DIMENSION 3 LESSON ASSIGNMENT

DIMENSION 3 LESSON ASSIGNMENT

HST 400--Teaching History in the Secondary Schools

Your second instructional assignment will be to prepare a 30-minute Dimension 3 lesson plan for turning in. You must also be prepared to present the dimension 3 activity to a small group of your peers. Follow these steps for preparing the lesson:

Review your notes or the HST 400 website on Dimension 3 learning. Remember that Dimension 3 involves helping students extend and refine knowledge they have gained through one of more of the following processes: comparison, classification, induction, deduction, error analysis, constructing support, abstracting, and analyzing perspectives.

Choose from your U.S. History textbook chapter an event or topic about which you will want your students to extend and refine their knowledge as they work toward a deeper understanding of the historical period. It should be focused on one of the chapter’s central themes, but manageable enough that your students can complete it adequately in no more than a 50-minute class period. Use the Michigan History Themes web page ( to help you select your event. If possible, select an event related to a topic or example listed on the website.

Check the state standards for History to determine which benchmarks you can address most appropriately by teaching this event. Jot down the reference number of the benchmarks you choose (use the notation formula "Framework I.2.hs2" where I refers to Strand I--History, 2 refers to standard 2--Comprehending the Past, and hs2 refers to benchmark 2--identify and explain how individuals in history demonstrated good character and personal virtue).

Use the attached lesson plan sheet to organize your lesson. List two to three student-centered objectives--items that your students should know and be able to do by the end of the lesson--in the space provided, along with a corresponding benchmark as you did for your Dimension 2 lesson.

Develop some form of graphic representation or other learning aid that will help your students extend their knowledge of the event in the way you have chosen. You may choose from the models presented in class, or develop your own which you believe will provide a clear and simple way for students to perform the type of knowledge extension you have chosen for them to complete. Put the organizer on 4-5 handouts that students can use while they are working on the activity.

Note: remember that to extend and refine knowledge, students, not you, must be performing the bulk of the work. Your role will be to structure the activity in a way that will allow them to understand and complete it, to provide background material and instructions they may need, to answer questions, prompt them through the process, and summarize and check for understanding at the end of the lesson.

Bring a copy of your lesson plan and all supporting materials you plan on using, and be prepared to present the lesson if called upon in class.

	Review your notes or the HST 400 website on Dimension 3 learning. Remember that Dimension 3 involves helping students extend and refine knowledge they have gained through one of more of the following processes: comparison, classification, induction, deduction, error analysis, constructing support, abstracting, and analyzing perspectives.
	Choose from your U.S. History textbook chapter an event or topic about which you will want your students to extend and refine their knowledge as they work toward a deeper understanding of the historical period. It should be focused on one of the chapter’s central themes, but manageable enough that your students can complete it adequately in no more than a 50-minute class period. Use the Michigan History Themes web page ( to help you select your event. If possible, select an event related to a topic or example listed on the website.
	Check the state standards for History to determine which benchmarks you can address most appropriately by teaching this event. Jot down the reference number of the benchmarks you choose (use the notation formula "Framework I.2.hs2" where I refers to Strand I--History, 2 refers to standard 2--Comprehending the Past, and hs2 refers to benchmark 2--identify and explain how individuals in history demonstrated good character and personal virtue).
	Use the attached lesson plan sheet to organize your lesson. List two to three student-centered objectives--items that your students should know and be able to do by the end of the lesson--in the space provided, along with a corresponding benchmark as you did for your Dimension 2 lesson.
	Develop some form of graphic representation or other learning aid that will help your students extend their knowledge of the event in the way you have chosen. You may choose from the models presented in class, or develop your own which you believe will provide a clear and simple way for students to perform the type of knowledge extension you have chosen for them to complete. Put the organizer on 4-5 handouts that students can use while they are working on the activity.
	Note: remember that to extend and refine knowledge, students, not you, must be performing the bulk of the work. Your role will be to structure the activity in a way that will allow them to understand and complete it, to provide background material and instructions they may need, to answer questions, prompt them through the process, and summarize and check for understanding at the end of the lesson.