http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/we-the-people-a-history.cfm

Lesson Plan 1

The lesson plan I have chosen to use is an elementary history lesson. It is targeted at grade levels between Kindergarten and eighth grade. The lesson deals with the thirteen colonies before the Revolutionary War. The main objective of this lesson is to fully understand the phrase “taxation without representation” through role playing taxes on the colonists by the British King. Students will all be assigned the role of tax collectors, a Member of Parliament, King George, or the colonists. The teacher allows the non-colonists to develop a list of 10-12 items to “tax” the students on, for example owning a pencil. Each student is provided with a cup of candy which will be used as their tax money. At the end of the activity, the students will discuss how it felt to have been a colonist and the unfairness of the amount of candy the tax collectors had.

The concepts learned in Educational Psychology are congruent with the objectives and learning provided in this lesson. Learning is achieved best when cognitive development theories are kept in mind during instruction. Piaget and Vygotsky have similar beliefs that active learning through social interaction and also constructivist learning should be incorporated to help promote learning. These theories were prevalent throughout the lesson plan. The students the lesson plan is directed towards in this activity are in the age group of Piaget’s concrete operational stage. Also, Vygotsky’s concept of scaffolding has been demonstrated in the lesson. The information processing model has demonstrated the storing and retrieving of the information learned, as well as elaborating on the information. The teacher has provided modeling opportunities for both herself and the students in this lesson along with classroom management through negative punishment. These concepts are evident throughout the creation of this lesson plan.

First, Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are relevant to the age group being taught in this lesson. The majority of children being taught this lesson are approximately ages 7-11 which lie in the concrete operational stage of cognitive development. Students in this age group cannot understand abstract, hypothetical information, but they do understand concrete, real information. Therefore, role playing colonist taxation helps the students understand the real life events and feelings of the colonists in history. The children are able to logically reason why the phrase taxation without representation was unfair to the colonists by experiencing it in a concrete and hands-on way. I believe that the lesson plan creator incorporated the use of concrete information, instead of abstract, in order to teach the lesson to this age group of concrete operational thinkers.

Another cognitive learning psychologist, Vygotsky, has similar views to Piaget about active learning, but included the concept of scaffolding in his learning methods. This assists learning through providing examples and breaking a problem down into steps in order to allow the student to grow independently as a learner. The scaffolding is implied, but the teacher of the lesson plan effectively used it through first walking them through the learning process. After the students got the basic understanding of the concepts, the teacher gradually leads them towards independent learning. The teacher did a small discussion to give the concept of taxation without representation and then allowed the students to learn for themselves the real reasons why it was unfair. To aid them in the role playing of the material, the teacher provided them with a central theme so they can learn the concept at a deeper and more independent level. This allowed the students to understand the concept because the teacher provided the framework for learning the material and then gradually led them toward independent learning in the lesson.

Piaget and Vygotsky have similarities between their theories of cognitive learning; both psychologists believe that active learning through social interaction is an effective learning strategy. Active learning is where students are actively engaged in the activity which enables more effective learning and deeper understanding. Active learning is present throughout several portions of the lesson. For example, at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher asks the class questions regarding the reasons for the colonists to fight in the Revolutionary War, such as, was it fair for Britain to tax the colonies, etc. Discussion and asking questions allowed the students to first understand conceptually why the war was fought against Britain. The active participation in the discussion and actively thinking about the material allows the students to have a deeper understanding and thinking process.

Then, every student was able to be actively engaged in the activity to further understand the unfairness of the taxes by experiencing it firsthand. Practicing the tax creating and paying taxes allowed the students to understand the issues involved before the American Revolution at a personal level. This allows thorough understanding by experiencing the lives of colonists for themselves. This helps their memory by incorporating their personal experience and feelings along with the definition of the concept. After the activity, the class discussed the unfairness of taxes, why the colonists rebelled, and the justified anger against the British. Through the discussions and activity, the class worked together to come to conclusions. This included how it felt to be a colonist, and this fostered active learning through the social interaction. The social aspect of learning and cooperating is used in the discussions before and after the lesson, which included the factual information learned through this activity as well as the emotional and justice aspects of it. The social interaction is important to keep them involved and discussing the concept being learned. It allows them to incorporate the topics of the lesson into conversation with their peers to allow them to apply the concept in a personal and relevant way. The strategy of allowing active learning in the classroom was extremely effective in the planning of this activity.

