On The Trip Entry #2: Wetland Plants and Animals

Wetlands are made up of low-lying land, water, and lots of plants and animals.  There are places where there is shallow water, or at least soggy soil.  Plants that grow here thrive living in the wet environment.  Not all wetlands are the same however.  Some of the different types of wetlands are marshes, bogs, and swamps.  Wetlands are very important because without the wetlands there would not be place for thousand of animals and plant species to live.  Another reason that the wetlands are important is because without the wetlands there would be much more flooding and also polluted waterways.  Unfortunately, people do not realize the value of the wetlands and many of them have been drained and used as building sites.  Some types of wetland animals are: salamanders, blue herons, water snakes, turtles, dragonflies, bass, minnows, muskrats, minks, and white-tailed deer, just to name a few.  Some types of wetland plants are cattails, water lilies, duckweed, red and silver maples, winterberry holly, sweet gale, ferns, mosses, and cotton grass, just to names a few.  (Content)

In this lesson students will describe the the types of plants and animals that have their habitat in the wetlands. In second grade we study both plants, and animals.  My students love to watch Magic School Bus episodes and The Magic School Bus: Gets Swamped is perfect to help teach this lesson.  Before showing the video  make a list on the board with what students think wetlands are.  After a small discussion explain to students that a wetland is a place where you can walk at any time of the day and your feet would get wet. CC.8.5.6-8.D  Then ask students to think about this scenario and explain to them that we will be discussing this after the video. " What would you do if you heard that a developer wanted to build a shopping center right where the local wetlands were?  Would you try to save the wetlands? Today we are going to find out what a wetland is, and the plants and animals that are found in the wetlands. " After this, show students the Magic School Bus episode, which is a great intro to the wetland animals and plant life.  CC.8.5.6-8.G After watching the video have students classify plants you would find in the wetlands vs. plants you would find in the dessert, and animals you would find in the wetlands vs. animals you wouldn't find there. (DOK 2) The second activity they would do with this lesson would be similar to what happened in the video clip.  Students must develop a logical argument they could present to the class on why to protect the wetlands from being taken over by a shopping center. (DOK 3)  To go along with their argument on why to keep the wetlands they will create a poster with animals and plants that live and grow in the wetlands.  Students can use their list previously created to help determine what they will draw on the poster.  CC.8.5.6-8.G (DOK 4) After groups of students present their posters and arguments to the class discuss with the whole group important points that they made and the value of the wetlands in our world today. (DOK 1) CC.1.5.2.B  CC.1.5.2.A (Creative Idea)

Domains: 1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 1.d, 1.e, 1.f, 2.a, 2.b, 2.c, 2.d, 2.e, 3.a, 3.b, 3.c, 3.d, 3.e, 4.c, 4.d, 4.e

Sources: www.nwf.org/kids, united streaming, and www.hamiltonnature.org

Entry 1 On The Trip: Maple Trees

Trees are very important to us and have many uses. Trees provide oxygen for us to breath. Trees are also natural resources that are used for many thinks like lumber, heat sources, and paper. Some trees are a source of  food as well. One of the sweetest things that comes from trees is maple syrup.  There are several types of maple trees but the best syrup comes from the sugar maple tree. The legend about how maple syrup was discovered was that a Native American chief hit his tomahawk into a tree and water came out. His wife took the water home to boil food in it thinking it was plain water. It was not! It was maple syrup water. Today maple syrup is a wonderful, flavorful natural resource. A tree should be at least 50 years old before you can tap it for sugar water. There are only a few months out of the year when maple syrup can be tapped from the trees.  A hole is put into the tree and a tap is then slid into the maple tree with a bucket underneath to catch the sugar water.  Once the sugar water is collected it can be made into several things.  It can be boiled to make syrup. Spotza can also a be made by swirling the syrup in cold water, which makes a taffy.  After mixing up the syrup for a time, maple sugar can also be made.  The darker the syrup is, the better the flavor of the syrup.  (Content)

