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James Madison University College of Education

Social Studies Lesson Plan Format


MSSE 470

Name: Charly Liss Date: 11-14-17 circle one: Original


Subject/Class: U.S. History Grade Level: High school- 11th grade Topic: Immigration

Concept: Personal experiences


Essential Question(s): (label unit/lesson)
Unit essential question(s):
a) How has the role of government changed since the Reagan Revolution and what does that mean in terms
of economic, social, cultural, and political developments?
Lesson essential questions:
a) What does it mean to be an immigrant?
b) Why is immigration a controversial topic?
SOLs-- number & letter & brief summary:
VUS.15: The student will demonstrate knowledge of economic, social, cultural, and political developments in
recent decades and today by:
a) Examining the role the United States Supreme Court has played in defining a constitutional right to
privacy, affirming equal rights, and upholding the rule of law;
b) Analyzing the changing patterns of immigration, the reasons new immigrants choose to come to
this country, their contributions to contemporary America, and the debates over immigration
policy;
c) Explaining the media influence on contemporary American culture and how scientific and technological
advances affect the workplace, health care, and education;
d) Examining the impact of the Reagan Revolution on federalism, the role of government, and state and
national elections since 1988;
e) Assessing the role of government actions that impact the economy;
f) Assessing the role of the United States in a world confronted by international terrorism.

Your own written objectives (U/K, D, Values) Your assessment: formative and
summative
K.1: Students will KNOWwhat it means to be an Formative:
immigrant, including who they are and why they -Participation in groups and class
immigrated. discussions, notes will be collected at the
end of the class.
K.2: Students will KNOWwhat the different Formative:
arguments/viewpoints are on immigration. -Participation in groups and class
discussions, notes will be collected at the
end of the class.

Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education


modified by Dr. Cude 1/17
U.1: Students will be able to UNDERSTANDthat the Formative:
term immigrant describes a large, diverse group of -Participation in groups and class
people. discussions, notes will be collected at the
end of the class.
U.2: Students will be able to UNDERSTANDwhy Formative:
immigration is controversial and the issues and -Participation in groups and class
conversations that surround it. discussions, notes will be collected at the
end of the class.
DO/SKILLS: (critical thinking skill)analyze case
studies of immigrants.
DO/SKILLS: (real world, 21st century, job skills)
interpret legislation and its affects on people.
VALUE: Students will practice /appreciate
students will be able to analyze how legislation and the
debates on immigration directly affect immigrants.

Content Outline (1 pg.) (with embedded questions):


I. Analyze differing debates on immigration
a. Pro- immigration
b. Anti-immigration
II. Diverse range of immigrants
a. DACA students
b. Irish catholic immigrants
c. Jewish immigrants
d. Latinx immigrants
e. Refuges

Instructional Plan: 90-minute class. The homework before this lesson would ask students to take notes on the
PowerPoint posted on Blackboard, taking notes with a graphic organizer that will be due at the beginning of the
classthe lesson is focused more on student- led discussion, assuming students did their homework.
Type of activity; What the Teacher Will Do/Say:
timing
Warm-up: 10 The teacher will have a warm- up on the board, part of the students everyday routine.
minutes. The warm- up will be watching a Hamilton song, We Get the Job Done- a song on
immigrants and immigration. Students will follow along with the video with a printed
out set of lyrics that the teacher will provide. Students will be asked to highlight
words or sentences that relate to immigration, like, who they are, what are the issues
surrounding them, etc. Students will also be asked to write down any comments or
questions they want to bring up in a later discussion.
SET UP: (Teacher should walk around while students are doing the warm- up)
1) The instructions will be projected on the board as students come in to class, asking
students to get a lyric sheet from the front of the class.
2) Teacher will ask students to highlight and annotate on the lyric sheet.
3) The video will be played 2 times, giving students time to both watch the video and
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude 1/17
write things down.
Case Studies: The teacher will then explain the next activitycase studies. Students in groups of 3-
30- 40 minutes. 4 people will be assigned different case studies. The case studies are different,
personal stories of immigration. Cases will be the personal stories from DACA
students, Syrian refugees, African refugees, Irish Catholic immigrants (to show the
differences between what we see as immigrants now), and undocumented immigrants-
probably from the Latinx community. (Depending on the class demographics, this
activity might need to be altered to include perspectives of people who were
negatively affected by immigration). The activity will ask students to read about the
cases studies and take notes on what they deem as important. Students will first read
their case study individually and then in their group shares their thoughts and ideas.
SET UP:
1) Teacher will provide the case studies- either with links for students to follow, or
with printed materials.
2) Students are being asked to think about immigration in the shoes of an immigrant.
Interpreting Students, in the same group, will then be given different pieces of legislation on
Legislation: 20- immigration that are currently on the House floor, both nationally and in VA. The
30 minutes. pieces of legislation will most likely be either a shortened/summarized version of it or
it might come from an article that wrote about itdepending on the biasness of the
article. The goal is for students to read the legislation and determine how that would
affect the person from their case study. The teacher is asking students to determine
how legislation would affect that persons life. Students, will again, first write down
their own thoughts individually and then discuss it with their group members.
SET UP:

