Community Connections and Cross Curricular

Community Connections: There are not any museums or places students can visit to learn more
about the equator, hemisphere, prime meridian, continents and oceans. So if students took a field
trip for this SOL it would have to focus on the explorers or on locating objects using a letter
number grid. Christopher Newport did land in Jamestown so you could take the kids there. While
in Jamestown you could give kids map and have them work on their map skills by giving them a
list of places they need to visit. Each group will have a chaperone with them, but the kids have to
figure out how to read the map by themselves. When they get to each location they will have to
complete a task or take a picture there as proof. Afterwards you could have the students convert
the map into a letter number grid and have them use symbols to represent the different locations
they went to. They will have to show where the different locations are in relation to the others on
the letter number grid. The locations should be in the location they are in on the map.
Math: In math students can elaborate more on letter number grids. Math SOL 3.14 says students
need to know the number of angles, vertices, edges and faces of plane and solid figures. Students
can identify how many angles, vertices and edges are in a letter number grid that is 3 by 3. Math
SOL 3.9 says students must measure length to the nearest inch, foot, yard, centimeter and
meter. Students can use the tiles in classroom to create letter number grids. Then they can
measure the size of the tiles to the nearest inch. If we go outside onto the playground they can
create their own letter number grid on the blacktop and use yardsticks to make sure all of the
boxes are the same size. Math SOL 3.10 says students need to measure the distance around a
polygon in order to determine perimeter. Students can use rulers or yardsticks to measure the
squares in their letter number grid. If they are using the tiles in the classroom they will use a
rules. If they are outside on the blacktop they can use a yardstick or a rules depending on how
big their squares are.
Reading: In reading groups students can read books about the continents, oceans or explorers.
The above grade level reading groups can read more difficult books while the below grade level
reading groups can read less difficult books. This will be a way to differentiate based on
students; abilities. However, the books can still be on the same subject. That way all the students
are reading the same thing, the books will just be on a different reading level depending upon the
group. I could find books that has glossaries or definitions included in the book. That would
relate to SOL 3.4 students will use word reference resources including the glossary, dictionary
and thesaurus. If the books do not have a glossary I could have students practice using the
dictionary by looking up words that they do not know. I could also make sure I pick nonfiction
books. SOL 3.6 says that in nonfiction texts students should be able to identify the authors
purpose, identify the main idea, identify supporting details and ask and answer questions about
what is read. I could incorporate this SOL in many of the books that are in my annotated
bibliography and could find books that would be appropriate for my reading groups. Asking
students to identify the main idea, authors purpose, supporting details as well as asking and

answering questions based on their reading would help them add onto what they have already
learned in my unit.
Writing: A few of my lesson plans have students completing a worksheet, exit slip or entrance
pass where they need to write. I can give students writing prompts to help them work on their
writing as well as apply the knowledge they should be learning throughout the unit. SOL 3.9 says
students will write for a variety of purposes. Students could write a paragraph informing their
audience what they have learned about the globe. Or they could write a story from the
perspective of one of the explorers we learned about. They could write about what they
discovered, but also what they felt while making their journey and making their discovery.