Information-Processing Family of Models

The lesson plan presented below will come from the Information-Processing Family of Models. The scenario will show how Mr. Johnson uses the Memory Model to help his 5^th graders learn the state capitals.

Phase One: Attending to the Material

In phase one Mr. Johnson will have his students use techniques such as listing and underlining to help his students began to learn the state capitals (Joyce, Weil, & Calhoun, 2009).

Mr. Johnson: Today we are going to begin learning the state capitals. There are 50 state capitals and the majority of them are centrally located within the state where they are located. We are going to focus primarily on the state capitals located in the southeastern region of our country. These states will include Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia. For starters I want you to turn to page 238 in your book. On this page you will find the state capital for each state I have mentioned. On a blank piece of paper I want you to make two columns. The first column should be titled 'State Capital' and the second column should be titled 'States.' Be sure to give yourself plenty of room out to the right of the 'State Capital' column because we will be doing some writing out beside that later on. Write the state capitals under the appropriate column and the corresponding state under the 'States' column. (At this time students will begin to list the state capitals in the manner Mr. Johnson stated.)

Phase Two: Developing Connections

In phase two Mr. Johnson will make the material recognizable by expanding connections (Joyce et al., 2009). This simply means that he will find a way to help familiarize his students with the state capitals. To do this he may use the key-word, substitute-word, or link-word system techniques (Joyce et al., 2009). Mr. Johnson has decided to use the substitute-word system for his class.

Mr. Johnson: To help you learn the capitals for these states I want you to write down certain words beside each capital on your list. For Little Rock, I simply want you to write 'Little Rock.' For Nashville, I want you to write '(Steve) Nash Village.' For Mississippi, I want you to write 'Jacks On.' For Florida, I want you to write 'Towel Hiss.' For Georgia, I want you to write "At Lantern."

Phase Three: Expanding Sensory Images

In stage three Mr. Johnson will use the technique of ridiculous association to further help his students learn the state capitals. It should be noted that he can also use a technique called exaggeration (Joyce et al., 2009).

Mr. Johnson: Now I am going to give everybody a large sheet of scrap paper. I want you to make 5 boxes on your scrap paper. In the first box I want you draw as many little rocks as you can and label it Arkansas. In the second box I want you to draw a basketball player with the number 13 on the back of his jersey and the name Nash above that number. I want you to draw a lot of little huts around him and make it look like he is playing basketball in a village. This box should be labeled Tennessee. I want you to label the 3^rd box Mississippi and draw 4 playing cards. Obviously, these playing cards are going to be Jacks and be sure that you include all four suits: Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds. I want you to draw these Jackson top of something. It could be a trampoline or a big building. It can be anything as long as the Jacks are on top. Label the 4^th box Florida and draw a towel hissing like a snake. It can be hissing at whatever you would like it to hiss at. In the 5^th box I want you to draw a lantern at a certain place. You could show a lantern going into Subway or Burger King. You might even show a lantern skiing down a slope or swimming in a pool. You should label this box Georgia.

(After they are done drawing you might allow students to color their pictures. You might even allow students to come up with their own phrases and pictures if time allows. It should also be noted that items such as 'lanterns' might need to be put on a projector because not all students will know what they look like.)

Phase Four: Practicing Recall

In phase four Mr. Johnson will put his students in a situation where they can practice recalling the state capitals until they have learned all five (Joyce et al., 2009).

Mr. Johnson: After you have finished your drawing I want each student to pair up with another student. I want you to swap your drawings with the person you have paired up with and look over their drawings. After you have done this I want you to quiz each other for a few minutes about each states capital. I want each of you to be able to recall the state capitals by the end of this period. We will have a quiz over them tomorrow.

References:

Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2009). Models of teaching (8^th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.