Lesson Plan #1

Grade: 3rd Social Studies Strand: Geography

Submitted By: Jordyn Barber

EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science Nevada State College spring 2014 Instructor: Karen Powell

Lesson Plan #1 Geography

Submitted by: Jordyn Barber

B. Summary of the Lesson Plan: This Social Studies lesson is designed for 3rd grade students to learn about the Brazilian country and why people immigrated to Brazil. This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies text book Communities (p. 184-187). C. Basic Information: Grade Level: 3rd grade Time to Complete this Lesson: 40 minutes Groupings: Whole group reading & discussions, independent for activity & assessment

D. Materials: Skill and Strategy (Unit Resources p. 52) for each student(sample at bottom of TE 184) Houghton Mifflin 3rd grade Social Studies Book: Communities (p. 184-187)- for each student Paper and pencils E. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards o G.6.3.1 Distinguish between physical (natural) and human (man-made) features. I will know the difference between natural and man-made features.

Student-Friendly Standards

F. Vocabulary Ancestor noun, a relative who was born long ago Generation noun, a group of people born and living at about the same time Physical Features a geographic aspect of a place i.e., land forms, water bodies, and climate. Man-made Features a geographical feature that is not naturally made by nature.

G. Procedure: 1. Refer to notes on TE 184 Get Set to Read

Nevada State College

Explain the Study Guide students will complete as we read.

EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2

Lesson Plan #1 Geography

Call students attention to the map on p. 185. Identify & discuss what students think they will learn about Brazil in the chapter.

Submitted by: Jordyn Barber

Introduce vocabulary (ancestor, generation, manmade features, natural features)

2. As a class read p. 184-187, stopping to ask questions as indicated in margins of the TE. 3. Students should takes notes and record information on the Study Guides while we are reading. They can continue working on it when we finish reading. 4. Ask questions listed in the margins of the TE as an ongoing check for understanding. Focus on these questions about the geography: (TE 185) Where did the first European settlers come from? (TE 185) Where is Sao Paulo? Does Sao Paola have more man-made or more natural features? Why do you think that? (after paragraph 3 p. 186) From what parts of the world do the people who contributed to Brazils traditions come from? (review P. 187) In what ways might immigrants pass their traditions to new generations?

5. Discuss with students the main geographical features in Brazil (map on p. 185) and decide whether they would be man-made or natural features. H. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding? Students will complete two journal questions. 1. Make a list of 10 geographical features in Brazil and whether you believe they are man-made features or natural features. 2. Name 5 geographical features in your state and list whether they are man-made or natural features. Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson. I will look at students lists and informally assess whether they understood what manmade vs. natural features are. With their list I will be able to assess where each student is with the concepts and the definitions. I will be able to see where I need to elaborate more; either in small groups or as a whole group. I. Closure: Students will be completing a quick game of quiz-quiz-trade. Each card will have a name of a geographical feature (i.e., building, house, creek, river) and the students will have to decide whether it is natural or man-made.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2014

Karen Powell- Instructor

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Lesson Plan #1 Geography

J. Reflection:

Submitted by: Jordyn Barber

1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? After redoing my lesson three times I cant say there was really an easy part. I have no had to match standards to a lesson I did not create myself and I think this is what I found the most difficult. 2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? I had a lot of difficulty finding a standard to fit the lesson perfectly and then I realized I needed to make my lesson fit the standard and not have the standard fit the lesson already designed. I also had trouble navigating through the lesson and going back and forth from all the different links. 3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? As a way to extend the lesson I would like to do something more hands-on and use arts and crafts to extend students learning about man-made vs. natural features. I will designate half the class to construct a picture of a man-made feature and the other half of the class to construct a picture of a natural feature. I would like them to construct a picture of something they are familiar with (a geographical feature within the state or some where they have visited). 4. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? For students who do not grasp the concept I will pull them into a sub-group and teach a mini-lesson. I would like to use cards with pictures of man-made vs. natural geographical features and explain the differences in a small group with the visuals. 5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? The part of the lesson I think I may need to change is the worksheet that goes along with the assignment. I may construct my own worksheet that will flow with the standard more closely. 6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? I had a lot of difficulty finding a standard to fit the lesson perfectly and then I realized I needed to make my lesson fit the standard and not have the standard fit the lesson already designed. I also had trouble navigating through the lesson and going back and forth from all the different links. I also found this assignment to be considerably time consuming because I was so uncomfortable fitting a standard with an already laid out lesson plan. I had trouble deciding what I would use and what I would not use in my lesson.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2014

Karen Powell- Instructor

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