Title:



Title: The Balkans

Lesson Author: Brandon Sexton

Key Words: Demographics, Political Change

Grade Level: 8th-9th grade

Time Allotted: 90 minutes

|Rationale/ Purpose (so what?) |

|Nature and scope of topic. Why is this significant to the mission of educating future citizens? |

|The Balkans are often the most forgotten part of the Europe Continent, yet they have played huge roles in wars and political conflicts |

|Background/Context: How does this lesson fit into a unit of study? Looking backwards, looking forwards |

| |

|This is a lesson that fits into a unit about the region of Europe. It would probably be done after Western Europe and former USSR countries |

|are covered, and the final part of the united before exam review. |

Key Concept(s):

Demographics – The characteristics of a human population as used in government

Ethnicity - the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition

Nationalism - advocacy of political independence for a particular country

|NCSS Standard(s) |

|SOL Information |

| |

|NCSS Theme (s) with indicators: III – People, Places, and Environment |

|challenge learners to examine, interpret, and analyze the interactions of human beings and their physical environments; |

|ask learners to describe how people create places that reflect culture, human needs, current values and ideals, and government policies; |

|SOL* : WG.1d: The student will use maps, globes, satellite images, photographs, or diagrams to create and compare political, physical, and |

|thematic maps; |

|WG.4: The student will locate and analyze physical, economic, and cultural characteristics of world regions: Europe |

|WG.12a: The student will apply geography to interpret the past, understand the present, and plan for the future by using geographic knowledge,|

|skills, and perspectives to analyize problems and make decisions |

|Essential Knowledge |Essential Skills |

|Standard ways that maps show information: Symbols, Color, Lines, |(minimum for SOL Resource Guide) |

|Boundaries, Contours |Select the appropriate geographic resource to draw conclusions. |

|Types of thematic maps: Population, Economic activity, Resource, | |

|Language, Ethnicity, Climate, Precipitation, Vegetation, Physical, |Compare and contrast information found on different types of maps. |

|Political | |

| |Compare maps and make inferences. |

|Europe: | |

|Physical Characteristics: |Draw conclusions and make inferences about date. |

|Seas: Adriatic, Aegean, Mediterranean, Black | |

|Peninsulas: Balkan |Identify and interpret regional patterns on maps. |

|Economic Characteristics: | |

|European Union | |

|Differences in Western and Eastern European industrial development due | |

|to differing economic systems in prior years | |

|Replacement of communism with capitalism in Eastern Europe | |

|Cultural Characteristics: | |

|Many ethnic groups with different languages, religions, customs | |

|Sporadic conflict among groups (wars, revolutions) | |

Guiding Question(s):

What countries are found in the Balkans?

Why are there so many countries in an area so small as the Balkans?

The day’s big question:

How does culture and history affect the borders of countries?

Lesson Objective(s):

Obj. 1

Students will be able to recount the countries that make up the Balkan Peninsula.

Obj. 2

Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the differences between the Balkans countries in language, ethnicity, religion, etc.

Assessment Tool(s) to be used

Assessment 1.

Informal: Map of the Balkans completed with correct poltical, economic, language, or geographic information filled out.

Assessment 2.

Informal: Group map with all categories thoroughly completed, according to the rubric

Assessment 3.

Formal: Letter to Secretary of State, graded to the rubric

|Materials: Historical Source(s): List here and include copies in | |Additional Materials/Resources: List here and include copies in |

|materials section below | |materials section- textbooks etc page numbers, websites etc |

| | |Balkans through Time SmartBoard Notebook Slides (Material A) |

| | | |

| | |BalkansModernMap SmartBoard Notebook Slides (Material B) |

| | | |

| | |Balkans Map Assignment Sheet (Material C) |

| | | |

| | |Sporcle: Countries in Europe (Material D) |

| | | |

| | |Sporcle: Countries in the Balkans (Material E) |

| | | |

| | | |

| | |/balkans/central.htm (Material F) |

| | | |

| | | |

| | |map_sites/hist_sites.html (Material G) |

Procedure/Process:

1) JUST DO IT! The “Hook”:

List every European country you can think of. You have 2 minutes to do so.

