Lesson Sequence

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Lesson Introduction/Set (15 minutes):

"This morning when I was getting ready for school, I was thinking about what I wanted to eat for lunch. I looked through my cupboards and I found some bread. I then went into the refrigerator and found some honey and some jam. But then I thought about it and I realized I forgot how to make a honey and jam sandwich… I was hoping you all could help me remember the steps I need to take to make my sandwich for lunch. I brought along a plate and spatula to help me, just in case I needed them. Can someone tell me how I start making my sandwich?"

Students will describe the steps to make the sandwich. In theory, they will begin with broad and nonspecific instructions that will lead me to doing crazy things, like putting the jar of honey on the bread instead of using the spatula to spread the honey onto the bread. Once they realize they need to be more specific, they will begin to give more detailed descriptions of each step until my sandwich is finished.

Communication of Learning Target (5 minutes):

"I remember that we have been learning about maps. Can someone tell me what a map helps us do? Right, a map helps us locate a specific place we need to go to or find. Now, how does helping me make a honey and jam sandwich help us learn more about maps? Did you notice that I needed a lot of help making my sandwich? Sometimes when someone told me a direction or step, it was not very detailed and I ended up doing something that they didn’t actually want me to do, like putting the jar on the piece of bread. This is like when we give someone directions using a map. We need to give someone really specific directions so that they do not get lost and cannot find their way to the place that they need to go. Well today, we are going to use our maps that have already created to help us write directions or step-by-step instructions on how to get somewhere that is on our map. Can everyone read our learning targets that are on the board as I point to them? I can use a map key to identify specific places on a map. I can use directions to explain where a place or object is on a map."

Learning Activities:

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• Review our relative directional word chart (5 minutes)

  • ​“Remember our word chart that we created the other day? We are going to review it again to remind us of words we can use to help write our step-by-step instructions."

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• Write our guides! (30 minutes)

  • "We are going to begin writing our guides! First, you are going to pick a starting place and an ending place on your map. You are then going to write a step-by-step guide using the relative directional words from our anchor chart to get from the start to the end." (At this point, I would be holding up a visual map and explain by showing them a starting point and an ending point on my map. I would then start by saying “First, begin going forward from the triangle on the red road. Next, turn right when you get to the blue road…”) "If you need help, remember you can ask a friend and then ask me! I’m going to play some soft music that we can listen to while we write."

  • During this time, I will be moving around the classroom observing and assisting students who need help with this activity. I will be taking notes about how the students are using their maps to write their guides in order for me to assess students understanding of maps and relative directions in order to meet our learning targets.

• Partner Up! (10 minutes)

  • "Now we are going to get with a partner and try to follow their directions to find the place that they want you to find. Remember, follow their directions exactly how they wrote them so that they know if their directions were specific enough."

  • During this time, I will be observing partner pairs to assess students’ understanding and ability to follow their partner’s directions.  

Closure (10 minutes):

After the partner activity, students will gather back on the carpet. Students will be asked how the partner activity went. Did they find the specific place that their partner wanted them to? How did they feel about writing their own directions? Was it difficult or easy? Students will have a chance to share about their experiences. We will revisit the learning targets by reading them aloud again and asking the students: how did we do in meeting our targets today?

Field Notes:

One element of this lesson that will be challenging is time. I want to ensure that I am giving adequate time for students to write their guides as well as partner share. I will need to be sure that I am following the schedule closely to get through all of the activities that I have planned. Another challenge could potentially be helping individual students. Directional words can be challenging and I anticipate some students coming up and asking how to spell a specific word or tell me that they can’t think of another step. To help prevent this from happening too often, I will be sure to reference the anchor chart with the directional words before students begin writing. I will also be sure to tell the students that if they think they are all the way finished, walk through their own guide, step-by-step, to make sure they get to the place they intended to get to.