-ox-cart-man-flash-cards/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Materials:

1. Powerpoint on first European settlers in CT [Lesson Preparation]

2. Ox-Cart Man book by Donald Hall [Lesson Preparation]

3. List of discussion questions for the teacher to ask students about Ox-Cart Man

4. Pictures of a grocery store, cookies, pizza, mashed potatoes, a baker, a farmer,

a businessman, an electrician, jeans, sneakers, a winter jacket, a car, paved

roads, a computer, a clothing store, and machinery that makes clothing (have 5

copies of each picture for each group) [Comprehensible Input]

5. “Indentured Servants and Colonists in America” painting [Comprehensible Input]

6. 5 posters and 5 boxes of markers (one for each group)

7. Language Frames written on sentence strips to answer guided questions about

the development of Connecticut [Strategies]

Learning Activities

Initiation (will take approximately 10 minutes):

 The teacher will begin the lesson by telling students what the content and

language objectives are for the day (they will also be posted at the front of the

room on the whiteboard) [Lesson Preparation].

 The teacher will ask students to recall what they learned in the previous unit

about the Native Americans living in early Connecticut [Building Background].

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 8

 After the teacher has called on a few students to remind the class about what

they learned about Native Americans previously, the teacher will then introduce

the topic of the arrival of Europeans to Connecticut, using a powerpoint that she

made using information from the websites http://www.u-s-

history.com/pages/h543.html and

http://www.ct.gov/kids/cwp/view.asp?a=2573&q=329084 [Lesson

Preparation]. The PowerPoint will say that the Dutch were the first to arrive to

Connecticut in 1614, and Adriaen Block (a Dutch trader) explored the lands along

the Connecticut River in 1614 (slide 1), the Dutch started setting in CT in 1633

after they purchased some land from the Pequot tribe in what is now modern-day

Hartford (slide 2), Within the next year, many English settlers from the

Massachusetts Bay Colony began exploring throughout the Connecticut Valley

area. They thought the land of Connecticut was beautiful and good for farming,

and they settled in Connecticut, too (slide 3), Thomas Hooker, an English settler

from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, founded Hartford in 1636 and established a

settlement there (note that the Dutch were living there before he arrived) (slide

4), The Connecticut Colony grew over the years as more settlers began arriving

there and establishing more settlements (slide 5). The PowerPoint will also have

pictures of the content that is being described on each slide [Comprehensible

Input].

 The teacher will tell the class that they are going to learn about the lifestyles the

Europeans who lived in early Connecticut/New England had by listening to her

read Ox-Cart Man [Strategies].

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 9

Lesson Development (will take approximately 60 minutes):

1. The teacher will read the book Ox-Cart Man out loud to the class [Strategies]. As

she is reading, she will stop and ask students H.O.T. questions such as, “Where do you

think the Ox-Cart Man is going to bring all of the items to? Why?” “What do you think the

Ox-Cart Man is going to buy with all of the coins that he has in his pockets? Why do you

think that?” Additionally, she will ask kids what they think difficult vocabulary words in

the text mean, and will help the class understand the meanings of these words in the

book by telling them the definitions of them if students do not come up with the correct

definitions on their own [Building Background].

2. After finishing the book, the teacher will lead a group discussion about the book by

asking students the following guided questions: 1. What special job does each person

in the family have? What work does the family do together? 2. What needs does the

family meet by using things they grow or raise? (food, shelter, clothing) What things

does the family need that must be bought? 3. Why does the father make the long trip

to town each autumn? 4. Why does the family's work change with each

season? During the discussion, the teacher will use talk moves (revoicing what a

student has said, having students restate what a peer has said, using wait time, having

students add on to each other, and having students apply their own reasoning to

someone else’s reasoning) to facilitate the conversation [Strategies].

Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/ox-cart-man-discussion-guide

3. The teacher will pull up the “Indentured Servants and Colonists in America”

painting from the previous social studies lesson, and will have students discuss with a

partner what things they see in the painting that were mentioned in the book.
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 10

[Comprehensible Input and Interaction]. She will also have them discuss with a partner

what things they notice about the painting that are different from what was mentioned in

the book. The teacher will walk around the room during this time to listen to what the

students are saying, and will join in on conversations to help struggling students

[Interaction].

4. After that, the teacher will ask the students to think in their heads about how their

lives are similar and different to the lives of the people in the book and in the painting.

5. The teacher will next have students work in 5 groups of 4 (the teacher will assign

the groups strategically by putting struggling students with non-struggling students in

the same group, so that non-struggling students can help struggling students) to come

up with a list on a poster of how their lives are similar and different to the lives of the

people that they see in the painting and to the lives of the Ox-Cart Man and his family

[Interaction]. The teacher will model on the board how she would like students to set up

their lists on their posters with a line drawn vertically down the middle of the poster with

one side labelled “similarities,” and the other side labelled “differences”

[Comprehensible Input]. To help them fill out their lists, the teacher will provide each

group with pictures of things that they see in Connecticut now, such as places to buy

items, types of food, different types of occupations, types of clothing, and cars/other

technology (seen in materials list) [Comprehensible Input].

