Backward Design Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Mr. Everett Grade level 8

Lesson title Earth Systems: Benjamin Banneker and His Accomplishments

Step 1—Desired Results

Standards, benchmarks, other objectives as needed (e.g., IEP)—What should students know,
understand, and be able to do as a result of the lesson?

At a minimum, teacher should identify:

 California Content Standards
 Lesson Objectives
Goals:
1. I want students to recognize Benjamin Banneker’s accomplishments as a self-
educated African American astronomer, author, and scientist.
2. I want students to understand and record the phases of the moon over a period of
time.
3. I want students to demonstrate their findings of the phases of the moon in the form
of a letter.
Objectives:
1. Students will pair up in partners and attempt to create something new with just a
piece of paper (in correlation to Benjamin Banneker making a clock out of wood).
2. Students will read an article about Benjamin Banneker and be able to explain his
accomplishments.
3. Students will record observations of the moon over a period of time in a journal.
4. Students will construct a letter to the president (in replication to Banneker’s letter to
President Thomas Jefferson).

California State Standards:

7.4.e: Students know the appearance, general composition, relative position and size, and
motion of objects in the solar system, including planets, planetary satellites, comets and
asteroids.

Next Generation Science Standards:

MS-ESS1-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic
patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.

Driving Question:
What did Benjamin Banneker set out to prove and how can we make a difference in our
society?
 Step 2—Assessment Evidence
Performance task—What will students do to show what they have learned?
Performance criteria—How good is good enough to meet standards?

Assessments:
Entry-level assessment:
 Students will in pairs attempt to construct an object yet to be discovered out of a
piece of paper. This will lead into a discussion about Benjamin Banneker and how
he built a clock out of pieces of wood. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes.
Formative assessments:
 Students will work in pairs and annotate a short biography of Benjamin Banneker
and his accomplishments. Students will have their own copy to annotate and will
turn in their articles at the end of the lesson. This will take approximately 20
minutes.
 Students will record their observations of the position of the moon at the same time
every night in a small journal for about a week. They will draw the moon as it looks
that evening and draw its position in the night sky. Students will be able to compare
their own drawings with their classmates every day and ask questions until the
assignment is due. On the day that the assignment is due, students will predict how
the moon will look at the end of the cycle. This will take approximately a week to
complete.
 Students will construct a letter to the president, demonstrating their findings of the
moon just like Benjamin Banneker did when writing to President Thomas Jefferson.
To replicate Banneker, students will then write about what they would like to see
change in society, whether it is more opportunities, equality, etc. This will be
collected at the end of the lesson and should take approximately 20 minutes.

Step 3—Learning Plan

Learning activities (step by step from start to finish, detailed enough for another teacher to follow)

Introduction:
1. Have students take out a sheet of paper and direct them to work with partners to
build anything from the piece of paper. If they need to use multiple sheets of paper,
let them. Do not tell them why until students have made an attempt. After
approximately ten minutes have gone by, have students share their feelings about
the assignment. Let them know that a man named Benjamin Banneker was given
pieces of wood and built a clock, (many believe it was the first clock constructed in
America).
Lesson Body:
2. Give each student an article talking about Benjamin Banneker’s biography. Have
students work with the same partners and annotate the article. Students should
locate key ideas (his background, accomplishments). Model the way you want
students to read and annotate the article before they begin. This should take about
twenty minutes or more and it will be collected at the end of the lesson. Make sure
there is time to ask questions and discuss the article with the students.
 3. After the short discussion, tell students that they will be able to record their own
findings of the night sky for the next week. Students will draw the moon and the
position of the moon over the next week. They will do so the same time every night.
Demonstrate how you want students to draw the moon on the first night by drawing
the moon on the whiteboard. Let students know that every day in class they will
have the opportunity to share their drawings with other classmates and ask
questions.
4. On the day that their drawings are due, have students predict how the moon will
look after another week. Remind students that Banneker made predictions about the
phases and position of the moon and stars and even predicted when a solar eclipse
would appear. Give students about twenty minutes in class to make their
predictions before having them turn it in.
Conclusion:
5. Have students write a letter to the president explaining their predictions and their
findings over the course of the week. Remind students that Banneker used his
almanac (where he kept his findings) to show President Thomas Jefferson that
African Americans were very intelligent, had abilities to contribute to American
society and deserved more rights and freedom. Have students replicate this by
having them write about how they want society to change and why it should
change. Give students approximately twenty minutes to complete it and collect at
the end of the lesson.

