Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Name: Lauren Pollard

Central Focus/Big Idea of the Lesson:
Analyzing maps to compare/contrast
th
Grade Level/Subject: 4 grade Social Studies
traveling in North Carolina in 1872 and in
1920.
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective: 4.G.1.1
Summarize changes that have occurred in North Carolina
Date taught: March 19, 2015
since statehood (population growth, transportation,
communication and land use).
Daily Lesson Objective: Given two different maps of North Carolina, students will compare and
contrast the transportation systems in the state through a Venn diagram with 50% accuracy.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand (Language
CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Function and Vocabulary):
Reason Effectively
Compare/contrast
Use Systems Thinking
Make Judgments and Decisions
INFORMATION LITERACY
Access and Evaluate Information
Use and Manage Information
Prior Knowledge: General geographic knowledge of North Carolina, how to read maps, Venn
diagrams
Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

The next unit we will start in social studies is all about how
people and places in North Carolina have been affected by
inventions, resources, and technology. What do you think is
one of the most important or life changing inventions of our
time? (telephone, computers, light bulb, etc.) Think back
especially to the 1900s. What if people wanted to travel from
one end of the state to the other? (cars, trains, etc.) Before
people had cars, how do you think people got around?
(horses, wagons, railroads, etc.)
Today you will see two different maps of North Carolina. One
is from 1872 at the time of railroad travel and one is from
1920, after the car was invented and people could travel on
highways. You will compare and contrast these maps to see
the differences and similarities in traveling in the state of NC
from these time periods.
In the 1900s before car, people traveled by horses, wagons,
railroads, and feet. Imagine what life was like for a person
living before 1910. Now imagine what it was like for them in
1910 when they experienced the first automobile. How do you
think they might have reacted? (surprised, excited, unable to
believe what they were seeing) Realize that the car was going
to be monumental and unlike anything anyone had seen
before. It could move like a train, but normal people could
drive them to more places. What kinds of things do you think
would change after the invention of the car in order to use

Time

5
minutes

1
minute

2
minutes

them? (build highways, learn how to operate a car, road

laws, etc.)

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skills:
7. Closure

Today we are going to look at two different maps. The first is

from the late 1800s and shows the railroad system across the
state of NC at the time. (show map
http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/341 on
board or have handouts for each student) What do you first
notice about this map? (it is old, some of the towns have
different names, etc.) Lets look at some of the railroads and
what towns they might be able to reach. Major cities along the
railroad are marked with bold capital letters. For example,
does it look like Charlotte is a city that can be reached by
5
railroad? (yes) What about Greenville, towards the beach?
minutes
(no) What about Asheville, in the mountains? (no) Judging
by this map, what can we conclude about how the railroads
affected the people of North Carolinas ability to travel?
(coastal areas and mountain regions were hard to get to)
Something else to learn from analyzing this map is the
relationship between the size of the city and how many
railroads ran through it at this time in history. Looking at the
whole map, what were the two biggest cities in the state at
this time? Remember to look for where the most railroads
meet at one city. (Raleigh, Charlotte)
(distribute map
http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/937) The
next map that you will look at Is from 1920 and shows the
highways that were established by that time. Highways were
established after the invention of the car. As you analyze this
map, compare and contrast it to the one we looked at
together. Note the differences and similarities between what
areas of the state could be traveled to during the late 1800s
20
and the early 1900s. Create a Venn diagram to show 2
minutes
differences and 2 similarities that you come up with.
Assist students during independent practice by asking them
to compare specific cities between the first and second map.
Ask them what they notice. Ask them if the towns that were
the biggest in the first map were still the biggest in the
second. Ask about the transportation to the coastal and
mountain areas of NC. Ask them why some towns on the
second map appear bigger than they did on the first map.
Check Venn diagrams for 2 similarities in the middle and 2 observations
on each side for each map. 2 similarities and 2 differences is 100%, 1
similarity and 1 difference is 50%, failure to complete any similarities or
differences is 0%.
Collect Venn diagrams and bring the class back together as a
5
whole. Judging from what you noticed about the state of
minutes
North Carolina from the first map to the time of the second,
what was different? (more towns across the state were
accessible) And why was this? (highways would be built in

more places than railroads were) So how did the invention of

the car change peoples lives in North Carolina? (required the
building of more highways, made more places easier to travel
to without needing to rely on railroads)
8. Assessment
Results of
all
objectives/skills:
Targeted Students
Modifications/Accommodations:
Students who finish early may complete the
following worksheet on their own using both
maps.
http://www2.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/car_k12.
pdf

Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations:
Work with a small group to create the Venn
diagram together. Guide the group by asking what
they notice about towns that can be traveled to in
both maps in order to come up with items for the
overlapping area. Ask students to look for towns
that could not be traveled to originally and could
after the invention of the car/highways for items
to place in the differences sections.

Materials/Technology:
Smartboard (to show maps)
Map 1: http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/341
Map 2: http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/937
Worksheet: http://www2.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/car_k12.pdf
Venn diagram template
References:
http://www2.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/car_k12.html
Reflection on lesson:
Overall I was not pleased with how this lesson turned out. Most of this was due to technology
issues. Fortunately I think the problems that I came across can all be remedied with experience.
The negatives of my lesson were in the presentation of the maps on the smart board. I did not
practice opening the maps on the smart board or allowing my students to open them on their
Chrome books before diving into the lesson. The maps were very blurry and hard to navigate on
the smart board and Chrome books. This made for a lot of confusion and extra time spent trying
to get the maps to load and enhance them clearly enough for students to scan and analyze. I
wish that I had had more time beforehand to experiment with the technology in order to learn
about the issue I would have and then troubleshoot on my own instead of in front of the
students.
Positives of my lesson were the materials that I had ready to use, even if they were difficult to
use on the computers. I was excited to use the maps that I had found the night before because I
thought they would be good artifacts to compare and contrast the two time periods. I thought
that the use of the maps and the creation of the Venn diagram matched the objective that I
wanted to achieve.
As I said before, things to improve on next time involve mostly preparedness and
experimentation with the technology. As a young (almost) teacher, I am not very comfortable
using a lot of the materials such as Chrome books, Google classroom, Smart board, etc. that my
CT uses in her classroom. I think I have some catching up and experience gaining to do in order
to overcome wanting to use paper worksheets and materials for most of my lessons.