For this lesson we would begin by showing the video clip How Do I Tap A Maple Tree on YouTube from the University of Maine. CC.8.5.6-8.G  After watching the video clip ask students to recall the instruments used to tap a maple tree. (DOK 1) CC.1.5.2.A Demonstrate for students how to make maple syrup from the directions given to us at Somerset Historical Center.  While demonstrating how to boil the syrup from the sugar water do some math problems with students.  Show students how to read a thermometer. Also explain to students that it takes at least 40-50 bottles of sugar water to make 1 gallon of syrup. Have students calculate  how many bottles of sugar water it would take to make 2 gallons of maple syrup. (DOK 4) As the sugar boils have students observe and write down the what they see. Hypothesize what they think will happen after the sugar water boils.  (DOK 3) After the water boils pour it into a wooden bowl.  Then begin to stir it.  Tell students to observe what is occurring while stirring the syrup and jot down notes about it.  After the syrup turns to sugar have students discuss if their predictions were correct about what would happen or not. (DOK 2). CC.8.6.6-8.F  For the ending activity allow students taste the maple sugar. Have them make a 3 part foldable showing the stages from sugar water, to syrup, to maple sugar. (Creative Idea) CC.8.5.6-8.C 

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4e, 4f

Entry 6: A Second Grade Lesson on Frederick Douglass

A Second Grade Lesson on Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery.  After his mother died at the age of 7, Frederick was sent to live in Baltimore and be the companion to a white boy.  This benefited Frederick greatly because he was well taken care of and his mistress even began to teach him to read. She was told to stop teaching Frederick how to read, because slaves don’t read.  Frederick’s interest was already sparked and he worked to learn how to read and write.  Later in his live he was sent to a new master who was very cruel.  Eventually Frederick escaped to freedom.  Once he was free he did great things such as writing a newspaper that both blacks and whites read.  Frederick also became an adviser to Abraham Lincoln when he was president.  Frederick Douglas was determined to stand up for what he believed was right, and worked hard to achieve everything he earned though out his life.    (Content) 

Hand out a slip of paper to each student asking them what they would do if you saw your friend being mean to someone else? Tell students that their answers will not be shared with the rest of the class.  Give students a few minutes to write down their answer and then collect. On Discovery Education show the 5 minute video clip:  New York Up Close- Modern Day New York- The Underground Railroad Stops in New York.  This video clip is an introduction to what slavery was, and how some slaves escaped to freedom through the Underground Railroad.  It also introduces both Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman as important “conductors” on the underground rail road.  Discuss with students what the underground rail road was.  Be sure to explain that it was not trains that transported slaves to freedom.  Discuss Frederick Douglas’ part in helping slaves escape through the underground rail road.  (DOK 1) (CC.1.2.2.B) Discuss what conductors, and passengers meant on the underground rail road.  (CC.8.5.6-8) As students to use their prior knowledge about slavery to draw conclusions about what may have happened if people like Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman didn’t stand up for what they believed was right and work hard to achieve a goal.  (DOK 3)  Have students work with a partner and create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the North and the South during this time period.  Then discuss what made the North and the South different, and what were some things that were the same? (DOK 2)  (CC.1.5.2.A)  Finally, hand back students slips of paper from the beginning of the lesson.  Explain to students that during this time, some people believed that slavery was wrong, but they didn’t stand up for what they believed in and this allowed slavery to continue for a long time.  What did you say you would do if you saw one of your friends being mean to another person?  Would you just stand there and not say anything? Would you join in? Or would you stand up to your friend and tell them that what they are doing is wrong?  (DOK 4)  Connect this to the idea of slavery. Would you be like Frederick Douglas who worked really hard to make a change to something you knew was wrong?  I hope so! 

(Creative Idea)

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4a, 4d, 4e, 4f

The content for lesson came from the Discovery Ed Video, as well as, the book A History of US: The New Nation 1789-1850. 

The creative idea for this lesson was sparked by an idea on the following website: http://maap.columbia.edu/lesson/20.html. 

