Title: Timeline of US History
Grade: 5th
Time Needed: one class period
Essential Standards:
Social Studies
5.H.1 Analyze the chronology of key events in the United States.
Integrated Curriculum Standards:
Information and Technology
5.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce and extend classroom concepts and activities.
5.RP.1 Apply a research process as part of collaborative research.
Language Arts
5.RIT.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
5.RIT.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Lesson Objectives: Students will:
Materials: multiple examples of timelines (digital and physical, vertical and horizontal) from different eras and cultures, paper, markers, computers, timeline worksheet and resource page (1 per pair), books for research (examples listed in the References section), old magazines relating to history (i.e. Time for Kids, Kids Discover, Cobblestone, Tar Heel Junior Historian)
Procedures:
Assessment: This project will be assessed using the rubric below.
Differentiation:
ELLs: Students learning English will benefit from working in pairs on this project. The timeline worksheet will also serve as a graphic organizer. Some students may also find it easier to work with numbers and dates, and visually seeing the events laid out sequentially on the timeline will be helpful as well. Finally, using pictures to go along with the events will help create meaning for these students. Providing the rubric for the timeline and the reference sheet will also help students know what is expected of them.
Students with disabilities: These students will also benefit from using a graphic organizer, visually laying out the timeline, and using pictures. Students with disabilities in math will get a chance to use numbers in a new way and may want to use the online timeline tool to help get the dates in the correct order. Providing the rubric for the timeline and the reference sheet will show the students what is expected of them.
Enrichment and Extension: Students who need this type of accommodation may choose an event from the timeline that is interesting to them to research more fully, after creating a learning contract with the teacher. Some students may also choose to do a more detailed timeline, or a timeline of a specific event, like the ratification of the Constitution.
References:
http://www.animatedatlas.com/timeline.html
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0902416.html
http://kids.usa.gov/history/time-periods/index.shtml
https://www.mycapstonelibrary.com/PDF/Timeline-LessonPlan.pdf
A History of US: From Colonies to Country: 1735-1791 A History of US Book Three by Joy Hakim
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz and Tomie dePaola
A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies: 1600-1740 A History of US Book Two by Joy Hakim
DK Eyewitness Books: American Revolution by Stuart Murray
What Was the Boston Tea Party? by Kathleen Krull, Lauren Mortimer and James Bennett
The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series) by Janis Herbert
. . . If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy and Joan Holub
We the People: The Story of Our Constitution by Lynne Cheney and Greg Harlin
Grade: 5th
Time Needed: one class period
Essential Standards:
Social Studies
5.H.1 Analyze the chronology of key events in the United States.
Integrated Curriculum Standards:
Information and Technology
5.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce and extend classroom concepts and activities.
5.RP.1 Apply a research process as part of collaborative research.
Language Arts
5.RIT.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
5.RIT.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Lesson Objectives: Students will:
- work in pairs to research important dates and events in US history, using print and digital resources
- interpret events that led to the writing of the US Constitution
- create a timeline of US history up to the Constitution
Materials: multiple examples of timelines (digital and physical, vertical and horizontal) from different eras and cultures, paper, markers, computers, timeline worksheet and resource page (1 per pair), books for research (examples listed in the References section), old magazines relating to history (i.e. Time for Kids, Kids Discover, Cobblestone, Tar Heel Junior Historian)
Procedures:
- Begin by showing a physical example of a horizontal timeline. Ask students to raise their hands and tell one thing that they notice about the timeline. Possible answers can include that it has dates on it, the dates are in order, the dates describe events, and other answers relating to the layout or design of the timeline.
- Show other examples of timelines and do the same activity. Ask students how these are the same. Tell them that these are all called "timelines".
- Explain to students that a timeline is a visual way to represent events in a chronological order. Timelines can represent almost any topic; historic events, people's lives, or even what happened in class on a particular day. They can span thousands of years or just a few hours. In this lesson, they will be used as a tool for students to organize events in US history that led up to the writing of the Constitution, which is our focus for this unit.
- Tell students that rather than you just giving them the dates and events, they are going to work in pairs to search for events that they feel are important in US history.
- Hand out the worksheet and resource page to each pair. Explain that the students will be able to use the books that you have in the classroom as well as the internet to search for 4 events that they feel are important. They should use the websites that you have listed on the resource page to research. Their events should not occur after 1789.
- Once students have researched their 4 events, call the class back together to discuss what each group chose. Use a voting process to narrow the list down to 10 events.
- The pairs may now work together to create their own physical or digital timeline. If they choose to make a physical timeline, provide them with paper, markers, and magazines to cut pictures from. If they choose to do a digital timeline they should do so using the readwritethink.org timeline tool (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html?tab=2#tabs) and print it out and decorate it. Either way, their timelines must include the 10 events chosen by the class, making sure to write the date and location of the event as well as why it was important.
- Closure: Ask students to connect this lesson back to what they learned about the Constitution and discuss why the Founding Fathers felt the need to write this document. What events in history made them think it was necessary?
- Display the timelines in the classroom for the remainder of the unit.
Assessment: This project will be assessed using the rubric below.
Differentiation:
ELLs: Students learning English will benefit from working in pairs on this project. The timeline worksheet will also serve as a graphic organizer. Some students may also find it easier to work with numbers and dates, and visually seeing the events laid out sequentially on the timeline will be helpful as well. Finally, using pictures to go along with the events will help create meaning for these students. Providing the rubric for the timeline and the reference sheet will also help students know what is expected of them.
Students with disabilities: These students will also benefit from using a graphic organizer, visually laying out the timeline, and using pictures. Students with disabilities in math will get a chance to use numbers in a new way and may want to use the online timeline tool to help get the dates in the correct order. Providing the rubric for the timeline and the reference sheet will show the students what is expected of them.
Enrichment and Extension: Students who need this type of accommodation may choose an event from the timeline that is interesting to them to research more fully, after creating a learning contract with the teacher. Some students may also choose to do a more detailed timeline, or a timeline of a specific event, like the ratification of the Constitution.
References:
http://www.animatedatlas.com/timeline.html
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0902416.html
http://kids.usa.gov/history/time-periods/index.shtml
https://www.mycapstonelibrary.com/PDF/Timeline-LessonPlan.pdf
A History of US: From Colonies to Country: 1735-1791 A History of US Book Three by Joy Hakim
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz and Tomie dePaola
A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies: 1600-1740 A History of US Book Two by Joy Hakim
DK Eyewitness Books: American Revolution by Stuart Murray
What Was the Boston Tea Party? by Kathleen Krull, Lauren Mortimer and James Bennett
The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series) by Janis Herbert
. . . If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy and Joan Holub
We the People: The Story of Our Constitution by Lynne Cheney and Greg Harlin