The lesson plan integrates social studies and English language arts content areas to teach students about Martin Luther King Jr. Students will learn how MLK influenced his community for the better by reading the book Martin's Big Words and writing their own poem. They will create a KWL chart to discuss what they know, want to know, and have learned. After reading, students will answer questions and review how to write a poem with sensory details. They will then write their own poem explaining how MLK changed his community and including at least 3 sensory words. The teacher will assess students based on including how MLK influenced the community, using sensory words, and poem conventions. Students will also self-assess their understanding and participation.

1. Annotated Lesson Plan
Part 1: Lesson Plan
Your name: Lauren Cooper
Intended grade level for this plan: Second Grade
Book title: Martin’s Big Words
Author: Doreen Rappaport
Publisher & year: Hyperion Books for Children, 12/18/2007
INTEGRATION PLANNING TEMPLATE
CONTENT AREAS Social Studies
BEING
INTEGRATED
English Language Arts
TEKS (1 TEKS
FROM EACH
CONTENT AREA)
TO BE
ADDRESSED
SS.2.4.C
ELAW.2.18.B
(4) History. The student
understands how historical
figures, patriots, and good
citizens helped shape the
community, state, and nation.
The student is expected to: (C)
explain how people and events
have influenced local
community history.
(18) Writing/Literary Texts.
Students write literary texts to
express their ideas and feelings
about real or imagined people,
events, and ideas. Students are
expected to: (B) Write short
poems that convey sensory
details.
LEARNING
GOALS (1 for each
of the TEKS)
What do you want
students to learn?
The students will write at least
one way Martin Luther King Jr.
influenced his local, state
and/or national community for
the better.
The students will write at least
one way how Martin Luther
King influenced his community
for the better by creating a
poem that conveys at least three
sensory detailed words.
IDEAS FOR
ACTIVITIES
What kinds of
learning experiences
will help students to
meet the learning
Materials Needed:
• The book Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
• Promethium board or chart paper (KWL Chart)
• White board (children’s thoughts/ideas)
• Sheet of paper for teacher to keep track of student

2. goals set for each
content area?
•
•
•
participation
Chart paper (to model poem writing)
Notebook paper (for their poems)
Self-Assessment Sheet (for both language arts and social
studies)
[The teacher will start the lesson off explaining that the students
are going to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and that they will
read the book, Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport as well
as create their own unique poems towards the end of the lesson.]
Teacher Notes The teacher will explicitly tell the students that
they must participate with a meaningful response at least once
during either the poem review or during the book reading in order
to receive points at the end.
First, the teacher will make a KWL Chart (what the students
know, what the students want to know, and what the students
have learned) onto chart paper. As a whole class discussion, the
teacher will write down what the students know about Martin
Luther King Jr., specifically what he has done for his community.
They will also discuss what they want to know about Martin
Luther King Jr. and the teacher will record that information on the
chart paper during the discussion. [This is when students receive
points and the teacher will keep track of who participates by
writing their names down on a pad of paper.]
Then the teacher will read the book, Martin’s Big Words, out loud
to the class. After reading the story, the students know a little
more information about Martin Luther King. Now return back to
the KWL chart and fill in the answers to the questions. If any of
the questions were answered after reading the story, record the
answers below the learned column. After adding the new
information some of the questions may not be answered (we will
return to this later).
Questions to be asked after reading the text to the class (this is
when the teacher will grade for participation):
1. How did Martin Luther King Jr. change his community?
(Inferential Question)
2. What types of things helped him achieve this goal?
(Inferential Question)
3. What kind of leader was Martin? Strong, passionate, or
caring? Explain. (Opinion-based Question)

