Date: 3/23 Teacher Name & CMT: Carleigh Olive and Stacy Bales Class: ED 327

Grade Level: 6th Unit Name/Topic: Sinking of the Lusitania Lesson Number: 2 Length: 45 min

Stage 1: Desired Results

Students will engage and actively participate during the lesson to learn about the sinking of the Lusitania and its
significance in the larger WWI context.

Description
Students will be asked what they remember about the sinking of the Lusitania then will watch a short video as a
refresher and ease into the lesson. Afterward, the script will be passed out, the roles assigned, and students will act
out the play. Before the play is read, students will be instructed to circle, underline, or otherwise indicate words
they are unfamiliar with. Then students will discuss the two provided discussion questions and the unknown
words with the table and write down the definitions on the paper. Then, students will individually write a 3-5
sentence summary of key points in the sinking of the Lusitania and the lasting consequences.

Academic Content Standard(s):

6.H.16 Identify issues related to an historical event in Europe or the Americas, giving basic arguments for and
against that issue utilizing the perspectives, interests, and values of those involved. (Sinking of Lusitania)

Enduring Understandings / Goals (Why): Essential Questions:

- By the end of this lesson, students will begin to consider - What is the significance of the
the consequences of a total war mentality sinking of the Lusitania?
- By the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe
and explain the sinking of the Lusitania

Student (SMART) Objectives(s):

Outcome(s) students will be able to demonstrate . . .
- Students will be able to describe and explain the events and consequences of the sinking of the Lusitania
- Students will be active participants and engaged with the lesson
- Students will think critically about the multiple perspectives involved in the event and how those
perspectives impact the outcomes of WWI

Language objective:
- Students will be able to identify and use the targeted academic language in the script when discussing the
provided questions and filling out the word-match
- Targeted academic language: neutral, atrocity, outrageous, solemn, profound

Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL)

Identity: Some students are really interested in military warfare/weapons and economic systems which either the
video or script touches on, student opinion (discussion questions)
Skills: annotating readings (for vocab), active listening, public speaking, collaboration and discussion skills
Intellect: sinking of Lusitania, target academic language
Criticality: total war mentality, analysis of the impact of mult. Perspectives,
 Stage 2: Evidence of Learning (Assessments)

Performance Task(s) tied to: Other Evidence

- Students will show their learning by engaging with the Formative:
discussion questions and conversation with their table - During lesson observations
- Students will show their learning by writing a summary of - Summary will be turned in to
the sinking and the impact of the mult. perspectives check for understanding

Evaluative Criteria:
Student success looks like having all students actively participating Summative (if any beyond the
and engaging with the lesson/play, working collaboratively during performance task): N/A
group discussion to resolve questions about language and the
impact of total war mentality.

Stage 3: Learning Plan

General Methods for Instruction:

(Highlight all that apply)
Group Discussion Guided Practice Question/Answer Teacher Modeling Problem-based Simulation

Cooperative Learning Lab Learning Stations Writing to Learn Inquiry Learning

Independent Learning Small Group Direct Instruction Workshop Role Play Game

Other:

Where will this lesson take place? General Education Classroom Resource Room or Other:
Targeted Support(s) for Diverse Learners Technology Integration (purpose):

Specific Support and Who will provide that - Video

Why? What’s the intention
Needed (Special support?
Education Support (support be provided? and/or Other Materials:
accommodations and modifications):

- Identify unknown academic language and - Lusitania play script (at least 30 copies)
word match to provide scaffolding/def of - Worksheet for summary or computer (at least
target academic language 30 copies)
- Not every student has to have a role so those
who are uncomfortable/anxious to speak in
front of the class don’t have to have a role in
the play
- Students will have individual physical copies
of the script
- Helps for following along and
autoprocessing
- Video will have captions for accessibility
- The worksheet has lines provided to provide
scaffolding for organization and neatness
- Students can also type their summary
if need be and submit on canvas

Intentional Co-Teaching or
Grouping Strategies:

❏ 1 Teach 1 Observe
(gather specific data)
❏ 1 Teach 1 Assist (float to support
and engage)
❏ Parallel Teaching (same
material/smaller groupings)
❏ Station Teaching (divide content,
repeat to groups)
❏ Alternative Teaching (grouping
specialized attention)
❏ Team Teaching (delivering lesson
together)

Lesson Agenda with Discipline-Specific Learning Activities

 Time: Teacher Will Be (Planned Students Will Be Rationale:
Supports tied to objectives & build in (Learning Tasks connect to prior (Based on
checks for understanding) knowledge & assets): Research/theory)

9:10-9:15 Double-check that I have all the needed NA Good to be

papers and review the lesson. prepared and
refresh

~9:15-9:22 I will ask what students remember about the Students will recall what they read HRL
sinking of the Lusitania, noting gaps in about the sinking and raise their hand
understanding. Then, before I show the video, to answer the question. They will Importance refreshers
I will tell students if they want to, they can actively listen to others while they are and observing for gaps in
take notes during the video, but they do not talking. During the video, they will be understanding
have to. actively watching/listening, and if
desired, taking notes. Formative assessment/
pre-assessment

~9:22-9:25 I will transition to the main activity and pass Students will actively listen to Explicit instruction
out the script as I provide instruction. Then I instruction and the section being read.
will ask one or two students to read the Student Engagement
“About This Play” section aloud.
HRL (skills)

