ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

While preparing an analysis of need for this instructional unit, I identified several gaps between “what is and what needs to be” in my classroom. In analyzing data from the 2004 North Dakota State Assessment I learned that 51% of the students in my classroom scored proficient or below in three categories in the English and Language Arts sections. In regards to Content Standard #1: Students gather and organize information, my students scored 5% partially proficient and 46% proficient. The specific benchmark reflecting this proficiency was 1.8.2: Use context clues to determine meaning. In regards to Content Standard #3: Students comprehend literature, my students scored 2% partially proficient and 49% proficient. The specific benchmark reflecting this proficiency was 3.8.3: Understand that a single text may elicit a wide variety of responses. In regards to Content Standard #7: Students understand and use principles of language, my students scored 2% partially proficient and 49% proficient. The specific benchmark reflecting this proficiency was 7.8.4: Understand how language, both written and spoken, reflects a point of view. I also reviewed quiz and test results along with the student self-assessments from a problem-based learning unit. The problem centered on a “fuzzy” question asking the students to determine which Amendment was the most critical in protecting one’s liberties in the context of the Bill of Rights. The students reflected a lack of understanding of how key events caused the Constitution of the United States to be amended. This pointed to a deficiency in Social Studies Standard #1: Students understand the nature and scope of history, Benchmark 8.1.3: Understand how key events, people, and ideas contributed to United States history. The students also exhibited some confusion in the aspect of interpreting limitations of the Amendments. This pointed to a deficiency in Social Studies Standard #4: Students use social studies resources for a variety of purposes, Benchmark 8.4.3: Use technology to gather, organize, record, interpret, and evaluate information related to social studies.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want my students to appreciate that the Lewis and Clark Expedition was an awesome and incredible mission that left an impact on American history that can still be felt today. Goal(s): The students will analyze how the Lewis and Clark Expedition contributed to American history and appreciate its impact today.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. What were the objectives of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? 2. What obstacles confronted the Corps of Discovery? 3. What contributions did the Native Americans add to the expedition? 4. What were the achievements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Objectives: Given the opportunity to review President Jefferson’s letter to Meriwether Lewis, the students will be able to accurately identify seven goals of the expedition and compare those with their predictions by using a Venn diagram. After researching selected journal entries, the students will be able to, by using context clues, differentiate information into literary categories that illustrate the following conflicts: human vs. nature, human vs. human, and human vs. himself. Given the opportunity to locate five contributions of Sacagawea, the Mandan, the Shoshone, and the Nez Perce, the students will be able to create an argument in their journals that illustrates which contribution was the most important. Given the opportunity to research a selected website, the students will be able to evaluate the achievements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and develop a short essay in which they evaluate its impact on American history.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Students will be assessed with a test covering the members of the expedition, objectives of the mission, and achievements of the expedition. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Students will create a Venn diagram in which they compare and contrast their predictions with President Jefferson’s actual instructions to Meriwether Lewis. Students will complete a scavenger hunt that locates answers to questions about the expedition by visiting selected websites. Students will determine, in their opinion, which Native American contribution was most essential to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Students will design a coin in which the obverse side image depicts the member of the expedition they believe to be the most Corps of Discovery could least do without, and the reverse side image depicts a significant event of the journey along with a short explanation defending their opinion. What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?  Students will complete a self-reflection essay in which they read journal entries from the Lewis and Clark Expedition to differentiate which entries reflect a human versus nature conflict, a human versus human conflict, and a human versus himself conflict. Students will create a timeline illustrating ten key events during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Working in cooperative groups, students will write and illustrate a children’s book highlighting the adventures and achievements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to be used in our school’s “Cross-Age Tutoring Program.” Students will submit a portfolio containing samples of their work to inform others from the nine learning activities. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? Students will submit a final essay that evaluates how the Lewis and Clark Expedition contributed to American history in the past and how it continues to influence our nation today. Students will submit a self-assessment evaluating their progress and citing their difficulties throughout the unit.

Instructional Strategies

Inquiry-based learning strategies will be used in Learning Objectives 1 and 2 by involving the students in investigating the four essential questions of this unit. What was the object of the mission? What obstacles stood in the way? What were the contributions of the Native Americans? What did the Lewis and Clark Expedition achieve? Inquiry-based learning will also assist the students as they research and interpret selected expedition journal entries and categorize them into the various obstacles represented as human versus nature conflicts, human versus human conflicts, and human versus himself conflicts. Inquiry-based learning strategies will serve as a valuable tool in moving the students more towards advanced proficiency in my three areas of concern in English and Language Arts. Problem-based learning strategies will be implemented as the students discern which member of the journey was most critical to its success. Prompted by a “fuzzy” question, students will determine which Native American contribution saved the expedition from failure. Problem-based learning strategies will help achieve Learning Objective number 3 and will address Social Studies Benchmark: 8.1.3. Project-based learning strategies will be useful as the students, working in cooperative groups, produce a children’s book highlighting the adventures and achievements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to be used in a cross-age tutoring project. I feel this learning strategy will be useful in achieving Learning Objective number 4. Using this learning strategy will help close the gap between “what is and what needs to be” in my classroom as students will be more exposed to the benchmarks I’ve listed as concerns in Social Studies.