3. 4. What did you learn about Martin Luther King Jr.?
(Opinion based Question)
5. How did he help others? (Inferential Question)
6. Have you ever done something nice or something that
helped someone without being asked to do it? (Relatable
Question)
7. Why did you do it? How did this make you feel?
Now the students will review how to write a poem. The teacher
will explain the parts of the poem. For example, we must first
write our name in the corner of our paper and then we must create
a title for our poem. (The teacher will be modeling this on a piece
of chart paper –she will write, Mrs. Cooper on the right side of
the chart paper and write “Martin’s Influence” as the poems title).
The teacher will tell the students that the title is their choice and
that I chose “Martins Influence.” Then she will say we are writing
a sensory detailed poem, so it is important to make sure to add
sensory detailed words. So using sensory detailed words means to
explain using what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. “What are
some sensory detail words that we could use for Martin Luther
King?” –She writes these down on the board so the students can
use as a reminder later. (This is when the students respond to the
question- also a time for participation points) Some of their
responses might be pondered, worried, courage, stutter, blistering
heat, and smoky air (words from the book might spark ideas) etc.
The teacher will also go over the basics of using punctuation and
exclamation points if needed. She will say that periods are used
when you are stating something and exclamation points when you
are indicating a strong feeling or expressing high volume in your
words. For example, Martin Luther King is full of courage! (The
teacher will say this sentence with a high volume and in a
statement form) The teacher will remind the students to use the
dictionary or the book as a guide for spelling. After writing all of
their responses down on the board, the students will then listen
about what else that needs to be included in a poem.
*Teacher passes out the Self-Assessment Sheets at this time
Now the teacher will explain to the students that in the content
part of their poem they must add at least one way Martin Luther
King Jr. influenced his local community to change for the better.
In their poem the students must add at least three sensory detailed
words. These are the two essential parts of the assessment and
how they will be graded. After discussing what needs to be in a
poem, the students are then asked to go back to their desks and to

4. think about some sensory detailed words as well as one way or
Martin Luther King Jr. influenced his community that they can
use for their poems.
Now, the students will create their own poem explaining how the
community changed because of Martin Luther King Jr. while
adding sensory detailed words. The teacher can walk around to
make sure that each student understands and is on the right track.
If students are having trouble, encourage them to look at the book
we read in the beginning of the lesson. Also lay out some other
inspiring texts or books about Martin Luther King to spark any
other ideas.
*Give the students their self-assessment form after the poem
review so they can use it as a guide to make sure they are doing
the lesson correctly also for them to know what is expected of
them, in terms of the assignment.
On KWL chart (For the “W”, what the students want to know):
*Go over the questions that may not have been answered on the
KWL chart and have them look up the unanswered questions as a
homework option for extra credit.
ASSESSMENT
How will you
determine if the
students met the
learning goals in
each content area?
(Student self
assessment below)
Each student must contribute
at least once during discussion
time. Whether that is during
the book reading or during the
poem review. This is
mentioned before the lesson.
Each student must contribute at
least once during discussion
time. Whether that is during the
book reading or during the
poem review. This is mentioned
before the lesson.
Teacher Rubric:
1. Does the student have at
least one way Martin Luther
King Jr. influenced his local
community for the better? 45
Points
Teacher Rubric:
1.Are there at least three
sensory detailed words? 40
Points
2. Did the student participate
with a meaningful response
during the poem review OR
2. Does each sensory detailed
word make sense in the
sentence?
40 Points

5. during the book reading? 25
Points
3. Explain in detail how your
poem relates to what Martin
Luther King did as a
community leader? To think
about: Why did you choose
those words? Why do those
words work for Martin Luther
King Jr. as a leader? 30 Points
Worth a total of 100 Points
Student Self-Assessment for
both the language arts and
social studies aspect (the
project as a whole):
Give a description of the
project you have completed.
What did you like about the
project or activity?
What were you able to do well
?
Did you have trouble with this
project/activity? Why or why
not.
Observation assessment:
After the students fill out their
self-assessments, the students
will get into groups of 3 or 4
and discuss the following:
1.What did you learn during
this lesson?
2. What did Martin do as a
leader?
3. Share your poems with your
group and share something
you like about each person’s
3. Do they have all of their
conventions? 20 Points
• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Mechanical Errors
• Title
• Your name
Worth a total of 100 Points

6. poem.
4.What if Martin Luther King
Jr. did not make the “I have a
dream speech”, what would
have happened? Would
anything have been different?
Explain why in detail.
5.Discuss how Martin Luther
King Jr. can help us become
better people in our
community.
[Afterwards, reconvene and
debrief as a class]
[Observation Assessment-by
the teacher]
**Extra credit option (if there
are any unanswered questions
on KWL chart):
Allow one point for each
meaningful answer as well as
the reference (where they
found this information).

7. Name____________________
Date__________________
Student Self-Assessment
Give a description of the project you have
completed.
What were you able to do well? Explain.
What did you like and not like about the
project or activity? Explain.
Did you have trouble with this project/activity?
Why or why not.

