A.

Title and grade for unit:

South Carolina Landforms for 3rd Grade
B. Unit Standard(s) and indicators: (Number and description)
SC-SS-2011.3.1.2- Describe the location and characteristics of significant features of South
Carolina,including landforms; river systems suach as the Pee Dee River Basin, the Santee River
Basin, the Edisto River Basin, and the Savannah River Basin; majors cities; and climate regions.
C. Unit Overview:
In this unit the student will learn the climate regions of South Carolina. We will go over South
Carolina's placement on the world map and the United States map, discussing how it's position on
the map affects it's climate. We will also dicuss the major cities of South Carolina, including the
capitol, Columbia, SC. Once we have mastered the climate and major cities, we will then learn the
major landforms of South Carolina and where they are positioned on the South Carolina map.
Learning the major cities before landforms will help the students more easily locate the landforms on
a map if there is a major city nearby. Also learning the climate regions of South Carolina will be
another identifier for students to connect with when locating major landforms of South Carolina. So
by the end of this unit the student should be able to describe and locate South Carolina climates,
major cities, and landforms.
D. Rationale for unit:
It is important for students to learn South Carolina landforms, climate, and major cities because if
they ever need to read and understand a map they will be equipped with the knowledge to do so.
Also students may become adults who love to travel for pleasure, or have to travel for work, meaning
they need to know the environment and location of the places in South Carolina that they travel. It is
also important for students to understand and know qualities about South Carolina because if they
go on a vacation or trip with their family or friends, they need to know what to pack based on the
climate and location.

Description of daily lessons for the unit

Locate SC on the USA map and discuss the different climate regions of
SC and their characteristics.
Locate the major cities of SC and mark them on a blank map.
Locate and describe the characteristics of the major landforms of SC.
Relate the major landforms with their position on the SC map (i.e. near
major cities, climate region)
Fill out/color three blank maps of SC, one for climate regions, one for
major cities, one for major landforms.

Number of
classes
2, 60 mins
1, 60 mins
1, 60mins
1,45 mins
Homework

STANDARD(S) : SC-SS-2011.3.1.2- Describe the location and characteristics of

significant features of South Carolina, including landforms; river systems such as the Pee
Dee River Basin, the Santee River Basin, the Edisto River Basin, and the Savannah Rive
Basin; major cities; and climate regions.
OBJECTIVE(S):

1. The student will be able to locate and describe the major SC landforms; river systems
such as the Pee Dee River Basin, the Santee River Basin, the Edisto River Basin and the
Savannah River Basin.
2. The student will be able to locate and list the SC major landforms nearby cities and
climate regions.
ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

The students will create a project using microsoft powerpoint, or a tri-fold posterboard to
describe and locate 3 of the 4 major SC landforms of their choice. The project should
include the descriptions of landforms climate, the major cities surrounding the landforms,
and pictures of each landform. Grading is based on a 20 point rubric grading the

landforms, major cities, climates, creativity and grammatical error each category being up
to 4 points each.
CRITERIA FOR MASTERY OF ASSESSMENT(S):
Students should score at least a
16 out of 20 points possible in order to achieve mastery.
KEY VOCABULARY/CONCEPTS:

Climate- measure of the average pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, wind, and precipitation in a given region
over long periods of time.
Temperature Humidity -

the degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object.

a quantity representing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or a gas.

PrecipitationLandforms -

a natural feature of the earth's surface.

Major Cities and work

rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.

a place where people live that is larger or more important than a town : an area where many people liv

Daily lesson plan

DAY: Day Four,
Thursday
TOPIC:

SUBJECT:
Studies

Social

TIME: 9:05-10:05

Major Landforms (River Systems) UNIT TITLE: South Carolina Landforms

Climate and Major Cities

INTRODUCTION:
Lesson Overview/ Activation of Prior Knowledge : The teacher will say, "Remember
how over the past few days we have been talking about major cities and climates of SC?
Well today we are going to talk about major landforms of SC. We can help find these
landforms by using what we already know about SC's major cities and climates."
Purpose of Today's Skill- The teacher will tell students, "It is important for anyone to
learn about the characteristics of their state because one day they may want to travel
and need to know about their traveling environment and how to locate places on a
map."
Relevance of Today's Skill- The teacher will say, "As students, we need to know
about our environment and surroundings. If you go on a vacation or a trip over summer
break with your friends or family, wouldn't you need to know what kind of clothes to
pack? So if we learn about the climates, cities and landforms of SC, it may help you
know what to be prepared for on your trip."
Expectations for Student Learning and Behavior- The teacher will tell students,
"After today's lesson we will be able to locate and describe some of the major landforms
in SC. We will be able to locate nearby cities and describe the climate regions of each
landform. I want you to have your listening ears and your zipped lips on during today's
lesson. Remember to follow our class rules and respect each other and ourselves. If you
have any questions during the lesson just raise your hand and I will help you."
Attention Getter : The teacher will say, "Raise your hand if you have ever been to a
river. What did you do there? Did you go fishing or swimming? What kind of clothes did
you have to wear and what season of the year did you go? What kind of animals did you
see there?"

LESSON DEVELOPMENT:
Modeling: The teacher will model student behavior by being respectful to herself and
others. She will help students when their hands are raised and allow an allotted amount
of time for students to take notes in their Social Studies journals.
Content Presentation: The teacher will display a powerpoint to the students. This
powerpoint will include real pictures, maps and definitions that student will need to know
for their own project.
Guided Practice : Students will give their answers to our attention getter and lead us
into a discussion about the different climates and locations of landforms. This will also
allow students to raise questions about other landforms and their climates. They may
also discuss with a partner for a few minutes, the climate of the river they visited.
Independent Practice : Students willl be individually asked to name a characteristic of
one of the four river systems learned about and place the answerin their Social Studies
journal. The teacher will walk around and give a check mark to each student's correct
entry.
Formative Assessment : The teacher may pick different students at random to answer
a question about the climate, major city or landform being discussed. The teacher will
keep record of each student asked and their ability to correctly answer the question.
ASSESSMENT/CLOSURE:
The teacher will review what was discussed in class
today as well as what was learned previously in this unit. Lastly the teacher will display
a powerpoint slide giving the details of the students upcoming project. The teacher will
also pass out the rubric used for grading the project to each student so they will know
what is expected and required for the project and how much each category is worth.