Step 4—Reflection
What happened during my lesson? What did my students learn? How do I know?
What did I learn? How will I improve my lesson next time?

The purpose of the lesson was for students to recognize the importance of Benjamin
Banneker’s accomplishments to science and to apply his story to 21st century society.
During the introduction of the lesson, students are instructed to create an object that could
be useful for many out of sheets of paper. This allowed students to start the lesson by
demonstrating their ability to create something out of basically nothing. What makes this
activity relevant to the lesson is that the teacher will then introduce Benjamin Banneker to
the class and discuss how he was a free African American in 18th century America who was
self-educated and able to create a wood clock out of pieces of wood. After giving students a
sneak peek to Banneker’s bio, the teacher will have students read in partners an article about
Banneker’s life and accomplishments. The reason behind this assignment is for students to
understand who this scientist was since most people may not know much about Banneker
and his life’s works. It is important that students understand that the odds were against
Banneker given the situation of slavery in the early United States and even freed African
Americans had limited rights, so for him to self-educate himself and be very influential is
remarkable. He was fearless and spoke up by sending letters to President Thomas Jefferson,
addressing the issues the African Americans faced in America. He was a voice for those that
did not have one. This might be the history teacher coming out of me but I think it is
important for students to study historical figures in science that don’t receive a lot of credit
for their accomplishments.
One of the things that Banneker did in his lifetime was record stars and the phases of the
moon in the night sky. I want students to not only understand the phases of the moon but I
want them to record the phases of the moon and make predictions just like Banneker did.
By having students draw what they found in the night sky the same time every night, they
will notice that the moon does in fact have different phases. After one week of observing
the moon, students will make predictions on how they think the moon will look as it
finishes it cycle. By having students share their findings everyday in class, this gives them
an opportunity to make adjustments, ask questions, and learn more about the process and
what is expected of them. On the first day, the teacher will model how to draw the first
phase of the moon on the whiteboard as students copy it down on a piece of paper so they
will know what to expect to see that first night. This activity allows students to work
together in class (asking questions in class and sharing their findings) and invites parent
participation as well.

The last activity of the lesson I want students to work on is a letter to the president. It is
important to remind students (or ask students to recall) that Benjamin Banneker wrote
letters to President Thomas Jefferson asking for change in 18th century America for African
Americans. One way he tried to connect with the president was by showing Jefferson his
scientific results and calculations over time to signify that African Americans were very
smart and successful and can very much contribute to early American society. While
President Jefferson acknowledged Banneker and his findings, not much changed occurred.
However, Banneker recognized that he had an opportunity to make a difference for many
and took a chance. What I want students to get out of this assignment is to not only write
about their experience recording the phases of the moon, but to also have the same mindset
that Banneker had when writing to President Jefferson. This gives all students a chance to
speak up and write about what they would like to see change in our 21st century society and
why they believe now is the time. I hope that after reading and understanding Banneker’s
life, students will embrace this assignment.

Students should learn from this lesson that there are many people in history that have made
an impact and not just for the study of science. Banneker did not receive a formal education
yet he made some remarkable discoveries including tracking phases of the moon and
correctly predicting a solar eclipse. He was outspoken and used his scientific works to show
President Thomas Jefferson that African Americans deserved more freedoms in this
country. I want students to learn that regardless of what your background is, you can most
definitely make a difference in this world. I want them to not only study science, but study
those who made an impact in science and society and can be considered role models. What
I learned from this lesson is how impactful incorporating a key figure like Benjamin
Banneker could be. After researching his life, I was really excited to include him in this
lesson. I believe that he is someone that students could very well look up to. I enjoy
planning lessons using the backwards planning strategy because it focuses on student
learning, goals and results and after doing this lesson, it reaffirms why I enjoy backwards
planning. Although I haven’t taught this lesson to students, I anticipate that the phases of
the moon may have to be tweaked a bit. Depending on weather conditions, time to allow
students to work on this long activity, and other unknown factors, this activity although
fun, may be tentative. I think students would enjoy recording the moon and it allows
parents to be involved with their student’s homework, but unknown factors like weather
could be an issue and may delay the activity to the point that it doesn’t make sense to assign
it. A back-up plan would be that students watch a video on the phases of the moon and
draw their own in class (I can still have students make predictions on how the latter phases
of the moon will look so they are still critical thinking). In the end, I would love to try out
this lesson plan and I hope to do that in the near future.

Adapted from Tomlinson and McTighe, Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design, ASCD,
2006.