2) Instructional sequence:

|Obj # |Processing Activity and Procedure –include directions, question frames, |Check for Evidence of Understanding |

|See above. |assignment details, to be given to students (these should all be made into |-Either Formal or Informal e.g. |

| |explicit materials (e.g. see material A) Do you have opportunities for |assessments- question frames, quiz, |

| |direct/guided instruction and independent practice/engagement when appropriate |choice activities, discussion with |

| |and time estimates |frame and your THAT’s A WRAP. |

| | |(Checks Essential Knowledge and Skills |

| | |should be in line with assessment tools|

| | |above) |

|Just do it. | (Material D) |Informal: Pre-test on Balkan knowledge,|

| | |as well as comprehension of previous |

| |Students will complete this sporcle quiz, trying to name all of the countries of |lessons |

| |Europe in 8 minutes, using no help (time can be shortened manually, by asking | |

| |students to ‘give up’ after 3-4 minutes) | |

|Transition: |Students will close out of sporcle, and open the SmartBoard Notebook file with the blank slides of the Balkans (Material |

| |_) |

|Objective # 1: |Students will be given slides of a blank map of the Balkans (Material A), as well| |

|Students will be |as an assignment (Material C) for the different years that they will research | |

|able to recount the |which countries existed in the Balkans at the time. Students will be allowed to | |

|countries that make |use all resources available to them. Teacher will assist when asked to, but | |

|up the Balkan |otherwise, students will complete the task on their own. These ‘signficance |Informal: Significance Cards of Balkan |

|Peninsula |cards’ will then be printed, and written on, explaining the context of the map in|countries, completed based on the time |

| |one or two sentences. |period |

|Transition: |Students will save file as (‘name’_balkans1) and print their slides onto one page (4 slides per page), and open another |

| |the next set of slides, and start the next assignment on the same page as previous assignment (Material C) |

|Objective # 2 |Students will be given blank slides with the modern political boundries in the |Informal: Group maps with all |

| |Balkans (Material B). Each student group will given six different categories |categories thoroughly completed |

| |(language, ethnicity, religion, EU membership, physical geography, former | |

| |communists) The students will be required to research the categories, and create |Formal: Letter to Secretary of State, |

| |three maps that depict their findings. They will print out each map, and make a |graded to the rubric |

| |significance card out of them, writing the category it falls under. | |

| |Students will then makeup a one page letter to the Secretary of State, explaining| |

| |why there seem to be some many countries in the Balkans today. It will be graded | |

| |by the included rubric in the assignment sheet. (Material C) | |

3) Closure-

Sporcle Quiz on the countries in the Balkans:



Students are given one minute to complete. Each question is worth one point. 10 total. One bonus country.

Modifications/Accommodations for Diverse Learners:

Paper copies of blank maps

Copies of information needed to complete maps

These for students who might not be able to use the Internet effectively

Completed Significance Cards

MATERIAL C

Balkans Map Assignment

World Geography

2010-2011

You are a researcher for the State Department, and it has recently come to the attention of the Federal Government that there is a lack of information on the Balkan Peninsula. You have to complete the following tasks for the Secretary of State before she visits the regions:

I. First, you must establish the boundaries of the countries in the Balkans in the past and present. Even today, Kosovo has just recently declared itself a country. Create maps of the Balkans from the following five times:

Pre World War I (1900-1914)

Pre World War II (1920-1938)

Post World War II (1945-60)

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1991-1992)

Modern Day

The Secretary does not embarrass him/herself in front of the native populations, so be sure these are accurate.

You will use the blank template SmartBoard Notebook file entitled “Balkans through Time” to complete this assignment. Use the pen feature to fill out the map for the time period, and the Internet to find the information you need. One site to start at is this one (). Also, this site could be useful for both part I and part II. ()

Once you have completed it, use the “Save As…” function, and rename it to ‘name_balkans1’. Print of these maps, four per page, and then be sure to label them on the back, explaining when they were.

II. Now that you have the maps of the Balkans throughout the 20th and 21st century, you probably have some questions about why it has changed so much over the past century. Without looking into the history books, there is one way you can tell through demographics. Research and create maps based on the following demographics. You may work in groups of three for this part of the assignment:

Physical Geography (Major Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Bodies of Water)

European Union Membership

Former Communist Countries (or countries formerly in the USSR)

Language

Ethnicity

Religion

You will use the SmartBoard Notebook file entitle “BalkansModernMap” to complete this part of the assignment. Use the pen feature to fill in the correct information, and use the Internet to find the information you need. Here is a start for the ethnicity part of the assignment. () Again, this website might be useful ()

Once you have finished the assignment, use the “Save As…” function, and rename it to ‘name_balkans2’. Label these maps thoroughly on the back, after you print them out, four per page.

