Lesson Plan: The Washington Monument

“Washington D.C.: Then and Now” Lesson Plan
Exploring the Washington Monument

Situating the Lesson:
This will be one of the first lessons in the unit. Students will only have their prior information about the city that they currently live in. This will be their first lesson introducing the various monuments of Washington, D.C.

Methods of Inquiry:
Students will be asked and have a chance to ask questions before and during the reading of the storybook. While the students are illustrating their own monument, the teacher will circle the classroom and ask students about their drawings to gauge their understanding of a monument and its purpose.

Instructional Goals:
Students will be able to answer questions about George Washington and the Washington Monument. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the purpose of monuments by designing one of their own.

Essential Questions:
What is the purpose of a monument?
What are some monuments here in D.C.?
What is the significance of the Washington Monument?

Standards:
From the 3rd Grade Social Studies DCPS Standards- 3.1: 3. Identify and locate major monuments and historical sites in and around Washington, DC (e.g., the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, Smithsonian museums, Library of Congress, White House, Capitol, Washington Monument, National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, African American Civil War Museum, Anacostia Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Frederick Douglass House, Mary McCleod Bethune House, Wilson Building, and Mount Vernon). (G, P)

Instructional Materials:
-Meet George Washington by Patricia A. Pingry
-3 computers
-5-6 informational book on Washington, D.C.
-markers
-construction paper
-Washington Monument template (20 copies)
-dry erase board and marker

Set Induction:
The teacher will bring out a “mystery box” and ask the students to figure out what they think is inside. The teacher will let students raise their hands and ask yes or no questions about what is in the box. The teacher will write on the board the questions that receive a yes. This way, the class ends up with a list of clues as to what is in the box. The item in the mystery box will be a miniature version of the Washington Monument.

Procedures: Have students gather on the rug
a. Ask and discuss:
i. What is a monument?
ii. Why do people make monuments?
iii. What are some monuments around here?
iv. What do you know about the Washington Monument?
b. Read the book Meet George Washington aloud to the class.
c. Break the class up into four groups (counting off by fours) and give each group a question about the Washington Monument to research. Tell students that they will have 5 minutes and can use either the computer or one of the D.C. informational books in the class. The four questions are:
i. When was the monument built?
ii. Who designed it?
iii. How tall is the Washington Monument?
iv. How many steps are in the Washington Monument?
d. When the students return, let each group share what they discovered. Each group should also share what method of research they used to get their answer.

Assessment/Closure:
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the purpose of a monument by creating their own. The teacher will explain to the students that they need to choose someone who they admire and would like to make a monument for. Students can choose to use the Washington Monument template, or construction paper to make their own. As students design their own monument, the teacher will circle the class and ask students about their monument and ask them to describe the purpose of a monument. The teacher will display the students’ creations throughout the classroom.

Learning Processes Blog #2

Well, this time I actually HAVE the Takaki book so that's a definite improvement! As I look through my book I have found it interesting to see what I have highlighted. Half of the things I have marked are things I didn't know before and was interested to learn about. The other half are things I just liked...either I liked the way the author stated something or really agreed with an opinion he had. For example, in Chapter 2 one of the things I highlighted was on page 47: "In blaming the Indians for their own decline, Jefferson insisted that the transfer of Indian lands to whites had been done fairly and legally." Why did I highlight this? Because it made me sad that Jefferson was so rude! I feel like he's always painted as this hero and this chapter definitely challenged my previous thoughts on him. In Chapter 5 I highlighted a Frederick Douglass quote I really liked, "To make a contented slave, you must make a thoughtless one...He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery." How very true that is...and I'd never really thought of it that way.

In our class we still haven't really done any Social Studies. Okay, that's putting it lightly. We haven't done any Social Studies AT ALL. We just started incorporating some science lessons into our usual math centers, but other than that...nothing. I assumed our Social Studies instruction would come from literature we read. However, our school has a strict government-mandated RTI program in place that requires we use the "Read Well" program. I don't think that a story about a dog who finds a dinosaur bone is teaching the student that much Social Studies. I really will be interested to see if it ever becomes a part of the curriculum. With the amount of focus the teachers are required to put on literature in math, it seems as though there really isn't a place for history at all.