Tim Brown

VPP Narrative
SCED 401
Understanding Geography by Analyzing Maps

The focus of this assignment was centered on the middle school rotation at Fallston

Middle. I teach seventh grade World History to students who are twelve and thirteen years old.

The school population is highly racially homogenous favoring Caucasian. Of the four classes that

I teach in a given day, there is only one student of color in any given class. In addition, the

parents of the students are immensely involved in their child’s academic career. Even just the

mere mention of potentially emailing home leaves an impression and an actual email home

yields near absolute obedience and compliance for fear of more punishment at home. This isn’t

to say that all of the students fit into this mold. There are also a fair number of students that have

a grandparent or someone other than their biological mother or father on file as their legal

guardian.

The class chosen for this assignment contains students that range in academic ability.

Because this lesson was delivered during Cougar Time, the class was made up of students from

each of the four classes that make up our seventh grade team. A majority of students come from

the higher performing classes, however there is a small population of students that come from the

class that requires a different degree of scaffolding of instruction. There were only two students

with an IEP and no students with a 504 plan. Overall, this group is highly capable, however,

because of the fact that there are a number of students with IEPs and a higher need for chunked

instructions and activities, aspects of each activity in the lessons must be created with their needs

as the prime focus.

 For this assignment, I chose to focus on geography. I followed the Maryland State

Standard A: using geographic tools and Indicator 1: use geographic tools to locate places and

describe the human and physical characteristics in the contemporary world. In addition, the

Maryland State Standard B indicator 1, analyze interrelationships among physical and human

characteristics that shape the identity of places and regions around the world, was referenced for

this assignment in conjunction. Each instructional period followed a different objective to adhere

to a different aspect of understanding maps and geography. Day one’s objective was using maps

to understand why the largest population centers in the ancient word were located where they

were. Day two’s objective was using physical geography to identify key geographical boundaries

such as mountain ranges and bodies of water and why these particular landmarks were of

interest. Finally, day three’s objective was analyzing the territories of the ancient world in order

to identify locations of countries or provinces of the ancient world. Each lesson focuses on a

different aspect of understanding maps using geography, the overall focus of the validated

practices project.

The assessment that the students took in the beginning was a blank map asking them to

identify specific geographic areas and landmarks. After students took the pre-assessment, I

focused extensively on the locations that few if any students were actually able to identify and

planned to spend less time on ones that almost everyone was able to locate. Most of the students

did not perform well on the pre-assessment which was as expected. The top performing students

in the class were able to identify a majority of the necessary locations but the number of students

able to identify at least six of the ten locations was in the minority. The pre-tests greatly

influenced the way that lessons were prepared because it showed me which areas needed greater

focus and which locations could be mentioned and covered only briefly.
 This was not the first time that students were exposed to these locations or this map. The

locations were chosen based off of material that has been previously covered in class as well as

material that was in the unit currently being taught. It was clear that some students remembered

what they had learned weeks earlier better than others had. While it would seem that because

much of the material was covered in weeks prior to this assessment that grades would be

representative of that very fact. However, it was clear that of the ten locations on the map, of

which at least six had been covered previously, all but one or two would need an activity to help

them refresh their brains. Admittedly, this was as expected because the students do not tend to

retain information that they are not constantly being exposed to. Keeping that information in

mind, each lesson covered all the material in some degree, regardless if many students were able

to identify it in the pre-assessment or not.

When it came to formally assessing the students at the end of the three days I utilized

Kahoot to quiz them. Instead of presenting them with a landmark and asking them to identify it

like they would on a map, they were given worded questions about their locations on a map and

expected to identify it based on the sentence. For example, the location the students were

expected to identify would be the Alps Mountains and the question would read, “This mountain

range covers northern Italy and serves a natural boundary separating it from the rest of Europe.”

This gave students an opportunity to identify the landmark based on their prior knowledge

without actually looking at a map. In addition, the informal assessments were delivered using

Google Earth and students were tasked with finding the location at hand using the website. One

student would be selected and all the borders and land marks would be turned off so they were

only looking at a blank map. They would then have to find the location using the mouse and
zoom feature. This was a fun and interactive way to see if the students were retaining the

information from the lesson at hand and a quick on the spot measurement.

The lesson on the first day of instruction was focused on identifying cities and city-states

in the ancient world. Specifically, the lesson was focused on Carthage and Rome. These two

city-states make up a large part of the ongoing unit covering the Roman Empire, which is part of

the reason they were chosen. In order to teach about Rome, we first needed to identify the

country that it belongs to, Italy. There was a brief focus on being able to identify Italy on a map

based on its physical appearance as a boot. After identifying Italy, we could focus more on

Rome. The students viewed a short video detailing the rise of the city-state of Rome and how it

changed and transformed over several centuries. We analyzed how Rome was not a coastal city

and the reason for it, the fact that it is surrounded by some of the most fertile farm land in all of

Europe. We also highlighted its central location in Italy and how that was instrumental in the rise

of Roman influence in the surrounding kingdoms. We then analyzed Sicily and its important

location serving as a staging area for future invasions of Northern Africa by the Romans.

