Unit Topic/ Theme: Social Studies
Grade: Grade Four
Lesson Topic: States and Capitals
Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to match the United States with their corresponding capital and vice versa.
Instructional Technique:
Discussion
Group Work
Individual Work
Computer Work
Individual Assessment
Instructional Materials:
Road Trip to Fun Website Game
Worksheet 1: Includes a list of the states and a line to fill in the corresponding capital
Worksheet 2: Includes a list of the state capitals and a line to fill in the corresponding state
Flash Cards: These will be 50 flash cards, one for each state and the capital on the opposite side.
Go Fish Card Games: The game will be 100 cards, one for each state and capital.
Theoretical Perspective:
It is important for students to know their 50 states and relative capitals to better understand and have the geographical knowledge of the country they live in. It is a great start in teaching students about Geography and understanding there are more places in the world then just the town or state they live in. The students will also be working on strengthening their memorization skills.
Procedure:
A. As an introduction to the lesson I will have students individually attempt to complete worksheet 1 to see which states and capitals the students already know. We will then go over the answers for each state as a class. The students will have the opportunity to share any knowledge they have about any of the states or the capitals such as if they’ve visited them before or have family who lives in one, etc. This activity will start on a Monday.
B. 1. I will then hand out to each child 50 flash cards. Including me, we will start making a flashcard for each state with the corresponding capital on the back. We will spend approximately 20 minutes on making the flashcards. The students will finish the flashcards they have left at home.
2. The next day I will introduce to the students the Go fish game. I will split the 100 cards, into two games; 50 cards each: 25 state cards and 25 capital cards. The students will then break up into two groups of five and play the card game as if they were playing Go Fish. This will work as part of a group station rotation. I will have the remaining students working in other stations on other activities involving other lessons in the class. The Students will have a half hour to play the game. The rotation will occur twice a day for four days.
3. On Friday the students will be handed Worksheet 1 again to be filled out in individually in class and handed in to me as an informal evaluation as to how much the students are progressing in their memorization of the states and capitals.
4. On the following Monday I will bring the students into the Computer Lab and introduce them to the Web Game I have created. They will then all have the opportunity to play the game with a partner. I will walk around and check the progress of each pair of students.
5. On Tuesday I will introduce the students to a new game that involves the students competing against each other. I will break the students into two lines. I will then take my set of flashcards and hold one card up. The first student in each line must tell me the capital or state that corresponds with the capital of state on the card. Once a student has correctly guessed the two students will get in the back of the line. The next two students will then have to guess the answer to the next card I hold up. I will go through the cards twice, once on each side. This activity will occur every day for the next four days.
6. On Friday the Students will then individually fill out Worksheet 2 for me to collect and evaluate their progress
7. During week three the students will have the opportunity to play the Go Fish game and the web game whenever I have stations or free time each day. Once each day we will get into two lines and practice the flashcards against each other as well.
C. To end this lesson on Friday I plan on randomly passing out to each student either worksheet 1 or worksheet two as a Quiz for final formal Assessment. They must complete the worksheet in 15-20 minutes.
D. Adaptations:
1.The web game has directions that are typed out on the screen so a hearing impaired child will still be able to play. A seeing impaired child can be paired up with another student that can read them the directions and navigate through the game for them.
2. The Go Fish game involves seeing and hearing. As an adaptation for a hearing impaired child, the card game can be turned into a memory game with all the cards turned faced down on the floor and they must correctly match the state and the capitals by flipping two cards over at the same time.
3. The competition game can be adapted for a seeing impaired child if I say as well as hold out the card the students are trying to come up with an answer for.
4. For the assessment worksheets, a seeing impaired child will have to sit down with me while I verbally tell him/her the state or capital and him/her will verbally give me the answer.
E. HomeWork: Each night the student will have to practice at home with their flashcards either by quizzing themselves or by playing with a parent or sibling.
Evaluation:
A. I will determine if I have met my objectives by formally assessing the progress each student has made by looking at their worksheets. On the final worksheet, a student that can answer at least half the questions correctly will be considered a passing grade to move on to the next lesson. I will also be informally assessing the students by walking around the room while they play the computer game and Go Fish game.
B. Concerns I have with this lesson is that students will not take the Go Fish game or studying at home seriously. Too much independent work might be too much responsibility on the child. There also might not be enough evaluation for my lesson.