Entry #5: Liz's Lesson on Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase

A Second Grade Lesson on Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States.  One of the things that Jefferson is most well-known for, besides being a founding father, is the Louisiana Purchase.  Not everyone agreed with Jefferson when he purchased this huge piece of land for $15 million dollars, but it is still known as one of today’s best real-estate bargains in history.  The U.S. purchased this land from France, in particular Napoleon, who needed the money for his war with Britain.  This land purchase was very important for more than one reason.  Besides nearly doubling the size of the United States, the U.S. also gained power over a very important waterway, the Mississippi River.  The Mississippi River was key in allowing U.S. farmers to export their crops.  With control of this important river, exporting was possible.    (Content) 

On Discovery Education show students the video clip Crossing the Mississippi:  The Louisiana Purchase.  This a 5 minute video clip that really explains just what went on when President Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. Ask students to recall who made the deal to buy the land, how much it cost, what states did the U.S. gain, why was it so important to have control of the Mississippi River, etc.  (DOK 1) (CC.8.5.6-8.C:)   Show students a map of the U.S. pre-1803 before the Louisiana Purchase.  Show students a map of the U.S. after purchasing the land from France. (CC.8.5.6-8.G )  Have students make observations, based on what they learned from watching the video clip, about how purchasing this land helped the U.S. grow.  (DOK 2)  Have students hypothesize how the U.S. may be different today if Thomas Jefferson had not purchased this land from France.  (DOK 3)  Finally, students will write a persuasive letter to Thomas Jefferson persuading him that it is a good idea to buy this section of land. (CC.8.6.6-8.A) Students need to give at least two arguments as to why Jefferson should purchase the land.  (DOK 4) Before having students write the letter, go over benefits to the U.S. from the purchase of this land.  To close out the lesson hand out a copy of the poem The Purchase with the cartoon of Thomas Jefferson purchasing the land from France.                                  (Creative Idea) 

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e, 4a, 4f

The content for this lesson came for Discovery Education, United Streamings clip called Crossing the Mississippi:  The Louisiana Purchase, and also from the book A History of U.S.:  The New Nation 1789-1850 by Joy Hakim. 

The creative idea came from the United Streaming Website as well as http://www.splashpublications.com/files/wexpansionpreview.pdf. 

Entry 4: A Lesson on Francis Scott Key

A Second Grade Lesson on Francis Scott Key

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer who witnessed the British attach on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.  The War of 1812 was another battle between the U.S. and England.  This war came after the Revolutionary war.  Fort McHenry weathered the attack for a full day.  After a full day of bombing, Key was surprised that the British were not able to destroy the fort.  As the sun came up the next morning, Key noticed that the large U.S. flag at the fort was being flown. After witnessing the attack, Key wrote the words to a poem, which eventually was set to music, and became The Star-Spangled Banner.  It is now our national anthem.                             (Content) 

Ask students the following questions:  Where have you seen the American flag? (DOK 1) (CC.1.2.2.B) What does the flag mean to you? (DOK 2) Show students a flag and discuss the stars and stripes and what they mean.  (DOK 1) After discussing what the flag means read The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key, illustrated by Peter Spier. Have students draw conclusions about how they believe Francis Scott Key felt while watching the battle at Fort McHenry.  (DOK 3) (CC.1.5.2.A) Ask students to hypothesize why Key wrote the words he did. (DOK 3)  (CC.8.6.6-8.A)  Read the book another time, as I’m reading the book I will instruct students to create a picture of what they envision Francis Scott Key seeing as he is writing the Star Spangled Banner.  (DOK 4)               (Creative Idea) 

Domains:  1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 1.d, 1.e, 1.f, 2.a, 2.b, 2.c, 2.d, 2.e, 3.a, 3.b, 3.c, 3.e, 4.f

 The creative idea was inspired by a lesson from scholastic.com.  The content on Francis Scott Key came from biography.com.  

Liz's Entry #3: Lewis and Clark's Expedition

A Second Grade Lesson on Lewis and Clark

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801 he asked Meriwether Lewis to be his secretary. Jefferson wanted to know about the West and after a lot of training he sent Lewis and William Clark to find out about the West by traveling. While on their trip the explored the land that had been purchased by France, the Louisiana territory. They also studied plant and animal life, and learned about the Native American groups who lived their. Clark also drew maps of the land. Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to make friends with the Native American groups they came in contact with. Along the way they hired a man to translate and his wife came along. His wife, Sacajawea, became the guide that helped Lewis and Clark reach the west coast. Due to her they realized they would not be able to reach the west coast by water alone, but would also need to travel by land. They needed horses to be able to travel by land, and didn’t know how they would get them. Sacajawea’s long lost brother, Cameahwait, ended up providing Lewis and Clark with their horses. (Content)

