Geography Minilesson.

Lesson Title: The Regions of the United States


Resources Utilized
Map of the of the United States of America
http://www.doe.state.in.us/standards/welcome2.html
http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/index.asp
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/outlinemaps/usa.shtml

Materials Needed:
Map of the United States of America
State cut-outs
Index cards labeled as the four big regions (Midwest, South, West, and Northeast)
Index cards labled as the nine smaller regions (i.e, West North Central, Mountain)
So Many Regions! handout
What is This Region Like? worksheet
Various resource materials on the fifty states


Procedure
1. Explain to students that a region is an area made up of places that have features in common. Tell the students that places near each other will look similar so people might say that these places are part of the same region.

2. Discuss and record on the board the different regions in the local community (i.e. downtown, certain neighborhoods such as Hessville in Hammond).

3. Tell students that like their community, the United States has many different regions.

4. Using the map of the United States of America, point out the different regions.

5. Explain that one place can be in more then one region. Point to Indiana on the map and tell the students Indiana belongs to the Midwest region and the Great Lakes Region.

6. Give students So Many Regions! handout and go over the nine smaller regions of the Untied States.

7. As a class, fill out What is this Region Like worksheet on one of the four big regions.

8. Pair students together to research one of the nine smaller regions and have them fill out What is this Region Like worksheet on their region.

Social Studies Trade Book Lesson

This is a lesson that I developed for the Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School course that I took in the Fall of 2008.


I chose to use the book John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith. My lesson was geared for use in a third grade classroom. The Indiana Academic Standards that I chose to address in this lesson were:


Social Studies: 3.1.7 Distinguish between fact and fiction in historical accounts by comparing documentary sources on historical figures and events with fictional characters and events in stories.

Language Arts: 3.4.4. Use various reference materials (such as a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia, and online resources).



Part 1 - Exploratory Introduction
Materials Needed: Teacher made KWL chart, markers
Objectives: Connect what we already know to waht we want to know about the historical figures in the book: John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
Procedures: Review what we "know" about the following: John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Ask what we "want" to know about these people.
Assessment: Not participation of students


Part 2 - Lesson Development
Materials Needed: John, Paul, George, & Ben by Lane Smith.
Objectives: To give students a recollection of why these historical figures are important; Establish a purpose for listening to oral reading of John, Paul, George & Ben
Procedures: Read book to students; point out which parts are facts and which are fiction. Students will make fact or fiction list.
Assessment Lists written individually by students


Part 3 - Expansion
Materials Needed: various reference materials on John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jeffereson; poster boards
Objectives: Students will learn and understand the importance of the historical figures in history.
Procedures: Students will be broken up into five groups. Each group will research one of the five historical figures and create a fact board on the person.
Assessment: "Fact Board" made by each group

Models of Citizenship Lesson

Lesson Title: Models of Citizenship
Grade Level: 3rd
Time: 60 minutes


Objective: The objective of this lesson is to show students the importance of being a good citizen by using examples of historical people and how they were good citizens.

Indiana Academic Standards:
Social Studies:

• 3.2.5. Explain the importance of being a good citizen of the state and the nation. Identify people in the state who exhibit the characteristics of good citizenship.
  
  Example: Being respectful, trustworthy, practicing tolerance, and working with others to solve problems.
  

Literacy:

• 3.5.5 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person.

Materials Needed

• Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder
• 22 cereal boxes (one per student)
• 44 strips of white paper (two per student)
• 22 half sheets of white paper
• 22 half sheets of red construction paper
• Crayons, markers, glue, scissors
• Models of Citizenship PowerPoint (view at the bottom of entry)
  
• Example Citizenship Box
• Copes of PowerPoint slides about Thomas Jefferson, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr. and community helpers (This is for students to use as a reference while they are making their citizenship boxes)
• Brainstorming poster

Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to gain an understanding of the importance of being a good citizen.


