The following consists of TWO SAMPLE LESSON PLANS, taken directly from Step 3 courses, in this case, Step 3 History 1, and Step 3 Science 1. Step 3 is for students ages 9-10, who read fairly well. Each lesson plan should take the student ROUGHLY an hour to do. It's okay if it takes shorter or longer, even up to 90 minutes per lesson plan. If these lesson plans seem very easy for the student, we recommend trying the Step 4 Reading Test to see if the student may be ready for that level. If the student really does not read yet, we recommend considering Step 2 studies. We ask that the tutor/parent/teacher please participate in lesson plans, as requested.
_____
A Lesson Plan from Step 3, History 1 - Pre-History
(Note - Step 3 History is focused around the book The Story of Mankind, by Henrick Van Loon, included here.)
1. LOCATE:
Sweden on a Map and a Globe.
Mount Everest (in the Himalayan Mountains, in Southern Asia.)
2. UNDERSTAND THE WORDS:
History- Everything that has already happened, an account or telling about the past.
Mankind- Human Beings, people.
Civilization- Places in the world where a lot of people live together, working together to survive and to create.
Svithjod- An ancient name for part of the Nation of Sweden, in the Northern part of Europe.
Eternity- Forever, all the time there will ever be.
3. READ: from The Story of Mankind:
HIGH up in the North in the land called Svithjod, there stands a rock. It is a hundred miles high and a hundred miles wide. Once every thousand years a little bird comes to this rock to sharpen its beak.
When the rock has thus been worn away, then a single day of eternity will have gone by.
4. EXERCISE:
Are there really any rocks a hundred miles high, or a hundred miles wide? No. A mile is 5,280 feet. The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, at 29,029 feet. That would be a little less than six miles high. Draw a picture of a mountain six inches tall. (That’s one inch for every mile of Mount Everest’s height.) Now, get a tape measure, and with the help of your teacher, lay it out flat at 100 inches, next to your six inch drawing of Mount Everest. Remember, each inch stands for one mile of height. How much bigger is the mountain in the story than Mount Everest? How many miles higher? Is a mountain like the one in the story possible? Write a 25 word essay on how big the mountain in the story is, compared to any real mountain on Earth.
5. EXERCISE:
With your teacher, figure out how far you’d have to walk in your neighborhood, just to go one mile. Then walk it.
__________
A Lesson Plan from Step 3, Science 1 - Science Basics
1. UNDERSTAND THE WORD:
Fact- Anything that can be proven beyond doubt to be either true, or not true.
Belief- When a person “feels” that a thing is true or not true, without any proof.
Evidence- The proof that something is true or false. (Evidence does not include “I think” or “I believe”. Evidence is physical proof, something you can actually show someone else in order to prove your fact.)
2. EXERCISE:
In order to know a thing is a fact, you must be able to observe it. Look around your classroom, and observe. Then, write down ten facts about your classroom. Remember, only what you’ve actually seen for yourself. No guesses. For each fact you write down, also write your evidence.
3. EXERCISE:
Now, you get to guess. Write down three things you believe may be true about your classroom, but which cannot be observed by you. This can include anything you think is probably true, without having seen it, including what may be inside closed drawers, or in someone’s desk, what others might have in their backpack, or what someone is thinking or feeling.