The second part of the lesson was focused on Carthage, a once great city-state in modern

day Tunisia. The Carthaginian Empire was discussed before my arrival at Fallston when

covering the Punic Wars, a war between Carthage and Rome. Because of this fact, students knew

about Carthage, but couldn’t place Carthage on a map. We viewed a short clip covering the

construction of Carthage and how its location is its best feature. Carthage sits in the middle of a

natural harbor created by two forks of land that point out from the mainland. When analyzing a

map, this key feature was a dead giveaway when trying to pinpoint this city-state’s location. It

was also highlighted that Carthage’s location was key because it was the closest land to Rome

and could challenge the growing city-state’s supremacy along the Mediterranean.
 While teaching this lesson, the incorporation of a variety of ways to understand this

information was essential. Geography can be difficult, especially if your brain doesn’t easily

remember maps and locations. Because of this fact, I provided note sheets that were completed

as a class using the document camera. In addition, the use of videos was aimed to assist visual

and auditory learners. Building on the visual learners, we used Google Earth to make it easier to

manipulate the map the way that the user wants to in order to analyze and study the landscape

more in depth.

Moving away from the locations of population centers, day two was exclusively focused

on physical geography, mainly identifying mountain ranges and bodies of water in and around

the Mediterranean. The first half of the lesson was dedicated to mountains, specifically the Alps

and the Apennines Mountains. We inspected a map that emphasized physical features rather than

locations in order to analyze its size and the natural boundary it creates with the rest of Europe.

We examined how the mountains border several other countries in modern day Europe and how

none of these countries ever invaded Italy in ancient times with the exception of barbarian tribes

from Gaul, modern day France. We then studied the Apennine Mountains that conveniently run

through the heart of Italy. Because of their central location, we didn’t spend as much time on this

mountain range. I reminded students that the Alps were the highest mountain in Europe and that

when looking at a map, is also the northern most mountain range. This way when they look at a

map, they know the Alps is the highest mountain in Europe and must be above the Apennine

Mountains on a map as well.

We then covered the bodies of water. Since everyone was able to identify the

Mediterranean Sea on the pre-assessment, we didn’t need to dedicate much time to covering it.

We briefly discussed its scale to the United States to show the students just how expansive it
was, but nothing further. After that, the Adriatic Sea was our area of focus. Another video was

viewed to show the countries that border the Adriatic as well as its strategic significance

separating Eastern Europe from Italy. We then reviewed what we had learned by looking at

Google Earth and calling on random students to zoom in on the location it would be on a map.

While only seven students were tested, it was an interactive way to involve students in

reviewing.

The final day of lessons was dedicated to countries or provinces in the Mediterranean.

First we analyzed Egypt by pulling from their prior knowledge of the Egyptian unit. Important

land features like the Nile River running parallel to the Red Sea, or the Nile Delta that houses the

majority of the population because of its rich fertility, were highlighted to give students land

marks. Second, we listened to a song about Greece that details its climate, location, boundaries

and more. It was important to note that Greece is made up of thousands of islands and sits just

east of Italy. And finally we discussed Gaul. No students got this on the pre-assessment because

it was one of the only topics that was not yet discussed in a unit but would be in their current

unit. Gaul is modern day France, but didn’t have explicit borders. Another video was shown to

highlight that Gaul was made up of hundreds of tribes and there was no one ruler. Also that it

would cause great trouble for Rome because it was right above Italy and could invade if they

went around the Alps.

After the third lesson was complete, students were quizzed using Kahoot. Each question

was a word question typically accompanied by a picture that highlighted the area in question.

The Kahoot added a competition aspect that could be coupled with anonymity so students didn’t

feel nervous about answering or being involved. In this format, I could also get an idea of what

the students were able to learn before giving the post-assessment. If students got questions on the
Kahoot wrong, we could review the question and make sure that everyone is on the same page of

understanding. The answers on the Kahoot were reflective that a majority of students were

learning the information and were able to apply their understanding.

Overall, only one student did not show growth from the pre-assessment to the post-

assessment. The student that did not demonstrate growth unfortunately was one of the students

that has an IEP. While I had believed that my activities and lessons had the appropriate

adaptations, they were unable to resonate with this particular student. The student requires a

higher degree of one on one instruction that is difficult to deliver while implementing the lesson.

This student does not do work unless prompted to by the instructor. In the future, it would be

beneficial for students like this to incorporate lessons that require students to move around and

engage with one another instead of teacher directed instruction that handcuffs the students to

their desks.

The activities with the best response as indicated by student engagement and

understanding, were the ones that had visual aids such as videos, pictures or the display on

Google Earth. I’ve found that students respond more positively to events or content when they

have a visual representation that their brains can compartmentalize. When the instruction relies

too heavily on lecture style delivery, students will tend to lose focus on the content in front of

them. However, when there is a visual aid in any form, there is an increased chance they

remember the event with more detail than what would be if it was delivered through a reading or

lecture.

One of the most important goals for my instruction moving forward is the need to

understand the different learning styles that my students benefit the most from as well as the

ability to incorporate as many as possible in one lesson. Students that are only exposed to one
form of instruction are more likely to lose focus if they are not being stimulated in some form.

Being able to work in activities that apply to as many learning styles as possible gives a greater

likelihood that students stay immersed in a lesson for the entirety of the class period.

Additionally, another goal for me was to be more cognizant of students that require a more hands

on approach to learning. Often times, these students are left behind. While there cannot be fault

solely placed on any party for this lack of attention given to the students, there are steps that can

be taken that benefit these students directly that also benefit the entire class.