Title of Unit: Geography Title of Lesson: Our Land, Our Water Submitted By: Denise Crosby

A. Summary of the Lesson Plan: This Social Studies lesson is designed for 1st grade students to compare and contrast different types of land and water in various regions of the United States, including mountains, plains, rivers, and lakes. This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook School and Family (p.82-85). B. Target Population: Grade Level: 1st grade Skill Level: students at all learning levels Grouping: whole group reading & discussions, independent for activity and assessment C. Materials: Houghton Mifflin 1st grade textbook School and Family Vocabulary & Study Guide (Unit Resource p.22) for each child see last page of lesson plan for sample Pictures of mountains, plains, etc for individual sorting work Paper and pencils D. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards G6.1.1 Sort and group pictures displaying geographic features, e.g. forests, deserts, lake regions. Student-Friendly Standards I will be able to identify mountains, lakes, rivers, plains and other physical features of the earth.

E. Procedure: 1. Refer to the note on TE Get Set to Read Explain the Study Guide students will complete as we read. Call students attention to the landforms and bodies of water in Las Vegas. Ask students to tell what they know about the landform or body of water. Introduce vocabulary (mountain, plain, river, lake)

2. As a class, read p. 82-85, stopping to ask questions as indicated in the margins of the TE. 3. Students should take notes and record information on their Study Guide while we are reading. 4. Ask questions listed in the margins of the TE as an ongoing check for understanding. Also, focus on the Critical Thinking question on TE p. 84.
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 1

Title of Unit: Geography Title of Lesson: Our Land, Our Water Submitted By: Denise Crosby

5. CLOSURE: Discuss the two questions in the Review and Assess section of TE p. 84. Students would be able to use the picture sorting activity on their own. F. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding? Draw a picture showing plains and mountains. (TE 84) Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson. Students drawing indicates clear differences between plains and mountains and includes images of both. G. Reflection: 1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? The easiest part of the lesson will be using the Study Guide. This is now a familiar procedure and should be an easy task for them. 2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? I think the most challenging part of this lesson is teaching the vocabulary word plain as the children are very familiar with the homophone plane. Using extra photographs as support for the definition will be of great help. 3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? As an extension of this lesson, I would use Extend Lesson 2 (p. 86-87) about John Muir. 4. What will you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? For the students who are having difficulty understanding the concepts of this lesson, I would use the Reteach Minilesson described at the bottom of TE 85. We would work together to fill in the Venn Diagram contrasting and comparing mountains and plains. 5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? I think this lesson is straightforward and complete as written. I have added the pictures sorting activity to enhance and support the vocabulary. 6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? This lesson was easy to write, just time consuming. The assessment is always a challenge as I dont always want to have them write a definition but I want it to be something creative as well as assess their knowledge.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 2

Title of Unit: Geography Title of Lesson: Our Land, Our Water Submitted By: Denise Crosby

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 3