Procedure:

1. Read Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder to the class.
2. Discuss Harriet Tubman and why she was a good citizen. What characteristics did she have that made her a good citizen?
3. Brainstorm as a class various character traits a good citizen would have. Give a few examples of character traits so students get an idea of what you are looking for. List them on the brainstorming poster.
4. Share examples with students of people who were good citizens using the Models of Citizenship PowerPoint. (Individuals discussed in PowerPoint: Thomas Jefferson, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller, and community helpers.) Make sure to keep revisiting brainstorming poster as you go over each person
5. Explain to the students that they will be making citizenship boxes. Show students the example box that is already completed.
6. Go over each direction step individually. Directions will be displayed on a PowerPoint slide. Allow students to work on each step after demonstrating to the class. Directions to give:
   
   • Choose a person (Thomas Jefferson, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or community helpers)
   • Think of two good citizen character traits for the person you chose. Once you choose two, write one on each strip of white paper.
   • On the half sheet of white paper, write why the person you chose was a good citizen and how you can be a good citizen like that person.
   • Color the picture of your person and decorate your character traits. Cut out the picture when you are done coloring.
   • The strips of white paper get glued to the sides of your box. The half sheet is glued to the backside of the box on top of the red construction paper. The picture goes on the front of the box.
     
7. When everyone is done, students can share their citizenship boxes with the class.

Homework: None

Assessment: Students will be assessed based on their response of why the person they chose was good citizen and how they can be a good citizen.








Student Examples:

Election Lesson Plan

This is a lesson that I taught recently in the field. For privacy purposes, I have removed the name of the School and the host teacher. Overall, this lesson went great. The only thing that I chose not to do was to discuss the candidates' views on certain issues. I chose not to do this because the students in this classroom would have be overwhelmed by all of the information that was being given to them. I also felt that they would not grasp this component. The power point that I used in this lesson is at the bottom of this blog post for you to see.


Lesson Title: Let's vote for President!

Grade Level: 3rd grade

Time: 60 minutes

Objective: In this lesson, students will be exposed to the importance of the President of the United States and why it is important to vote for President by participating in a mock election.

Standards: These are Indiana Academic Standards.
Social Studies

• 3.2.2 Identify fundamental democratic principles and ideals
• 3.2.6 Explain the role citizens have in making decisions and rules within the community, state, and nation.

Literacy

• 3.5.5 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person.

Materials Needed:

• Barack by Jonah Winter
• My Dad, John McCain by Meghan McCain
• President PowerPoint (at bottom of blog post)
• Ballots and a ballot box
• If I were President...worksheet
• I voted! stickers

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to give students a hands-on experience voting for the President and expose students to the important rol the President plays in our government.

Procedure:

1. Discuss the executive branch of the government and the role of the President of the United States. (PowerPoint Presentation)
2. Discuss election and the importance of voting using the vocabulary words. (PowerPoint Presentation)
3. Ask the students if they know anything about the current presidential election that will occur on November 4th, 2008. Ask them if they know who the candidates are.
4. Read Barack by Jonah Winter and My Dad, John McCain by Meghan McCain. After reading each book discuss what sutdnets learned about each candidate.
5. Using the PowerPoint Presentation, talk about the candidates' views on the following issues: education, global warming, and healthcare. *See note at top of post concerning this step.
6. Students will participate in a mock election by voting for President of the United States. Student votes will be counted aloud. Point out that even though they may not like who is elected, it is still important to support whoever is elected as our President.
7. Students wil work on If I were President...worksheet. They will describe what their responsibilites would be if they were President.
8. Students will each receive an "I voted!" sticker for their participation.

Homework: none

Assessment: The students will be assessed based on their response on the If I were President.. worksheet.

Book Box Ideas.

This first picture is of a book box that I used as a lesson in the field for my Literacy and the Young Child course. I used the book The Bag I'm taking to Grandma's by Shirley Neitzel. It is a cute book and easy to read. I designed the "box" to look like a bag and found the items that were discussed in the story. As I read the story, the students "packed" the bag along with the little boy in the story. Afterward, I had the students what they would take if they were going to their grandma's house. They also drew a picture to go along with their writing. I taught this lesson in the field and was able to tie this to a story that the students had just read in their reading books about spending the night at someone's house.




This picture is of the book box I made for my Literacy and the Young child course prior to going out into the field. Prior to reading A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer, I would ask the students what they knew about having a pet fish and taking care of it. In the box I had a stuffed fish, fish food, a cut out of a fish bowl, and a pot (it was actually a little measuring cup). All of these were items related to the story. After reading the story, I planned an activity where the students would write about a pet fish they have or wish to have.

