EdTPA General Lesson Plan Template

[Note: Delete all of the writing in italics as you complete each section]
[Note: All words and phrases in RED can be found in the EdTPA Glossary]

Grade Level: 7th Grade Number of Students: 25 Instructional Location: Classroom Date:
November 19, 2024

Lesson Goals
Central Focus of Lesson:
What is the big idea or focus question of the lesson?
Example: Students will learn how timelines can be used to organize information and gather information to construct timelines about
their lives.

Students will examine the impact of the Black Death on medieval Europe, understanding its social, economic, and cultural
consequences.

Standard(s) Addressed:
What WV Learning Standards are being addressed? What NCSS Themes will be addressed during the lesson? (List number and
text).
https://www.socialstudies.org/national-curriculum-standards-social-studies-chapter-2-themes-social-studies
https://wvde.us/tree/middlesecondary-learning/social-studies/
Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change: Understanding historical patterns and connections.
Theme 3: People, Places, and Environments: Exploring geographical impacts on historical events.
Theme 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Examining social structures affected by historical changes.

Lesson Objectives and Demands

Content Objectives:
What will the students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson? (use observable language with measurable verbs)

Students will be able to:

1. Identify how trade routes facilitated the spread of the Black Death.
 2. Analyze primary sources to understand medieval responses to the plague.
3. Evaluate the economic and social consequences of the Black Death on feudal society.
.

Language Objectives:
What language will students be expected to utilize when illustrating their understanding?

Students will use specific academic vocabulary to describe the causes, effects, and societal responses to the Black Death in written
and oral discussions.

Key Vocabulary in Lesson:

Plague, Feudalism, Pandemic, Trade Routes, and Mortality

Lesson Considerations
Materials:
- Primary source excerpts (e.g., medieval accounts of the Black Death)
- Handout with a cause-and-effect chart template
- Black Death map showing the spread across Europe
- PowerPoint with visuals and key points
- Video clip on the Black Death
- Highlighters.
- Black Death map with labeled trade routes.
- Timeline handout.
- Infographic on Black Death consequences.
- Blank cause-and-effect chart.
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills:
List the prior knowledge that students will need to use and build upon to be successful in this lesson
- Basic understanding of the feudal system and medieval European society.
- Familiarity with analyzing primary and secondary sources.

Misconceptions: Identify common misconceptions regarding the concepts addressed in this lesson (list is fine)

- Belief that the plague only affected Europe.

- Misunderstanding that medieval people understood germ theory.
- Oversimplification of the plague’s effects as wholly negative.

Lesson Plan Details: Write a detailed outline of your class session including instructional strategies, learning tasks, key questions, key
transitions, student supports, assessment strategies, and conclusion. Your outline should be detailed enough that another teacher could
understand them well enough to use them. Include what you will do as a teacher and what your students will be doing during each
lesson phase. Include a few key time guidelines. Note: The italicized statements and scaffolding questions are meant to guide your
thinking and planning. You do not need to answer them explicitly or address each one in your plan. Delete them before typing your
lesson outline.
Lesson Introduction - “Before”: Setting the stage, activate and build background knowledge, introduce and explain

How will you set a purpose and help students learn why today’s lesson is important to them as readers/writers/learners?

How will you pique interest and/or curiosity regarding today’s topic?

How will you activate and build on prior knowledge and experiences related to the topic?

How will you introduce and explain this strategy/skill so that students will understand the how and why?

Purpose and Engagement:

1. Begin with a discussion question: “What do you think happens to a society when a third of its population suddenly
 disappears?”
2. Show a short video clip (3-4 minutes) introducing the Black Death, highlighting its spread and initial effects.

Activating Prior Knowledge:

1. Briefly review the feudal system and trade routes.
2. Ask students how trade routes might help a disease spread faster.
Explain the Day’s Activities:
1. Introduce the station rotation format and explain that each station focuses on one aspect of the Black Death:
o Station 1: Cause and spread.
o Station 2: Primary source analysis.
o Station 3: Social and economic consequences.

Learning Activities - “During”: Active engagement in meaning making, explicit instruction, and practice (you should be checking for
understanding throughout the lesson)

How will you engage students in active meaning making of key concepts and ideas?

How will you model this strategy/skill for your students (exemplars and/or demonstrations)?

How will you provide opportunities for guided practice?

How will students independently practice using the strategy and the skill it targets?

What planned supports will you use for the whole class, individuals, and/or students with specific learning needs?
https://www.ccsoh.us/Page/6087
Station Work (40 mins total):
Students will rotate through three stations, spending 12-13 minutes at each. Each station will focus on a
specific aspect of the Black Death, engaging students in multiple ways to process information.
Station 1: Cause and Spread of the Black Death

Activity:

 Examine a large map showing the spread of the plague via trade routes.
 Analyze a timeline of key events (e.g., arrival in Sicily, spread through Europe).
 Students complete a short handout answering:
o “What role did trade routes play in the spread of the Black Death?”
o “Why do you think certain areas were more affected than others?”

