Lesson Plan Critique

      For my lesson critique, I reviewed a third grade social studies lesson plan. The lesson plan was heavily aligned to the common core standards. Students that successful complete their classwork will be able to  evaluate the government set up by the Pilgrims of Plymouth MA by distinguishing their  point of view from that of the Pilgrims. Additionally, students will  retain big ideas from the content, as well as the skills essential to the budding social scientist. 

     The lesson plan is divided into fours parts a reading,  guided inquiry, writing and comprehension portion.  In the reading, students engaged with the text through shared reading, partner reading, or independent reading.  In the reading, scholars listened to a CD recording while they followed along in their textbooks. Technology  is also integrated into the lesson plan. Students looked at visuals on the smart board while listening to the recording. In the discussion section, small groups are designed to help students process key content.  Some of the discussion question included observations about the visuals of Plymouth MA. In the guided inquiry section,  the teacher implemented   a modeling approach  and  guided inquiry approach to pair the learning experience to the text. In the guided inquiry, students discussed the type of government they would suggest for the passengers aboard The Mayflower. Lastly, in the application section students had the opportunity to independently apply new ideas and thinking in a task that required students to integrate the content of the day with the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and/or social studies-specific skill taught.  On the lesson plan in the application section, the teacher included an exemplar response and criteria for success checklist. The standard used in the lesson was RI.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text. SL.3.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

      Overall, the lesson was well-planned out for every minute allocated in class. The lesson did not have differentiated instruction designed into the activity. Nonetheless, there are different areas that scholars can learn within the lesson.