III. Finally, the Secretary doesn’t have time to read over all of your research, so you need to write a one page letter summary of why the Balkans has so many countries today in comparison to the past, using the maps that you have created. You may complete one paper per group. This paper will be worth 25 points.

Rubric:

To receive 25 points, the paper must be complete and focused. It must show insight on how language, ethnicity, and religion have affected the formation of countries in the Balkans, using specific evidence to back it up. There should be few, if any, grammatical errors in the paper. It is in the form of a letter, not missing an aspect.

To receive 20 points, the paper must be complete, but might not be as clear as it could be. It shows insight into how language, ethnicity, and religion have affected the formation of countries in the Balkans, but it might not use enough examples to back up its insight. Most parts of a letter are present

To receive 15 points, the paper is complete, but not focused, often not finishing a thought. A paper like this is full of generalization about the influence of language, ethnicity, and religion on the Balkans, but it does not provide insight, but rather ‘textbook’ answers. Missing some parts of a letter, such as address or heading

To receive 10 points or less, the paper is incomplete and not focused at all. It uses only generalizations, with little to no evidence to support its statements. It provides no insights into the Balkan situation. Does not look like a letter at all.

Evaluation Rubric:

Complete the rubric for each lesson plan and attach cover sheet.

(You should have 1 cover sheet and 10 rubrics.)

Please Circle NCSS Theme and attach to the correct themed lesson.

NCSS THEME

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

Rating Scale (can include half points on the scale)

1) The lesson plan is focused on a specific NCSS thematic standard, is designed to answer a specific guiding question, and has a strong content/skills focus and rationale. (Students must make sure they meet all the required criteria as detailed above.)

Not focused highly focused

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

Lesson fits well into the Theme of People, Places and Environment.

2) The lesson plan is designed to clearly address specific social studies SOL with a clearly focused list of Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Understandings (See SOL Resource Guide), and NCSS performance expectations and indicators. (What are students going to do based on the theme? - See Expectations for Excellence.)

Not addressed Clearly Addressed

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

The entire exercise is to build a map of the Balkans, both in different times, as well as based on different demographics, and physical geography. It fits both the essential knowledge and skills in the SOLs

3) The lesson plan includes clear, motivational, intriguing and relevant guiding questions (big question).

Not addressed Clearly Addressed

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

Guiding questions are pointed to the end goal of the lesson, the letter to the secretary, and what caused the ‘break up’ of the balkans

4) The lesson plan includes well-written and explicit objectives

Unclear objectives Clear objectives

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

The objectives are clearly stated, and approached cleanly in the activities

5) The lesson plan includes a tightly focused bell ringer/motivational hook that relates to the lesson. (1-5 minutes)- (Independent student work) (Just Do it).

Unclear Objectives Clear Objectives

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

The first sporcle quiz is meant as a review and a pretest. A review of previous knowledge of Europe, and a pretest on the states in the Balkans.

6) The lesson plan includes detailed instructional activities that directly correlate with specific objectives.

Not Focused Clearly Focused

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

7) The lesson plan contains clearly focused and detailed directions for students, question frames, and lecture outlines, when appropriate, to facilitate directions and learning. (These are also part of the materials section)- A teacher should be ready to go with the lesson.

Not Focused/Detailed Highly Focused/Detailed

.2__________.4__________.6__________.8__________.10

Comments:

There is no lecture, but the assignment sheet given to students is incredibly detailed, and students are also encouraged to ask the teacher for help.

8) The lesson plan includes a focused and clear closure that either provides students with the opportunity to answer the guiding question (assesses student understanding) or clearly summarizes the day’s key points in relation to the key question.

Not Focused Highly Focused

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

This second sporcle is pointed towards just the Balkans countries, and being able to readily name them quickly (1 minutes)

9) The lesson plan provides a clearly designed assessment within the closure to measure student growth/with model answer(s) that is explicitly connected to the lessons essential understandings, objectives, and the strategies for learning

Not Clear and Appropriate Highly Clear and Appropriate

.1__________.2__________.3__________.4__________.5

Comments:

See above

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