45 minute lesson plan Class 12:30-1:50
Teacher: Ms. Jennifer Roberts
1. Theme/Title of the day’s lesson with a brief description: Changes in the classroom.
The students will learn about how the classroom has changed over the past hundred years through discussion and examination of historical pictures.
2. Materials/resources needed:
Pictures from the Winona Historical Society: Pictures of one room schools. (2) (Small pics in the lesson plan, larger ones provided to show class.)
Small hand held chalk boards, enough for each student, or one for every two students.
A piece of chalk for each child.
This weeks spelling list for teacher to read from.
The book “One-Room School” by Raymond Bail
3. Goal(s) for today’s lesson: (This shows people how your lesson “fits” into the MN standards)
The student will recognize how the school classroom has changed in the last one hundred years. Students will also understand how families live today and in earlier times, recognizing some aspects change over time while others stay the same.
4. Objectives for today’s lesson: (This tells people what kids will know or be able to do at the end of the lesson
Students will learn about the difference between their classrooms and their ancestor’s classrooms. They will be able to identify the difference in the classrooms as well as what was expected of the student back then compared to now.
5. Procedures
a. introductory experiences 15min
1. Ask the students to think about how many rooms there are in our school building. Let several students provide answers and then tell the students how many rooms are in the building. (This number will include lunch room, gym, library, offices and so on.)
2. Ask the students to name as many rooms as they can and what they are used for. (Answers teacher is looking for; library, lunch room, gym computer room, principal’s office, nurses office …. Ecs)
3. Once the children have listed several rooms and their uses ask the students if any of them have been in a one room school before. Try and keep these answers short and to the point.
4. Explain to the children that the first schools in Winona were one room schools where all the children, all different ages, would be taught their school lessons in a one room building. Talk about how some of their grandparents might have even gone to a one room school when they were children.
5. Bring out the book “One-Room School” by Raymond Bial and read several pages to the children. Showing the pictures of the different types of one room school houses.
b. developmental experiences: (Please number the steps and include approximate time each step will take) 15 min.
1. Ask the children “What do you think your ancestors learned in school? (Answers should be along the line of math, reading, and spelling.)
2. Tell the children today we are going to practice our spelling lesson in a similar fashion as our ancestors. Because paper was more rare back then than it is today the students would practice their spelling on individual chalk boards.
4. Hand out a chalk board to each child if there are enough. If not pair students up and have them take turns. 5. Practice the student’s spelling words of the week on the chalk boards. (Say the word, give the students a chance to write the word and then the teacher will write the word on the board.)
c. culminating experiences (closure) 15 min
Show the students the two pictures from the Winona Historical Society. Explain that the pictures are of actual Winona schools and children. Have the students point out similarities and differences between the classroom in the picture and the student’s current classroom. Ask the students if their ancestors had lunch rooms or a library and so on.

6. Assessments used during lesson:The students will be able to point out the difference between the classroom in the picture and their classrooms. Students will also be able to talk about how one room schools did not have lunch rooms, computer labs, and offices.