Original Lesson Created by Brandy Elliott

 

Lesson:      “Somewhere In Indiana”

 

Grade:       2nd grade

 

Standard 3: Geography

Students will locate their community, state, and nation on maps and globes; identify major geographic characteristics of their local community; and explore geographic relationships between their community and other places.

 

2.3.3         Locate the local community and the United States on maps and globes.

 

2.3.4             Identify places that are nearby or related to the local community

 

Performance Objectives:

 

Advanced Preparation by Teacher: 

The teacher will have to have a globe and maps ready for the students to identify all of the locations asked of them. The teacher will also need to be prepared to show the United States on a Globe, the state of Indiana on a map of the United States, the teachers own community, and a neighboring community to him/her.

 

Procedure:

Introduction/Motivation: Today I will educate the students on how to locate their country, state, community, and other communities surrounding them. The students will be able to show me their own country, state, community, and other communities surrounding them. Then I will read to the students the story “Somewhere in Africa” and the students will compare their own state to the child in the book. We will make our own story called “Somewhere in Indiana.”

 

Step-by-Step Plan:

  1. The teacher will ask the students if any of them could locate on a globe the United States of America and ask if he/she would like to show the class.
  2. Then the teacher will get out the globe and show the students all of the parts of a globe and point out some of the places that the students might know about.
  3. Then the teacher will locate the United States.
  4. Next the teacher will get out a map of the United States and locate the state of Indiana. (which is the state the school is in)
  5. The students will be given a map of Indiana and the United States for them to keep.
  6. The students will next locate their own community and a neighboring community on the maps.
  7. Next we will read the story “Somewhere in Africa” (Gardner’s Linguistic)
  8. Then as a class we will compare our own community (the city that our school is in) to other types of places around us or in the state. What kind of atmosphere does the city have? What kinds of animals are found in the country? What kinds of vegetation are there?
  9. Then we will go into detail about the continent of Africa.
  10. The students will be put into pairs and each pair will be assigned 4 countries that can be found in Africa. (this number will depend on the number of students in the class) (Gardner’s Intrapersonal)
  11. The students will research about the cities in that country and the animals that can be found in the country. What kind of vegetation the country has and anything else that maybe found significant.
  12. The students will then compare the information found in their research to the United States and the state of Indiana.
  13. The students will then present the information found to the class.
  14. This project will be ongoing for a week.

 

Closure:  We will review how to locate different places on globes and maps. As a class we will discuss what we have learned from this lesson.

Adaptations/Enrichment:

ü      If a child would prefer to work by his/her self then they would be given the option.

ü      If a child comprehended things better when they read it then the student could have a copy of the book and a step-by-step of what the lesson would entail.

ü      If a child had a problem he/she could sit towards the front of the room while the book was being read.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions:

1)   What country can you find the state of Indiana in? (Knowledge)

2)   Compare and contrast the United States of America to your countries in Africa. (Comprehension)

3)   What kind of things can you use to find the state that you live in? (Application)

4)   Can you identify the differences between a globe and a map? (Analysis)

5)   Suppose you lived in a country in Africa, what would you find there? (Synthesis)

6)   How does a globe or map help you locate different places that you would like to find? (Evaluation)

 

Self-Reflection:

I actually feel really good about this lesson and if I could teach it and then assess myself I would do that in a few different ways. I could observe all of the students while they work with their maps. They will also write a report and I could assess them by their report and also their presentation to the class. If the lesson doesn’t go as well as planned then I would make the necessary revisions and do it better the next time.

 

 

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