8. Part 2: Justification and Critique
1. How will this lesson build on the student prior knowledge, make knowledge
visible, and/or address student misconceptions?
My social studies lesson will build on student prior knowledge since the first part of
my lesson incorporates questions about what the students know about Martin Luther King
Jr. In the KWL chart, the K stands for Know, which activates prior knowledge on the
topic, the W stands for Want, where students will ask questions about what they want to
know about this topic, and lastly, the L stands for Learned, which comes full circle for
the students. When students are asked to think about what they know about a topic, then
they are thinking about their thinking which entails prior knowledge and is also known as
metacognition (Bransford, 2000).
The KWL Chart helps the teacher see the prior knowledge the students may have and
if misconceptions are a part of their prior knowledge. KWL charts help address and
confront misconceptions (Bransford, 2000). If a student announces a misconception
about Martin Luther King Jr. then the teacher has the opportunity to eliminate that
misconception. For example, if a student said that Martin Luther King Jr. was the only
person who contributed to the civil rights movement, the teacher could interject and
explain that he was a big part of it but also pull in other historical figures. The historical
figures are actually a part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which is a major
part in Texas school’s curriculums. For example, Rosa Parks is a historical figure that is a
part of the TEKS. In the KWL Chart, the students have the ability to connect it to
analogies; for example, Martin Luther King is like Rosa Parks in that they both made a
contribution to the civil rights movement. Lastly, the KWL Chart helps the teacher see
what students understand the material. For example, if one student continues to give

9. information and ask questions that will be added to the chart then the teacher will be
aware that the student must be challenged during the poem writing.
Carr and Ogle can justify that “KWL charts help students to be active thinkers while
they read giving them specific things to look for and having them reflect on what they
learned when they are finished reading.” The KWL chart can help students reflect after
the teacher reads the story, Martin’s Big Words out loud to the class. Also, Flavell will
argue, “in learning, metacognition involves the active monitoring and conscious control
and regulation of cognitive processes.” It involves thinking about thinking, selfawareness, and self-regulation. When students are thinking about Martin Luther King and
what he did in order to promote positivity in his community, they are thinking about their
thinking and therefore activating their prior knowledge. For example, in the lesson I want
the students to think of things Martin Luther King has done for his community. One
student might say, “Well, last year my class read several books including one that talked
about him making a speech called I Have a Dream.” Another student might say, “In my
first grade class we learned that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone to be friends.”
Also, some students might even know that Martin Luther King Jr. helped further the civil
rights movement.
The KWL Chart not only helps students activate background knowledge but also
combine new information as well as learn things that may were not included in the
original lesson plan. The use of the KWL Chart in the classroom helps students become
curious and more engaged in the learning process. The job of the students is to think and
come up with information and questions while the teacher acts as a scribe, compiling all
of their thoughts down in the correct categories. The KWL Chart activates students’

10. conversations and discussions, which accomplishes a powerful lesson that entails deeper
understanding.
2. How will this lesson promote mentally active learning?
My social studies lesson will promote mentally active learning since the students will
self-assess at the end of the lesson, which will help them reflect over as well document
their strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests. Another part of the assessment includes
the students discussing questions with their peers while the teacher observes. Mentally
active learning means how to learn the information (Bransford, 2000). In the lesson, I
have the students discuss questions that promote mentally active learning in a
sociocultural environment, which is working with others to enhance learning
opportunities and increase critical thinking skills. Since they are thinking about their
thinking and talking about their opinions and ideas they are mentally active in their
learning.
Metacognition means when someone is thinking about their own thinking, which is
one strategy to learn new information (Bransford, 2000). At the end of the lesson, I ask
the students to answer the following questions within their groups including: 1) What did
you learn during this lesson? 2) What did Martin do as a leader? 3) Share your poems
with your group and share something you like about each person’s poem. 4) What if
Martin Luther King Jr. did not make the “I have a dream speech”, what would have
happened? Would anything have been different? and lastly 5) Discuss how Martin Luther
King Jr. can help us become better people in our community. In order to answer the
discussion questions, the students must have been paying attention, reflecting, and
thinking about their thinking throughout the lesson.

11. As a class, we start out in whole group discussion, move to independent work, and
then end with group discussion this gradually gives students more control on what they
want to create during independent work as well as allows them to discuss what they
learned.
3. Why is this lesson likely to promote transfer?
My lesson is very likely to promote transfer since my students have to connect it to
other situations other than educational ones. Transfer means when one is taught
information and then is able to connect it to other situations or contexts (Bransford,
2000). My lesson promotes transfer since at the end of my lesson the students’ get into
groups and talk about, “What if Martin Luther King Jr. did not make the I Have a Dream
Speech,” what would have happened? Would anything have been different? The teacher
walks around and observes and listens to what each group says. They are responsible for
discussing how Martin Luther King Jr. can help us become better community leaders.
Both of these questions give them opportunity to problem solve in other situations. If
students think outside of the learning context and into real life experiences they are able
to become a part of society and problem solve. For example, if students discuss the ways
to be a better community leader, a student might suggest local recycling. Another student
might bring up the issue of keeping fuel emissions low. As a group they are working
together through dialogue to participate as active leaders in the community. Also,
thinking outside of the box is a part of transfer. Instead of traditional answers to
problems, students have to use their imagination and problem-solving skills to explain
what might happen in Martin Luther King Jr. did not write his famous speech, “I Have a