~ 9:25-9:45 I will assign the roles to students and ensure Students will actively listen to Explicit instruction
to explicitly explain the expectations when instruction and their classmates. They
acting out the play/listening to others. During will also actively engage in the Identifying academic
this I will also make sure to tell students to reading by reading their lines, language (reading
indicate any unfamiliar terminology when following along in the reading, and comprehension)
following along on their paper.I will follow indicating unfamiliar terminology. By
along as students read the play, cueing for following along they will also be Student engagement
certain roles if needed. prepared for when they have to read
aloud. HRL (Skills/intellect)

~9:45-9:55 I will provide explicit instruction on the Students will actively listen to Explicit instruction
word-match and discussion questions they instruction. They will discuss
are to answer. I will also remind them discuss unfamiliar terminology together and Collaborative learning
any vocab words they are unfamiliar with. work collaboratively to answer the
While students I completing the activity I will word-match question. Then they will Student Engagement
actively observe and intentionally walk around engage in discussion with their group,
the classroom to immediately address thinking critically about the provided Proximity/ intentional use
confusion and prompt further questions. of space
disucssion/higher-order thinking.
HRL (especially criticality
section)

Bloom’s taxonomy
(analyze/evaluate)

Formative assessment

~9:55-10:00 *if time allows* Students will actively listen to Explicit instruction
I will tell students to write/type a 3-5 sentence instruction. Afterward, they will
summary about the sinking of the Lusitania, independently write their summaries, Summarizing (through
making sure to explicitly say to incorporate thinking critically about the sinking of writing)
the impact of multi. Perspectives in the larger the Lusitania and the larger context of
scheme of the war. As students are doing this, WWI. They will also ensure to write Proximity/ intentional use
I will observe to see if any confusion arises– their name and date on the paper of space
and if any does– address it to provide before turning it in.
clarification. Before the period ends, I will Formative Assessment
explicitly tell students to double-check that
their name and date are on the paper/doc HRL
before they turn it in.
Bloom’s taxonomy
 Data-Driven Reflection and Decisions
Based on the specific objective(s), Performance Task(s), and Evaluative Criteria set for today’s lesson,
what was the result? How well did the class do collectively on meeting the objective at the level you
expected? Were there any patterns, collective misconceptions/gaps? Who needs specific
support/reteach? Now, justify your next step in planning. What will you do next? Why (research-based)?
What do you anticipate the result to be?

I think the lesson went well. There are definitely aspects I need to improve on, but all in all, the students
enjoyed the play and did a great job synthesizing big picture ideas. I think I did a good job on improving my
use of space. I never felt like I was in one area of the classroom for too long and was able to easily prompt
further discussion and ensure all students were on task easily due to that. I do think I explained the directions
clearer, but I still think there is a good amount of room for improvement. I noticed that my transitions were
not particularly smooth, and while I am lucky no challenging behaviors manifested during these transitions, I
want to work on them since they are the most likely time for a transition.

Most students achieved all objectives, performance tasks, and evaluative criteria, however, some struggled to
work collaboratively. This was quite shocking to me since the students are accustomed to working
collaboratively and have done so successfully in the past. I think part of the reason why students did not
engage in collaborative discussion was because a new seating chart was made a week ago. Even though the
collaboration did not go as expected, I would not change that aspect. It has only been a week with these new
table groups, so it may take a little bit for them to get comfortable engaging in collaborative work together,
but the only way for them to get comfortable with that is by providing them with many opportunities for
collaboration.

During the discussion portion of the lesson, a group of students were disagreeing with each other over if
Germany had the right to sink the Lusitania. I listened in to their conversation and provided prompting
questions to get them thinking about different perspectives when one of the students said that Germany had
no right to attack a ship with no weapons aboard. I made sure to instantly address the misconception telling
the student that the Lusitiania did secretly have American weapons that were going to be given to the British.
This then prompted the student to reassess their initial opinion and started a great conversation on the role
warring nations have in the protection of civilians. The only other technical misconceptions I noticed were
expanding on what I was teaching. For example, one student asked me what type of haul the ship had, since
they disagreed with another student. I happened to know the answer to the question so I provided
clarification, but nowhere in the lesson did I explicitly teach about the structure of the ship, so I’m not quite
sure these types of misconceptions are what you are asking about.

Even though these were some misconceptions I do not think there is a need for reteaching. Rather, I think it
would be best to expand on the initial lesson based on the questions students asked me. Focusing on naval
blockades and declared naval war zones, as with the propaganda ads that Britain and Germany pushed in the
U.S. would touch on a lot of what students wanted to learn more about. I also would focus on the specific
types of weapons used in naval warfare since a few of the students are really interested in military warfare
and weaponry. By doing so I would be able to create a highly engaging lesson that incorporates student
interest and student agency, through listening to what they want to learn about. This would also be a way to
make my lesson culturally responsive, since I am taking their interests and identities, as their interests are part
of their identities, into account. If I were to do this, I think all students would be really engaged in the lesson
and promote a great deal of higher-order thinking. I anticipate that since the students would be more
interested in what they are learning, they will ask really great questions that require deep analytical and
critical thinking.