Bulletin Board Idea

This is a reading bulletin board idea that I came up with for my Literacy and the Young Child course. On the left side of the bulletin board will be a picture of the chapter book that is the current class read aloud. Underneath the picture is a place for summary cards. These summary cards would serve as a reference for students if they want to refresh their memory about what is happening in the story. These would be written as a class after each chapter in the book. In the middle are thinking questions for the students to think about as we read the book. The questions are : "What caused...?"; "Why is...?"; "Why did...?"; "What if....?"; "Why do you think...?"; "How did...?"; "What would happen if...?"; and "What might...?". On the right side of the bulletin board is a place for students to put their questions that they have about the book we are reading. Each day we would go over the students questions and have a class discussion.

Learning Center Activities

I created these learning centers for my EDCI 212: Early Childhood Education class. I really like these centers and am very proud of them. I hope that I can share these with other teachers because I think they are good ideas. The theme for my learning centers was all about me. The title of my learning centers is the All About Me Train.

Play Station
(Play Center)

Materials Needed:

• Body Bingo Game
• bingo cards
• counters
• call sheets
• Emotions Charade Games
• Emotion Cards
• Different toys that students like to play with

Time: 20 minutes or longer
Maximum number of students: unlimited
Steps:

1. Have students choose to which game they want to play first
1. Body Bingo:

• Students choose bingo card
• One student is the caller and they call the body parts
• Students can play as many times as they want

2. Emotions Charade

• Students take turns pulling out different emotions from the baggy and make the facial expression
• The other students guess what emotion the student is trying to make
• The person who guesses right wins and gets a turn to go.

2. Have different toys the students like to play with so that they can play and choose as they want too.
   
   
   
   

   The Body Station
   (Science Center)

   
   Materials needed:

3. Chart on Human Body
4. Body sheet
5. Cut outs of the brain, skull, heart/lungs, arm bones, and stomach
6. Crayons (optional)
7. Glue Stick
8. Cards on the brain, skull, heart/lungs, arm bones, and stomach

Time: about 20 minutes
Maximum number of people at center: 4 students; a 5th grade buddy or teacher’s aid

Steps:

1. Let students at center explore the chart about the human body
2. Have the children at the center put the cards about the different body parts in the order that they want to read them
3. The 5th grade buddy or the teacher’s aid should help (if needed) the students read the cards about the different body parts and how they help us.
4. Let the students examine the cut outs they are given and determine where they go on the body sheet.
5. Have students glue body parts onto the body sheet and label what they are.
6. If students wish they can color in the body sheet (optional step)

The Library Station
(Language Arts)

Materials Needed:

• construction paper
• crayons
• markers
• All About Me book pages

Time: 20 minutes
Maximum Number of People: 4 students, 1 teacher

Steps:

1. Have students write a sentence on the page relating to the page topic
2. Repeat for each page
3. Have students illustrate the pages
4. Let students pick out two sheets of construction paper to be the cover
5. Have students illustrate the cover of their book
6. Staple together
7. At circle time, have the students read their book to the class

Note: Teacher is present so that he/she can help students when writing their sentences in their book.

The Family Station
(Art Center)

Materials Needed

• Crayons
• Markers
• Glue
• Leaf cut outs
• Large sheets of white construction paper or small poster borders

Time: 20 minutes
Maximum number of people: 4 students

Steps:

1. In a leaf-cut out, have the child write the name of one family member. Have them do this for each family member they like to include in their tree.
2. Have child outline leaf in marker and color it in with their color of choice.
3. Students should then arrange the leaves they way they want them on the large construction paper.
4. Children glue leaves on to the white construction paper or poster board
5. Have them draw tree outline around the leaves so that the leaves are on the inside of the tree.
6. At the bottom have the students write: “The _________ Family”
7. Allow students to decorate the rest of the construction paper as they choose.
8. During circle time, read “Families” by Ann Moris and have each student get up and share their family tree with the class.

The Clock Station
(Math Center)

Materials needed:

• paper plates
• number squares
• clock hands (made from construction paper)
• paper fasteners
• clock squares
• clock sheet

Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Maximum People at group: 5 students

Steps:

1. Have students label the number squares 1 to 12
2. Students then can put the number squares on the plate to form a clock.
3. Next have the students practice telling time with the clock squares
4. Students should then practice telling time with out the clock squares
5. Have students think about the times when they do certain things (example: when they eat breakfast, go to school, eat dinner, etc.)
6. Let students practice the times that they thought about in step 5.
7. Finally have students fill out Clock Sheet with the times they do things. The students should first use the clock they made to figure out what time they need (ex. breakfast, go to school etc.) and then record on the sheet by drawing in clock hands.

2.