US History in Famous Events 5th Grade For ELLs
The lesson that was picked by our group was US history in famous events. The target audience for this lesson are English Language learners who are in the fifth grade. The objectives of the lesson are to improve the language use of the students in terms of vocabulary use, oratory skills and written communication.
The lesson also seeks to impart full knowledge of US history in famous events for the students so as to shore up their knowledge of American history and to enable them relate the same to their experiences and understanding of everyday American society.
The rationale behind choosing the topic was informed by a multiplicity of factors that centred on the appropriateness of the lesson to the audience.
In turn, the appropriateness of the lesson is determined by the how the topic will help the 5th grade English Language Learners effectively learn and master the language in addition to the ways through which the lesson will be taught to the students to ensure that they receive maximum benefit from it.
We shall begin with the reasons as to why the lesson was chosen. The lesson was chosen because it is easily comprehensible. Historical events are a matter of record and therefore do not have varied conceptual or theoretical frameworks whose interrogation may serve to derail the actual purpose of the lesson which is to improve on English language use.
The materials necessary for the lesson are widely available and easily accessible. This makes the lesson easier to research upon. The end result of which is that students will be able to come across many expressions, vocabulary and terminologies as they do their research work. They can then use the same to express their own thoughts and opinions both verbally and in written form.
The lesson is based on matters that students can easily relate to in their past experiences, countries of origin or even contemporary society. This will be extremely helpful in improving their cognitive ability and retention capacity of what is learned in the classroom. This is aided by the fact that the lesson is interesting relative to other lessons taught in fifth grade and elicits emotions which improves the participation of students in classroom activities.
Lastly, the lesson is fairly challenging and builds upon knowledge already gained in the fourth grade. It brings onboard new knowledge the students and thus act as comprehensive inputs that help students learn a new language.
The topic is going to help ELL students learn in the following ways. It will provide them will sufficient room to do their own research work. It will enable them express themselves using varied words, terminologies and expressions both verbally and in written form. It will also provide them with an opportunity to understand American history and how the US has been shaped by past events.
There are various ways to teach the lesson to ELL students. These ways may face certain challenges such as low retention of new knowledge by students and ineffectiveness of a particular method of teaching used. To avoid these challenges we ought to consider the student response to the method used and the practicability of using a particular method.
In consideration of the above then the most appropriate ways to teach the lesson are; Providing sufficient background and context on the events under study, drawing upon and maximizing on appropriate context related to actual experiences in life, using consistent language to improve understanding and retention of language learnt, frequent use of visual materials for study, allowing opportunities for students to actively express their ideas and opinions and finally, encouraging cooperative learning and peer tutoring strategies.
The lesson is expected to result in a marked improvement of the expressions, vocabulary use and knowledge of US History as pertains to past events. The outcome of the lesson plan can be evaluated through random testing i.e. quiz tests, quality of group discussions and individual presentations on specific event as part of US history on famous past events.
The lesson plan thus provides a unique and effective platform to enable English Language Learners improve on their English language skills as well as on basic knowledge on American history.