Read the story How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer, this will give students background knowledge of Lewis and Clark’s exploration. Ask questions about the story to see what students recall. (DOK 1) (CC.1.2.2.B, CC.8.5.6-8B) After that, I will provide students with a map of the United States. We will graph the sections of the map that show the original 13 colonies. We will then color to show the land that Lewis and Clark explored to get to the Mississippi River, and finally the land purchased from France in 1803. (DOK 2)

One of the jobs of Lewis and Clark was to find and classify animal and plant life in the West. The class will walk around the outside of the school and investigate the area to see what types of plants and animals they see. (DOK 3) They will then choose a plant or animal they see and hypothesize based on what they know about plants and animals, what they think the specimen may be. (DOK 3) This is something that Lewis and Clark did during their travels. Students will classify the specimen as a plant or an animal, give the name of it, and draw a small diagram of it. After that they will write a small description to analyze the specimen, and describe it so that future scientists would be able to recognize it. (DOK 4) (CC.8.6.6-8.B)

The final thing we would do with this lesson is read a poem called Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark by Carter Skeel. This is a great summary of what Lewis and Clark did. (CC.1.2.2.L) (Creative Idea)

Domains:

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1a, 2b, 2c, 2e, 2b, 3c

The creative idea came from a PDF I found online from the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.

http://savannahtah.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LewisClark-K-2Instructional-Unit.pdf The content came from the book A History of US The New Nation by Joy Hakim.

　

Liz's Entry #2: Gen. Perry Benson at St. Michaels

The lesson I will be teaching is a story within the War of 1812 that I have read to my second grade students about.  I read them the book called The Town that Fooled the British by Lisa Papp.  It is a story about a town called St. Michaels.  This town was full of carpenters who built ships.  The British wanted to stop the town from continuing to build ships so they planned to bomb St. Michaels.  General Perry Benson, who had also fought in the Revolutionary War, was a key player in defending St. Michaels.  The people of St. Michaels, under the leadership of Gen. Benson tricked the British ships who were firing cannons at St. Michaels by turning out all the lights in the town and hoisting all their lanterns into high trees.  The British believed this was the town and overshot the cannons.  Most of the town was saved.  This is why St. Michaels became known as “the town who fooled the British.” Without the quick thinking of Gen. Perry Benson and the action of the town’s militia it is nearly certain that the town would have been taken over by British forces.   (Content) 

With my students I would turn the classroom into the town of St. Michaels.  The front edge of the classroom would be the coast of St. Michaels along which the British ships were waiting.  Half of the classroom would be the town, and the front corner of the room would be outside of town where the lanterns were hung.  The day before acting out the battle, I would have each child in the class make a lantern.  The next day we would read the story The Town that Fooled the British by Lisa Papp and then act out what the militia and Gen. Perry Benson did with the lanterns.  Students would put their lanterns in the section of the room away from “the town.”  This will make it easier for students to visualize how St. Michaels fooled the British and how their plan worked.  (Creative Idea) 

As a whole group we would discuss how the War of 1812 is not studied nearly as much as the Revolutionary or the Civil Wars, but that this war was America’s second battle for independence.  We would discuss how working together is important, and infer what could have happened if the militia of St. Michael’s did not trust Gen. Perry Benson. (DOK 2) If the militia had not worked together with Gen. Benson’s plans the story could have played out much differently.  ( 8.3.6.D, 8.4.6.D)  We would also discuss the story The Town that Fooled the British and discuss that the story itself is historical fiction.  We would go through the story and identify historical facts, as well as, the fictional parts. (DOK 1)  (8.1.6.B)  For example some facts from the story were: Gen. Perry Benson was in charge of the militia at St. Michaels, St. Michaels was a town that built ships that were used in the War of 1812, and the town did work together to trick the British by using lanterns in trees.  Some of the parts of the story that make the book fictional are that the main character Henry Middle was not known to be a real person during the battle at St. Michaels.  I would then ask students to make an argument about why schools should teach more about the War of 1812. (DOK 3) What have they learned about this time period that they think is important for other children to know.  Lastly, I would try to have my students connect the battle at St. Michaels to an event where cooperation was key to having things turn out the way they wanted. They could connect working together to something they’ve done in school, on a team, or something they’ve witness others doing.  (DOK 4)

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1d, 2a, 2d, 2e, 3b, 3d,