Meghan Lynch

Emily Irzyk

 

Unit Topic: Social Science

 

Grade: 2

 

Lesson Topic: Continents – South America

 

Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks History and Social Science Standards:

 

Lesson Objectives:

As a result of this lesson students will be able to:

 

Instructional Techniques: For this lesson we used class discussion, group work, and demonstration.

 

Instructional Materials:


Theoretical Perspective:

          The content of this lesson is very relevant and important to the students’ lives. Our country and schools are becoming more and more diverse, so it is important, and to the students’ advantage, for them to learn about the continents of the world, and places Americans came from. It is important for students to have a perspective on the way that they live and to understand that around the world, people live their lives differently. It is important for students to be able to use a globe/map, and that they are able to correctly find the continents. Being able to use a globe/map is very important for students to know, and is vital to not only further their map skills, but also to be successful in social studies in higher grades. 

 

Procedure:

  1. This will be the last lesson of a unit on the continents. We will first remind students that we have been learning about the seven continents of the world, and yesterday we learned about North America. We will then ask a student to come point out North America on a globe/map, another student to point out Europe, another student to point out Antarctica, another student to point out Asia, another student to point out Australia, and another student to point out Africa. We will then tell the students that we have learned about all of the continents except one, and ask if anyone can guess which continent we will be studying today (South America). We will then ask a student if they can come up and point out South America on the globe/map, and identify the oceans that South America touches.

 

  1. We will then tell the students that we are going to be reading the book South America: A True Book by David Peterson, and that they should pay attention because we will be doing an activity after we read the book, and they will have to recall information about South America. Before we read the book, we will ask the class if anyone’s ancestors or family came from South America, and if so we will discuss it.  We will then read South America: A True Book the class. After we have finished reading the book, we will ask the class to think of everything that they have learned about South America, and two students will come to the board and list everything.  We will then pair up the class and each pair of students will receive a large piece of blank white paper, and crayons/markers/ or colored pencils. They will then have to then draw pictures of ten things that correspond with South America, and they can use the class list, the globe/map, and book for references.  Each student will also have to write one sentence at the bottom of the poster about the most interesting thing they learned about South America. We will have the students present their posters to the class, and read the sentences they wrote. We will display the posters in the classroom. When each group has finished we will remind the students that now they have studied every continent on earth.

 

  1. For a closing activity, we will have the students go to the computer lab to do a review activity about all seven continents called Bolt’s Adventure. They will have to follow the directions on the website, and read each question carefully. We will tell them that it is not a race, and they should not rush through this, the important thing is that they answer each question correct the first time. Each student will have to complete the activity individually. They should raise their hand if they need help, and when they have completed the activity.

 

  1. For a student with a hearing impairment, we would have him/her sit close to us when we were reading the book, and we would make sure that we spoke loud and clear. For a student with ADD/ADHD, we would make sure to have this student fully engaged and actively participating in the lesson We might have that student be the one who writes on the board, or points out a continent to the class. We would also make sure that for the group activity, we paired this student with someone in the class who is patient and at the same academic learning level.

 

  1. Because this was the last lesson plan of a unit, the students will not be given any homework.

Evaluation:

 

    1. We will asses the students learning through observation of the classroom activities, including pointing out continents on a globe/map, listening to the book, and by the class list about South America. We will also asses the students by the posters each pair has to make. 100% of the students should be able to successfully draw ten things about South America, and write a sentence about an interesting thing they learned. For Bolt’s Adventure, we will walk around the computer lab to observe the students. We will take note if any students are rushing through the activity, and what students are taking their time to carefully read each question and complete the activity.  We will not just asses the students on the amount of time it takes for them to complete the activity.

 

    1. One concern about this lesson would be that students would be rushing through Bolt’s Adventure, and just trying to finish first. Even though we will tell the students not too, some may still think it is a race and try to get through the activity as fast as they can, and not choose the correct answer first.

 

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