Vocabulary Lesson

Lesson Video

Lesson Plan
Google Slide


For my first lesson in designing a unit on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States I chose to create an activity to define "segregation." Although my content area is history, I believe that literacy plays an enormous role in laying the foundation for any lesson. In this case, before I can begin teaching about the 1960s, I need to make sure that my students have a firm grasp on some intermediate vocabulary. In this mini-lesson I had two goals: first was for students to be able to define/give an example of segregation and the second was to begin teaching students how to read visual primary source documents.

I have chosen to tag the following Performance Criterion:

• Performance Criterion 1.1: Candidates use an understanding of learning theory (in areas such as cognitive, linguistic, social emotional or physical) to design appropriate learning experiences. 

• Performance Criterion 3.1: Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active engagement. 

• Performance Criterion 4.1: Candidates accurately communicate central concepts of the discipline.

In order to design a lesson, I had to initially create a lesson plan and take into consideration how students might react to new information. Rather than a traditional lecture-style history class, my intention was to create a space for active engagement in learning, such as a discussion on what "segregation" means to them? In the process, I had to think about the physical use of the classroom, what presentation format to use, and which sources to include. Lastly, as an assessment to determine whether students could accurately communicate the central concepts, I chose to have students answer three open-ended questions: 

1. In your own words, how would you define segregation?

2. Do you think learning about segregation is important?

3. Is it still relevant today? Why or why not?

Reflection- After watching my lesson afterwards on video and reading feedback from my peers, I learned some valuable lessons about my teaching. Most notably, I need to be more flexible when experiencing technical difficulties. When my YouTube video wouldn't play, I should have had an alternative in place. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was to always have a backup plan that is low-tech and easily accessible. In terms of the assessments, I decided off the cuff not to have the students hand in their question sheets. The reason why I did this was so that the students would have a chance to be truly honest and the only way to accomplish that was to have it be confidential. I realized that topics like segregation are not always easy to talk about and I so I wanted my first lesson to be one that had students walking away in thought rather than handing in an exit slip with what they think I wanted them to say. I know that I was effective at teaching the vocabulary despite not collecting the assessments because the students were able to provide examples of segregation from history and were able to discuss key historical figures such as Rosa Parks too.

What I took away from this assignment about teaching vocab in my content area is that the terminology is often rooted in larger concepts. I am not teaching a single word but rather opening a door to a new realm of study. As a result, I am responsible for creating an honest space where it is acceptable for students to respectfully disagree with one another and think critically. One way I could have taught "segregation" was to teach the concept using a fruit basket where students separate out the different color fruits (green apple, pear, lime, etc. vs. red apple, strawberry, cherry, etc.) but in the end we are talking about real people and history that has impacted millions of people. There is a certain gravity in teaching history where you have to balance the reverence of a given topic and the fun of learning about it. The goal of my next lesson will be to find correct balance between the two. 

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