12. Dream.” After this lesson, students will be able to apply this knowledge of Martin Luther
King to be a better activist in their community.
4. How is this lesson likely to promote the eventual development of expert
knowledge?
My lesson contains mentally active learning, prior knowledge, and transfer but does
not have enough room to allow development of expert knowledge. In order to have
expertise in one’s lesson, one must be able to teach in-depth, connect and organize
concepts, encourage application, and have rich subject matter (Bransford, 2000). These
are all things that could be added to this topic and to do so would require additional time
and more lessons. In a perfect situation, I would be able to create more lessons or a small
unit over community leaders, specifically Martin Luther King Jr. In order to make my
lesson have expertise I would first of all need more time to teach. With extra time, I could
add more to the lesson that could include a video or short clip, artifact boxes, a mini-field
trip, and/or individual research or a group research project. Any of these extra things
added to another lesson or as a part of a small unit plan would nicely contribute to
expertise. If I were to teach in-depth on this topic, one lesson would not suffice and
would not lead to effective learning. For expertise to be accomplished, I would need to
create multiple lessons.
An effective way to add expertise to my lesson is to bring my students on a
community-related field trip. The students could go to a homeless shelter or a recycling
center. Although this is not addressing Martin Luther King Jr. specifically, it is in fact
addressing the overall theme of this lesson, which is the importance of community
participation and contribution. The students would see how certain community projects

13. are performed and ways the students could be part of similar projects. For example,
volunteering at the homeless shelter or even talking to the people who live there. After
attending the field trip, I could have my students research a community issue of interest
and have them form groups of six people. In small groups, they would each have a job
and then later present ways the community could help to the class.
5. How will the assessment tool you created influence the ways in which your
students will come to understand the material? (Remember that the form of
the assessment influences how students prepare for it.)
My assessment tool has two parts: a discussion with peers and a self-assessment. The
first assessment tool I created will help students reflect on the assignment by explaining
their strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests in the project. In the assessment, the
student will answer questions and give a detailed explanation of the following: 1) Give a
description of the project you have completed. 2) Explain what you liked and disliked
about the project 3) Explain what you were you able to do well, and 4) Did you have
trouble with the project? Why or Why not. Each of these questions allows the teacher to
see each student’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests so the teacher can monitor
progress in each project and activity completed in the classroom. This also actively
involves the student in the assessment process, encourages self-determination and selfadvocacy skills. This exercise increases responsibility for one’s own learning and
increases critical thinking skills.
The second assessment tool will help influence ways in which my students will
understand the material in a meaningful way. As a second assessment, the teacher will
observe the students to make sure each student is participating and giving meaningful
answers. For my students to understand the material, they must know about Martin
Luther King, Jr. and the things he did within his community. After the students fill out

14. their self-assessments, the teacher will ask them to get into groups of three or four and
discuss the following: 1) What did you learn during this lesson? 2) What did Martin do as
a leader? 3) Share your poems with your group and share something you like about each
person’s poem. 4) What would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. had not made
the “I have a dream speech?” Would anything have been different? and 5) Discuss how
Martin Luther King, Jr. can help us become better people in our community. Students
must be able to think critically and in-depth to come up with opinions and explanations
for the given discussion questions. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, my assessment tool
has synthesis because the students must be creative by forming opinions for the, “What
if” question. The assessment tool also requires them to think, “What if” and drawing
conclusions and relating the material to other community issues. My assessment tool
incorporates all aspects of the Bloom’s Taxonomy, including, evaluation. Evaluation is
the highest point in Bloom’s Taxonomy, which incorporates opinion, and being able to
discriminate between ideas and make choices based on reasoned argument (Bloom,
1956). Towards the end of the lesson, when the teacher returns back to the KWL chart,
this also highlights several of the big ideas the students learned in the lesson which is also
another form of an assessment that allows the teacher to know who understands the big
ideas and who may not understand.

15. References
Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification
goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York; Toronto: Longmans, Green.
Bransford, J.D., Brown A. L., & Cocking R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn:
Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Using KWL in the Classroom. (n.d.).http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphicorganizers/skill-builder/48615.html. Retrieved January 2, 2013, from
http:/http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/skill-builder/48615.html