Another concept that Piaget and Vygotsky both agreed upon was the idea of constructivism. This theory of learning coincides with active learning, but constructive learning describes how learners must individually discover and understand difficult information. This theory is prevalent in this lesson plan. Through working cooperatively and discovering the concept for themselves, they achieved effective construction. The students are role playing with their peers and learning the key elements of colonial times. Further, the students discovered the lesson to be taught when they experienced the feelings of the colonists. The material was seen through each child’s perspective and it allowed learning to be much more valuable. As the students see the information from their point of view, the concept is at a personal level and the students are able to make it relevant to them and apply it to their lives. They can personally experience the feelings of the colonists and can realize why this event occurred in history.

The information processing theory is also used wisely in the creation of this lesson plan. All information in the lesson heard is first received by the sensory memory and held for two to three seconds and then stored in short term memory for twenty to thirty seconds before the information is lost. The information is not forgotten, however, because it is rehearsed successfully through the rest of the lesson. The information is better stored because of first understanding the concepts of the war and taxes, but then furthering their understanding by acting out this historical event. All of this practice and rehearsal of the information allows the information to be stored in the long-term memory, where it can be stored for an unlimited amount of time. The more a concept is repeated in any human’s brain, the better it will be stored in the long term memory.

The activity teaches the concept in three different ways. First, the concept is discussed and explained. Then, the information is repeated in an active way to allow it to be better stored. Last, the lesson and activity is reflected upon which allows a third way for the information to be reinforced in the memory.

An important feature of the efficient storing and retrieval of the information learned in class is the use of elaborative learning. Elaboration is making connections to other information and giving the information meaning. This can be done by attaching associations and meaning to information, and this allows it to be better organized in the brain. The taxation without representation concept is elaborated on by making the children play out the roles of the colonists. This allows the students to not only understand what the meaning of this phrase is, but they are also able to connect this phrase to what it felt like to act like a colonist. The discussion and reflection after the activity also reinforce the information to allow for more associations in the brain. The kids acted out the role and then were able to apply it to the main concept being taught which makes the lesson meaningful in a way that will be better remembered. They now have an emotional association to the concept which provides another way to aid in the retrieval of this information.

The group work involved in this lesson not only helps the students elaborate on the material being learned, but the lesson also allows modeling to occur. The teacher was able to model the correct way to determine what types of items can be taxed. The teacher asked for the class input in brainstorming correct types of items and helps them determine which are appropriate. Then, in the actual activity, the tax collectors, Parliament, and King collectively determined the ten to twelve items to be taxed. Examples of peer modeling can also be inferred. The students who give up their taxes do not have to go to “jail” so the students who are willing act as good models. Also, the students who have good behavior during the activity do not get taxed and the misbehaving students do. During class discussion before and after the activity, students who actively participate serve as good models for the class because this is desired by all students.

Through creating certain taxes during the activity, the teacher continues to manage her classroom through a potentially chaotic activity by enforcing punishment. By making sure a “tax” was created when students are talking too loudly or misbehaving and making children go to “jail” if they refuse to participate and pay a tax, this serves as punishment during the activity. By taking away a child’s candy or taking away their right to participate (jail) this creates a negative punishment. Removing something desired in this activity makes the students want to avoid bad behavior and behave in an appropriate manner throughout the activity. This reinforcement was used very successfully in this lesson by making the punishments connect with the activity, but also enforces good classroom management in the process.

All of these essential psychological topics are clear throughout the lesson plan and all are effectively used to foster students’ learning. The lesson is taught correctly to students in the age range of Piaget’s concrete operational stage. The teacher also properly demonstrates Vygotsky’s concept of scaffolding to assist the learning process. Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s idea of active learning through social interaction was appropriately expressed through the role playing. Also, their theory of constructivism was properly shown through cooperation and discovery. The information model was successful in allowing the students to accurately store the information learned for later retrieval. Elaborating on the material learned also aided in this effective storage and retrieval. The teacher incorporated modeling of herself and modeling of the students in the lesson by demonstrating appropriate behavior. Lastly, the teacher allowed for a manageable classroom through the use of negative punishers in the activity. Overall, this lesson plan is extremely effective in supporting the process of learning in a classroom. It is well-planned and incorporates numerous psychological theories and strategies to allow immense learning.