FitzPatrick 1

James FitzPatrick
Dr. Giampetro
540
10/12/2016
Domain 1
For my lesson plan I chose to create one for the African-American History class I have
been helping co-teach with my mentor, Rich Digiambatista. Currently we are in the process of
teaching the students about colonial slave life. The plantation was naturally a major environment
for southern slaves, therefore I developed a lesson that helped build the students understanding
by having them read, analyze, and evaluate a primary source.
I have been left with asking many questions on the validity of the standards I listed. Are
these standards correct? Should I add other standards to the lesson plan? Should I worry about
potentially leaving one out? I hope this is something I improve upon as I move forward. My
concern has always been to be accurate and appropriately be detailed in my approach to
anything, which has unfortunately caused me to worry fairly often.
I am easily able to begin this lesson because Mr. D and I have reviewed our keynotes
together and have studied the prerequisite knowledge sufficiently. The idea going into this lesson
is to have already created a basis as in teach the kids some basics about plantation life. This plan
builds upon the basic background of slave plantation life by providing a first-hand story, which
kids can analyze and create connections to their prerequisite lecture with.
The lesson definitely requires the students to think on a higher level. Not necessarily
detailed on the lesson plan is the fact that the author of the article is visiting this slave plantation
and witnessing the experience as if she was a slave for a night. It essential combines present day

FitzPatrick 2
and the past to tell a story. Mr. D and I have been pushing the students to understand culture, and
the importance of it within the African-American community in the present day and the past.
When I think about where this lesson aligns within 1c, it definitely requires them to think on a
higher level. We arent looking for them to analyze and connections to notes we already
governed, but also want them to locate and discuss aspects of slave life that are new. This is a
two-pronged approach that I think lines up nicely with 1c.
Its tough to say if my resources at hand are fully efficient. The I-Pads at our school have
both their advantages and disadvantages. For this lesson, the major advantage is the ability for
the students to quickly and efficiently develop a graphic organizer. Mr. D and I are big fans of
this concept. The I-Pad allows for an expanse of creativity, however, the downside to this is
exactly the opposite. History requires writing skills and an I-Pad, I feel, limits writing skills. To
say that using an I-pad enhances and promotes independent learning under 1d is likely
debatable. Usually long writing is done independently, however this activity does not require
much at all due to the I-pads efficiency limiting the encouragement for students to write lengthy
details within their graphic organizer. Therefore, when I allow them to work in groups they tend
to do so as only short snippets of information are utilized by the students.
As for coherent instruction, this lesson lines up nicely. We built a sequence that starts
from a first-hand lecture, building basic knowledge, and then allow the students to somewhat
learn on their own and not necessarily be told whats important by either Mr. D or myself. On top
of that, there is a discussion afterwords where we put everything that was needed to be handed
in aside only to ask students what their thoughts are and what they discovered. These moments
are my favorite moments in teaching. Because this is where there are sometimes philosophical
answers that are neither right or wrong. The discussion of the plantation life in this sense allows

FitzPatrick 3
the students to think, which is what most teachers strive for rather than just knowing because it
allows them to build deduction skills.
In conclusion, although I have I high opinion for this lesson plan, I am generally limited
in my experience creating them. I would not be surprised if my reasoning is off and would be
open to any critiques necessary from more experienced individuals. However, I believe it was a
reasonable attempt that has validity to it.

(Lesson Plan Below)

FitzPatrick 4

Lesson Plan Format:

Teacher James FitzPatrick

I.

Grade Level 12

Content and Standards: 8.3.12.A. Evaluate the role groups and individuals from the U.S.
played in the social, political, cultural, and economic development of the world.

II.

Prerequisites: Student should have read plantation life keynote lectures.

III.

Essential Questions: Was African-American culture lost? Alive? Changing?

IV.

Instructional Objective: The students will use analytical skills to identify connections from
the previous lectures in order to reinforce understanding of slave life. They will also be able to
identify new information related to slave life.

V.

Instructional Procedures:
Part 1: Initial discussion and review of acquired understanding of daily life on slave
plantations. Ask what led the slaves to these places, where were they located, and how did
slaves adapt.
Part 2: Have students read article where the author visits a slave plantation. Ask them to write
down 5 categories which are clothing, kinship, shelter, play, and work. Have students write
and note what from the authors experience relates to what they have learned about in
plantation life class lecture. Ask that they also note any new concepts.
Part 3: Have students hand in graphic organizer in google classroom as participation for the
day. Then have a discussion as to what they discovered. What have they noticed in relation
to what we learned already. What are some new concepts of plantation life that they have
discovered? What is the culture like? Why is it important and what is it capable of?

VI.

Materials and Equipment: Students I-Pad will be used in order to both read article and
create graphic organizer

VII.

Assessment/Evaluation: Review and grading of students graphic organizer.

FitzPatrick 5
VIII.

Accommodations and Modifications/Differentiation: Individualized Activities: Students

may work in groups if they choose as a means to discover and discuss notes within the
provided categories.

IX.

Technology: I-Pad with notability (or similar note-taking app) and Google Classroom

X.

Self-Assessment: Do the graphic organizers prove that students understand concepts from
previous slave life lectures, but are also able to discover new ones?