6. After each group has come up with a list of things about their lives that are similar

and different to the lives of the people they see in the painting and to the lives of the Ox-

Cart Man and his family, the teacher will lead a group discussion about what each group

wrote down on their posters. As each group shares, the teacher will use talk moves to
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 11

make sure that everyone understands and responds to each group [Strategies]. The

teacher will also write down what each group says on the Smartboard, so that everyone

can see what has been said [Strategies]. Additionally, the teacher will encourage the

groups to only share things that other groups have not shared with the class yet when it

is their turn to share, so that their class list does not repeat ideas.

Closure (will take approximately 10 minutes):

 To wrap up the lesson, the teacher will point to the list of similarities/differences

that the class just generated on the SmartBoard and ask students, “Based on

what we have come up with as a class today, what are some things in

Connecticut that have developed or changed over time, in terms of things like

technology and daily living? What are some things that have stayed the same?”

[Comprehensible Input]. The teacher will facilitate this group discussion using talk

moves [Strategies]. The teacher will also have the following language frames

[Strategies] written on sentence strips in the front of the room that she will require

kids to use while answering each guided question: 1. “One thing in Connecticut

that has developed or changed over time is ______. I know this has developed

or changed over time because ______.” 2. “One thing in Connecticut that has

stayed the same over time is ______. I know this has stayed the same over time

because ______.”

 The teacher will then review the learning and language objectives that they

accomplished during the lesson that day, before transitioning to something else

[Strategies].
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 12

Assessment

CO1: The teacher will assess this objective by walking around when the kids are

making lists of the similarities and differences between their lives and the lives of the

people living in early CT. She will listen to their conversations and look at what groups

are writing on their posters during this time, to see if what they are saying/writing makes

sense, and is supported by what they learned from the specific sources used in the

lesson. Additionally, she will listen and respond to what each group shares during the

group discussion about the similarities and differences that they found, in order to see if

students are comparing and contrasting appropriately.

CO2: The teacher will assess this objective by listening and providing verbal feedback

to what students are talking about with their partners on the similarities and differences

that they see between the painting and the book.

CO3: The teacher will assess this objective by listening and responding to what

students say during the closure group discussion, to see if what students are saying is

correct and is supported by what they learned from the specific sources used in the

lesson.

LO1: The teacher will assess this objective by listening to what students say to each

other as they are working on their posters, to see if what they are saying is correct and

is supported by what they learned from the specific sources used in the lesson.

Additionally, she will listen to what students say during the group discussion of

similarities and differences between their lives and the lives of people living in early

Connecticut, to see if what they are saying is correct.

LO2: The teacher will assess this objective by listening to students during the closure
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 13

group discussion about how Connecticut has developed over time to see if they are

appropriately using the language frames given to answer the guided questions that the

teacher asks them.

Which of the four dimensions of inquiry, if any, did this lesson target? How did

you help young learners engage in this/these dimension(s) of inquiry?

This lesson targeted the questions and initiating inquiry dimension of inquiry because

the students worked with teacher-generated questions to guide their thinking and

learning about life in early Connecticut. The questions got students to think about how

their lives are similar and different to people living in early Connecticut, and they got

them to think about how Connecticut has developed over time to get to how it is

today. This lesson also targeted the use of the sources/evidence dimension of inquiry,

since students looked at a painting/heard a read aloud of a book and pulled information

out of them to learn about the lives of people living in early Connecticut. Evaluating

each source should have caused kids to come up with questions about life in early

Connecticut, and should have helped them make inferences about life in early

Connecticut using evidence from the sources.

LESSON 2, written by Jen

Content Objective(s) :

1. Students will be able to evaluate a letter written in 1870 by Maud Maxon, a

young girl who was native to Mystic and travelled to San Francisco via a ship.
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 14

2. Students will be able to compare and contrast their lives to the life of Maud

Maxon, using a venn diagram.

3. Students will be able to create a letter to a friend pretending to be from early

Connecticut or Students will be able to compose a response to Maud’s letter,

including a description of what life is like in current Connecticut.

Language Objective(s):

1. Students will be able to clearly explain similarities and differences between

life during early Connecticut and life during current Connecticut.

2. Students will be able to utilize key vocabulary, presented by the teacher, in

order to comprehend what life at sea was like during early

Connecticut [Building Background].

Key Vocabulary with Definition(s) [Building Background]:

1. Voyage- a long journey by sea or space

2. Boatswain- an officer on a ship that is responsible for the crew

3. Commence- begin

4. Cask- container

5. Port- a harbor where ships dock

6. Galley- the kitchen in a ship

7. Leghorn- a straw hat

Materials:

1. A PowerPoint slide showing different ways that people traveled in early

Connecticut: walking, sailing, driving in a horse and buggy, riding in a train

[Lesson Preparation].
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 15

2. One whiteboard marker

3. Twenty social studies notebooks

4. A copy of Maud Maxson’s letter displayed on the SmartBoard

[Comprehensible Input]

5. Twenty copies of a vocabulary sheet with definitions of words found within

Maud Maxson’s letter [Building Background]

