Generating & Testing Hypotheses

Math/Reading
Instructional Strategy: generating and testing hypotheses

Day1: 1-2 days

Objectives: Students will us math reasoning to complete easy chess moves.

Links to Standards: math 4.6.2

Anticipatory Set: Read The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman. This is one of the Golden Sower nominees for middle school students this school year. It’s about four fifth-grade students—a geek, a class clown, a teacher’s pet, and a slacker—as well as their teacher and mothers, each relating events surrounding a computer programmed to complete homework assignments. One of the characters learns to play chess and continues while his dad is deployed to Iraq.

Assessment: Students will be able to make basic moves with the classroom chess sets or the computer game

Learning Connections: students will watch beginning chess suggestions at http://www.chessdryad.com/education/magictheater/

Learning Activities or Tasks: Students will complete the following page from their math book.
Successfully play a game of chess with a classmate

Teaching Strategies: modeling, discussion

Adaptations/Modifications/Enrichment: NA

Materials & Resources: computer, projector, chess games, math books
Lesson Evaluation & Reflection: To be completed when lesson has concluded.
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Instructional Strategy: generating and testing hypotheses

Day: 1-5 days

Nebraska Government (social studies)

Objectives: Students will study Nebraska’s Unicameral, how laws are passed, and generate hypotheses that predict what our government would look like if it were to change.

Links to Standards: SS 5.1.1 government

Anticipatory Set: Why do we have laws? Who decides what will become law?

Assessment: Student will explain the parts that make Nebraska’s government and how it generates laws we must obey by creating a poster (which will be graded using a rubric—yet to be produced)

Learning Connections: Visit from Senator Tom Baker to talk about his former job as our state senator and how laws are passed in Nebraska.
“How Laws Are Made” video from PowerMediaPlus.com
http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/UnicamKids/ is a site that explains the legislature and how it works.

Learning Activities or Tasks:
1. Students will first read about the Unicameral in their social studies book. The class will take notes of the important details and keep them in their notebook under the title Nebraska State Government
2. The class will watch the movie “ How Laws are Made” and add information to our notebooks
3. The class will generate questions for Senator Baker as he visits the class about how bills are passed into laws.
4. The class will visit websites that relate to Nebraska’s government from
http://pbaker.lakesidecentral.k12.ne.us/love.html
5. Students will create a situation where one aspect of law making in Nebraska changes and what will be the result. This could be a paired partner project.

Teaching Strategies: integrated technology. Modeling, discussion, exploration, cooperative learning

Adaptations/Modifications/Enrichment: NA

Materials & Resources: speaker, video, computer, projector, class books, social studies notebooks,

Lesson Evaluation & Reflection: To be completed when lesson has concluded.
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Instructional Strategy: generating and testing hypotheses

Social Studies-famous Nebraskan

Day: 1-4 days

Objectives: Students will investigate the reasons why a park and a street in McCook are named after George Norris.

Fourth graders last year telling George how much fun they had learning about him at his home in McCook.

Links to Standards: ?? I don’t assess social studies in the 4th grade, so I’m not sure of the standard number.

Anticipatory Set: What do you have to do to have a park and street named after you? Is there an example of this in southwest Nebraska?

Assessment: Students will make a ppt after investigating why George Norris is classified as a famous Nebraskan. There will be 6 slides to include an introduction and concluding slide with the other 4 slides telling one important fact about Senator Norris. Every slide will have a transition, picture, and one slide will have audio of the student reading the caption. This assessment will be in the form of a checklist or rubric-yet to be made.

Learning Connections: Goals along hard work will someday make me famous!

Learning Activities or Tasks: Students will internet search (http://pbaker.lakesidecentral.k12.ne.us/fiftiesjukeboxtemplate/page4.htm), read social studies books, books, field trip to George Norris Home,

Teaching Strategies: integrated technology, cooperative learning, discussion, research

Adaptations/Modifications/Enrichment: NA

Materials & Resources: http://pbaker.lakesidecentral.k12.ne.us/fiftiesjukeboxtemplate/page4.htm
From Nebraska Studies, the selection of George Norris includes a good review
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0800/frameset.html , the time period is from 1925-1949.
Text books, biographies, field trip

Lesson Evaluation & Reflection: To be completed when lesson has concluded.