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Unit Topic or Theme: Geography
Grade: 4th
Lesson Topic or Theme: The 50 States
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to identify the fifty states of the USA by name and location on a map.
Instructional Materials:
Handout 1: Blank Map of the United States
Handout 2: Word Unscrambler
Handout 3: US Map Quiz Worksheet
The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A with 50 Fact-filled Map! Book by Gabrielle Balkan
USA map on board
50 states rap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0b0vrCagP8
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/unitedstates.html
Pencil/pen
Laptop/Computer/iPad
Procedure:
A. Introductory Activity
The teacher will have the students get into groups of 2 or 3 and discuss their previous knowledge of the states while looking at Handout 1: Blank Map of the United States. Throughout the turn and talk activities, students will answer questions such as “how many states are in the United States?”, “how many states have you been to?”, and ask any information they would like to learn in regards to the 50 states, their name, origin, or location.
B. Step-by-step (descriptive outline)
Step 1: The teacher will call the students to join together in a central area to discuss the introductory activities. From there, the students will give their responses to the questions and state what their interests are.
Step 2: Next, the teacher will read The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A with 50 Fact-filled Map! book by Gabrielle Balkan.
Step 3: As the teacher reads the book, she will call on students to point to an already labeled map of the United States on the board. This will allow students to hear about the state, see its physical location on the board, and be actively involved in their learning.
Step 4: Steps 2 and 3 continue to repeat for the length of the book.
Step 5: After finishing the book, the teacher will direct children back to a workspace that feels most beneficial to each learner and give Handout 2: Word
Unscrambler. Here, the students get the opportunity to unscramble some of the states after having learned/reviewed the names. This activity should take 10-15 minutes and students will go over the answers with a partner.
Step 6: Next, the teacher will briefly list the regions of the United States including Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, West, and Midwest. While doing this on the board with the US Map, the teacher will once again identify where each state is because knowledge of the region helps with directionality even if the exact location cannot be pinpointed.
Step 7: Now, students will work individually using Handout 3: US Map Quiz Worksheet which goes along with the interactive website linked above and on the sheet. In this activity, students will access the website and be asked to locate the given state. If answered correctly, the student will get 2 points, but if answered incorrectly, the student will not receive any points and be quizzed on that state later on. The students’ responses should be written on Handout 3.
Step 8: The teacher will walk around to ensure that students are working on the assigned activity, offer scaffolding when necessary, and answer any questions.
C. Closure
The teacher will play a video/rap of entitled “50 States Rap Song”. While playing the video, students will be able to dance along or simply sit and listen. The goal for this is to serve as a fun refresher for what was just learned. After the lesson and the recap video, the teacher will assess the students’ knowledge and ask how many states they can name and locate. As the year goes on, students will continue to learn and get quizzed on the 50 states to ensure that they did not just memorize the information for a short time period, but that they have committed into their long-term knowledge.
Evaluation:
A. Objective 1: Students will be able to identify the fifty states of the USA by name and location on a map.
The teacher will know that this objective has been met upon the students’ completion of the US Map Quiz Worksheet. As the students progress and increase their knowledge, the goal is that they will soon be able to name and pinpoint the location on the first trial. Successful completion of this objective will be documented when students achieve at least 80% accuracy on the website or on a paper assessment.
All supplementary materials are available in the classroom! :)