Vikings Lesson Plan (aimed at grade 7)

Lesson Title Norse gods and goddesses Class length 100 minutes (a double period)	Date 08/09/16 Class size Aimed for a class consisting of 28 students Level Year eight English class
Outcomes By the end of this lesson students will have gained and applied knowledge about Norse religion, gods, and goddesses (linked to ACELA1549). Students will have worked in pairs to successfully understand how to analyse and dissect informative resources. Students will be able to use information to start creating a factual profile for Norse Religion and a Viking god or goddess (linked to ACELT1632, ACELY1736, and ACELT1768) Content descriptors addressed The subject of English is focused upon three equally important strands within the Australian Curriculum. The content descriptors addressed within this lesson have been taken from these three categories. Language Understand how to apply learned knowledge consistently in order to spell accurately and to learn new words including nominalisations (ACELA1549) Literature Create literary texts that draw upon text structures and language features of other texts for particular purposes and effects (ACELT1632) Experiment with particular language features drawn from different types of texts, including combinations of language and visual choices to create new texts (ACELT1768) Literacy Create informative texts that report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual choices (ACELY1736)
Lesson Content This lesson is based on further exploring the topic of Vikings. Students will learn about Norse religion and the most common gods and goddesses within it. Students will listen to a delivered introduction of the topic. They will be given a guiding question to follow when taking notes. This will be- What were the beliefs of Vikings? They will then read through supplied handouts to identify important facts related to this guiding question. Students will discuss what they read and noted within their table groups then start the layout of their individual fact sheet. The fact sheet will reflect  a general understanding of the religion, and a detailed character profile on one of the following deities- Odin, Thor, Freya, or Loki. This fact sheet will apply their existing skills to a more specific subject and build their skills of analysis.
Introduction  This lesson will start with a 5 to 10-minute direct instruction by the teacher. This time will be used to explain to students how this lesson leads on from what they have been doing in previous classes, exactly what the task is for the day, and a basic introduction to the topic. They will then use a 30-minute block to read through the literature and take notes on facts they want to include in their fact sheet. The rest of the lesson will be used to plan out and create their worksheets with their partner.
Teacher activities • attendance • direct instruction • handing out worksheets • classroom noise and behaviour control • providing suggestions for content and layout of student’s factsheet • ensuring everyone is on task • circulating throughout classroom and providing help where needed	Learner activities • listen to instruction • read through handouts • take notes • draft a layout for a factsheet • create factsheet with information from the handouts
Closure This lesson will be closed with the teacher walking around each table to take note of progress. Each pair will be asked to share one exciting fact that they have on their fact sheet with the rest of the class. Students will then be asked to write their name clearly on the back of their factsheet and stack them neatly on the teacher’s desk before waiting to be dismissed.
Learner assessment Students will be assessed through two factors. How well they achieved the learning outcomes of the class and their focus and use of time during the class. Learning intentions for this lesson Learn general facts about Norse religion Learn individual traits of one or more god/goddess By the end of this lesson students will have… (success criteria) Read through the provided material Taken notes on What were the beliefs of Vikings? from the resources Discussed the readings in their table group Have their layout planned for their individual A4 worksheet
Lesson evaluation The success of the lesson will be measured by how well the students understand the content, how they apply the content to their note taking, and how smoothly the instruction and running of the lesson is.