Suzanne Pilkington

Social Studies

Sixth Grade: Ancient Rome Lesson

Ancient Rome Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on how daily life in Ancient Rome was affected by social class. For this lesson and many others I have used an Understanding by Design lesson plan template because I feel  backward planning emphasizes what students need to understand.

Ancient Rome Formative Assessments

This document contains two formative assessments. The first is what I call a "Ticket to Learn." This would be given to help students begin to access their background knowledge. The second, an exit ticket,  would be used to analyze  misconceptions or areas that need additional instruction. I believe formative assessments are a vital part of responsive teaching.

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Seventh Grade: Natural Resources Unit

Five Lessons on Resources

In this unit I focused on creating active learning experiences for my students through the use of authentic learning experiences. These lessons offer an opportunity to integrate learning with science lessons about renewable and nonrenewable resources. I advocate integrated planning because I believe it helps students make necessary cross-disciplinary connections.

Resources Quiz

This is an example of a more traditional assessment. I believe it is helpful to use a variety of assessment types in order to better gauge the learning of all students. At the bottom of this assessment, I also included an exit ticket for this same lesson to be used on a different day of instruction.

​Natural Resource Project and Rubric

This is an example of a group project with rubric for one of the resource lessons included in the lesson plan section. One goal of this project is to increase collaboration and communication skills.

​Letter to Governor Project and Rubric

This is an example of a summative assessment project. This project encourages active citizenship as it allows students the opportunity to turn classroom knowledge into community action.

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Eighth Grade: Westward Expansion

Critical Literacy Lesson Plans 

I created these three  lesson plans using critical literacy as the basis for analysis of a historical fiction book. I believe the practice of critical literacy is important for the increasingly diverse classrooms of today.

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