Lesson Plan #: AELP-CUR0003

Current Events

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Rosina Phillips, Las Vegas, NM
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met at the Workshops.

Date: May 1994

Grade Level(s): 3, 4, 5

Subject(s):

Description:

Since most students are unaware or not interested in current events, it is of utmost importance that we first strike an interest in students about other nations and their location. This lesson enables students to familiarize themselves with different nations, their locations, and cultures.

Goal:

To acquaint students with different nations, their locations, and their cultures.

Objectives:

Students will learn to locate information in an encyclopedia and write a report.

Materials:

Encyclopedias, paper doll, dowel, construction paper, markers, stencils, handmade costumes, song "It's a Small World"

Procedure:

  1. Important - Teacher creates a list of various nations around the world, and students choose the nation they would like to learn about. Each student should have a different nation.
  2. Research may be done for different purposes, depending on teacher: culture, geography, population, size, location, production, industry, etc. For this lesson I am focusing on culture, symbols (flags), and location.
  3. Once students have researched their nation, located it on a world map, and written a report, they will make a paper doll image to represent their nations' form of dress. They will draw a flag that symbolizes their nation and mount it on a dowel with the nation's name stenciled behind the flag.
  4. Upon completing their paper doll, students will then design their own costume to match their paper doll and present to their class with an oral report about their nation.

Tying it All Together:

As a culminating activity we had two classrooms do the same project and present it to the school (without reports) for our annual talent show. We had over 50 nations represented. The students marched in to the song "It's a Small World", and sang while they proudly displayed their flags. It was a HIT!