Discussion: the Now, using the notes taken from the warm- up, case study, and the interpretation of
rest of class, legislation, students will have an open discussion about immigration. The teacher
possibly leading will provide guided questions on the board as needed.
in to the next Discussion questions:
day. 1) What was the message of the Hamilton video? How did they portray that message?
The visuals? Lyrics?
2) What was your persons experience with immigration? What did they have to say?
Why?
3) What did your legislation say? How did it affect your persons life?
4) What is an immigrant? Is there one definition? Who in your life is an immigrant?
(If comfortable, have students tell their own personal story or tell your own story)
5) Why is immigration controversial? What are other examples of this? Where is the
controversy seen?

Materials Needed for the Lesson:


-Printed out case studies or links, provided by the teacher
-Printed out legislation or links, provided by the teacher
-Printed lyrics, provided by the teacher
-Graphic organizer, provided by the teacher
Bibliography/Resources Used: (including websites, in APA format)
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_35a7sn6ds (music video)
Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education
modified by Dr. Cude 1/17
-http://www.metrolyrics.com/immigrants-we-get-the-job-done-lyrics-knaan.html (lyrics)
-Other sources, will be added when found.

Adaption/Differentiation:

ELL/struggling Students will be given the option to use a graphic organizer for the case
readers study and legislation interpretation that will help simplify what they need
to focus on when reading. Students will also be in groups based on reading
levels, meaning students who struggle with longer pieces, will be given
readings that are slightly shorter, or use simpler languageespecially in
regards to the interpretation activity. Because the lesson is reading- heavy,
the use of discussion instead of writing, will give students a chance to focus
on an area of struggle without being overwhelmed. The discussion portion
also allows students to elaborate their thoughts that they might not have
been able to convey in a paper.
ADHD Students will be able to talk in class, because of the discussions done
throughout the class. Students also will not be sitting through a lecture, but
rather teaching themselves through the case studies and interpretations,
making it slightly less boring.
Gifted Like with the ELL/struggling readers, students will be grouped based on
differentiated reading levels. Gifted students will be given slightly longer,
maybe more complex case studies and legislation pieces.

REFLECTION:
1. How/where does this lesson exhibit connection to student lives/authentic learning?
Immigration is everywhere in the media in large part because of the 2016 Presidential election and its
divisiveness across the country. Having students look at cases of real life immigrants, having them see how
legislation and the debates on immigration would affect them makes it real.

2. How/where does this lesson lead to H.O.T. (higher order thinking) and deep knowledge?
The lesson is essentially student- led teaching. Higher order thinking is in play with students interpreting
legislation and then trying to see how that fits into their case studies life, how it affects them. Having them
make the links and connections themselves makes them independent.

Dept. of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education


modified by Dr. Cude 1/17

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