6. Twenty copies of the Mystic Seaport Document Analysis Sheet

http://educators.mysticseaport.org/static/connections/pdfs/document_analysis_worksheet.pdf

7. Twenty copies of a letter template [Comprehensible Input]

Learning Activities

Initiation (10 minutes): The teacher will begin the lesson by writing the content

objectives and language objectives on the board for the entire class to see [Lesson

Preparation]. After reviewing the objectives, the teacher will ask students to think about

different ways in which we travel. The teacher will select a couple of students to share

some methods of transportation, before asking, “How do you think people travelled

during early Connecticut, before the invention of cars?” Students will be able to turn and

talk with a partner to discuss how people used to travel without cars [Interaction]. After

three minutes, the teacher will ask students to share their answers. The teacher will

then display the PowerPoint slide on transportation and state, “Back in the old days,

people travelled on foot. Many people would walk to get to their desired destination.

Other ways to travel included, driving in a horse and buggy, sailing on ship, and riding a

train” [Lesson Preparation].

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 16

Lesson Development (1 hour):

1. The teacher will introduce the class to Maud Maxson by providing background

knowledge about the girl. The teacher will state, “We will be reading and listening to

Maud Maxson’s Letter. This letter was written in 1870, over one hundred years ago. We

will first review some terms that are used in the letter that may not be familiar to us.”

The teacher will write the words from the key definitions on the board before the

students are given copies of the vocabulary sheet[Building Background]. If the students

are confused by any of the definitions, the teacher will research pictures to accompany

the definitions [Comprehensible Input].

2. Following the vocabulary review, the teacher will display Maud Maxson’s Letter

on the SmartBoard, so that the students can follow along as the letter is read aloud

[Comprehensible Input and Strategies].

Source: http://educators.mysticseaport.org/documents/maxson_letter/

3. The teacher will then distribute copies of the Mystic Seaport Document Analysis

Sheet for the students to complete while they listen to the read aloud of the letter for a

second time [Comprehensible Input].

4. The students will come together as a whole class to create a venn diagram. The

teacher will draw the venn diagram on the board to show similarities and differences

between the lives of students and the life of Maud [Comprehensible Input].

5. After completing the venn diagram, the teacher will provide students with two

options, “Boys and girls, after reading Maud’s letter, you can choose to write a letter

responding to her letter and ask her any questions that you may have, or you can

choose to write a letter to Maud from the perspective of another child in early
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 17

Connecticut.” The students will be given five minutes to turn and talk with a partner to

decide which option they would like to write about and why [Interaction]. The students

will be given a letter template to begin their writing process [Comprehensible Input].

Closure (15 minutes): The teacher will close the lesson by asking five students to

present their letters to the class. After each person shares, they will call on two students

for questions and comments. Once everyone has had a chance to read their letter, the

teacher will review the objectives from the beginning of the lesson [Strategies]. The

teacher will ask, “Using Maude’s letter for a reference, how is life today different from

life in early Connecticut?” After listening to student responses, the teacher will end the

lesson with a final question: “Would you rather live in early Connecticut or current

Connecticut? Please explain your reasoning.”

Assessment

CO1: The teacher will assess this objective by walking around while students are

completing their Mystic Seaport Document Analysis Sheet. The teacher will focus on the

section entitled, “Important document information,” to determine whether or not students

understand why Maude wrote a letter.

CO2: The teacher will assess this objective by creating a venn diagram with the class.

The teacher will facilitate a discussion regarding life in early Connecticut versus life in

current Connecticut. The teacher will write down everything that the students contribute

during the conversation in the venn diagram.

Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 18

CO3: The teacher will assess this objective by listening to the discussion between

students as they pair-share ideas about possible writing topics. The teacher will also

walk around the classroom while the students are completing their letter template.

Finally, the teacher will be attentively listening to the students as they read their letters

aloud to the class. The teacher will look for key details about early life in Connecticut.

LO1: The teacher will assess this objective by listening to the students as they complete

the venn diagram. The teacher will write down the student responses as they discuss

similarities and differences between their lives and the life of Maud, as well as provide

feedback if a response is historically inaccurate. Also, the teacher will listen to the

students during closure. The students will have a group discussion about life in early

Connecticut and discuss whether or not they would want to live during that time period.

The class should refer back to Maude’s letter when discussing life in early Connecticut.

LO2: The teacher will assess this objective by reviewing the completed Mystic Seaport

Document Analysis worksheets. The teacher will check each worksheet for accuracy to

ensure that students understand what life was like at sea in early Connecticut.

Which of the four dimensions of inquiry, if any, did this lesson target? How did you help

young learners engage in this/these dimension(s) of inquiry?

This lesson targets the use of sources/evidence dimension of inquiry because students

will be examining a historical letter and pulling information from the text to learn about
Elementary Social Studies Methods, EDCI 4125 19

different aspects of life from the perspective of a child living in early Connecticut. By

thoroughly evaluating the source, the students will be able to come up with questions

about life in early Connecticut. As the teacher, I will help them make inferences

surrounding daily living in early Connecticut by using specific evidence from the source.

Additionally, the Mystic Seaport Document Analysis Sheet will serve as a guide for

students to think critically about the information contained within the document.