Station 2: Primary Source Analysis

Activity:
 Students read excerpts from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron and another medieval account of the
plague.
 Answer guided questions in pairs:
o “What emotions do the writers express about the plague?”
o “How did people respond to the crisis?”
 Use highlighters to identify descriptive phrases that reveal the severity of the event.
Station 3: Social and Economic Consequences
Activity:
 Students examine a visual infographic depicting life before and after the Black Death (e.g., population
decline, rise in wages, weakening of feudalism).
 Fill in a cause-and-effect chart showing:
o Cause: Plague decimates population.
o Effects: Labor shortages, rise in serfs’ bargaining power, migration to cities.
Wrap-Up at Stations (5 mins):
 After all rotations, have students return to their original groups and share key takeaways from each
station.
Closure - “After”: Restate teaching point, clarify key points, extend ideas, check for understanding

How will students share or show what they have learned in this lesson?

How will you restate the teaching point and clarify key concepts?

How will you engage students in reflection on how the strategies/skills learned today can be used as readers/writers/learners?

How will you provide opportunities to extend ideas and check for understanding?
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/22-powerful-closure-activities-todd-finley
Sharing and Reflection:
 Each group shares a takeaway from one station.
 Facilitate a class discussion: “What do you think was the most lasting impact of the Black Death?”
 Restate key points from the lesson, linking the spread of the plague, societal responses, and its long-
term effects.
Check for Understanding:
 Exit Ticket: “Write one thing you learned about how the Black Death impacted medieval Europe and one
question you still have.”

Extension: How could you extend this lesson if time permits?

What specific extension activity might the students do to continue practicing and building meaning?

- Students research another historical pandemic (e.g., Spanish Flu, COVID-19) and compare its causes and societal impacts
with the Black Death.
- Create a short presentation or infographic to share findings.
NOTE: Attach any Relevant handouts, activities, templates, PPT slides, etc. that are referenced and utilized in this lesson.
Lesson Plan Appendix and Commentary Section
[Note: Complete the Sections Below Indicated by your Course Instructor]

Evidence and Formative Assessment of Student Learning: How will you know whether students are making progress toward your
learning goal(s) and/or how will you assess the extent to which they have met your goal(s)? Use the chart below to describe and
justify at least 2 formal or informal assessment strategies that occur in your detailed plan above.
Assessment Strategy #1: Alignment with Objectives:
Describe how this assessment is aligned to your stated
objectives. Which objective(s) is it assessing?

Cause-and-Effect Charts: students will visually organize and Demonstrates understanding of how the Black Death affected
understand the relationships between the causes of the Black Europe socially and economically.
Death and its widespread social, economic, and cultural
Evidence of Student Understanding:
consequences. This tool encourages critical thinking and Describe how this assessment strategy provides evidence of
ensures students can clearly link specific events or conditions student understanding of the concepts being taught.
to their historical outcomes.
Completed charts showing logical connections between causes
and consequences.
Student Feedback:
Describe how you will provide feedback to students on this
assessment.

Immediate verbal feedback at the station, with additional

written comments when collected.
Assessment Strategy #2: Alignment with Objectives:
Describe how this assessment is aligned to your stated
objectives. Which objective(s) is it assessing?

Exit Tickets: assess students' understanding of the lesson's Reflects on the central focus and key takeaways of the lesson.
key concepts and their ability to reflect on the significance of
Evidence of Student Understanding:
the Black Death in medieval history. It encourages synthesis Describe how this assessment strategy provides evidence of
and critical thinking while serving as a quick formative
 assessment. student understanding of the concepts being taught.

Ability to summarize impacts and pose questions for further

exploration.
Student Feedback:
Describe how you will provide feedback to students on this
assessment.

Teacher collects and addresses questions in future lessons or

discussions.

Note: Add more assessment strategy boxes here if needed.

Utilizing Knowledge about Students to Plan and Implement Effective Instruction

Building on Personal/Cultural/Community Assets:

Explain how your plans linked student’s prior academic learning and personal/cultural/community assets to new learning.
Are there locations to visit (encourage to visit), guest speakers to be had, festivals to attend, etc. etc. to connect to the lesson.

Encourage discussions about pandemics in modern times, helping students connect historical themes to their own experiences.
Grouping Strategies:
Describe how and why students will be divided into groups, if applicable (random, ability, interest, social purposes, etc.).
https://theowlteacher.com/8-ways-to-group-your-students/

Group students heterogeneously for diverse perspectives at each station.

Planned Supports:
Describe the instructional supports during your lesson that address diverse learning needs in order for all students to successfully
meet lesson objectives. This can include possible accommodations and differentiation strategies.
Examples:
Vocabulary Instruction: This involves teaching students the meaning of adjectives, adverbs, and verbs, and how they are used in
sentences.

Visual Aids: These can include charts, diagrams, or images that help students understand the concepts being taught.
- Visual Aids: Infographics and maps to support comprehension.

- Differentiation: Provide modified primary source texts for students who need additional support.

Acknowledgements

Sources:
If ideas in this lesson were based on work from others, acknowledge your sources here

- Sources for maps, timelines, and infographics will be included in handouts.

- Primary sources adapted from public domain texts (e.g., The Decameron).