Introductory Lesson

EGP 335.535 Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Details
An Introduction to the Mid-Atlantic, Number One, Author: Everyone
Expected Duration: 45 minutes
Social Sciences: Geography
Concepts: Capitals and key facts about each state in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Vocabulary:
o Capital- the city or town that is the official seat of government in a
country, state, etc.:
o State - a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation.
a nation or territory considered as an organized political community
under one government.
o District- an area of a country or city, especially one regarded as a
distinct unit because of a particular characteristic.
(Houghton Mifflin Social Studies text)
Skills: Map skills (locating place), Classify and Categorize.
Goals of Lesson: The students will be working on building their background
knowledge on the states that make up the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
1. Students will be able to label each state and the capital of the state on a
blank map of the Mid-Atlantic Region with 100% accuracy. ( Pennsylvania:
Harrisburg, New Jersey Trenton, New York, Albany, Delaware, Wilmington,
Maryland, Annapolis, Washington D.C. )
2. Students will be able to list 2-3 facts about each state without referencing.
Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography &
NCSS Themes I - X with subthemes
PA Standard- 7.2.4.A Identify the physical characteristics of places and
regions.

NCSS.1.3 THEME THREE -- People, Places, and Environment: Social Studies teachers
should possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide
instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of People, Places, and
Environment. Teachers of social studies at all school levels should provide
developmentally appropriate experiences as they guide
o NCSS.1.3.a ...enable learners to construct, use and refine mental maps of locales,
regions, and the world that demonstrates their understanding of relative location,
direction, size, and shape
o NCSS.1.3.b ...have learners create, interpret, use, and distinguish various
representations of Earth, such as maps, globes and photographs, and use
appropriate geographic tools such as atlases, databases, systems, charts, graphs,
and maps to generate, manipulate, and interpret information

Anticipatory Set
Teacher will show the students a map of the United States.
The teacher will ask, We will be learning about the Mid-Atlantic Region of the
United States. Does anyone want to guess where the Mid-Atlantic Region is
located?

Two to three students will guess where the Mid-Atlantic Region is.
After the students guess, the teacher will say, Actually, we are in the MidAtlantic Region. It is over here.
The teacher will point to the region, indicating that Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
New York, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C. are included in this
region.

Procedures
First the teacher will provide each student with a KWL (know, want to know,
learn) Chart.
The teacher will ask the students we will do a five minute quick write where
everyone will individually write down anything and everything they know
about the Mid-Atlantic Region
After five minutes, the teacher will hold a class discussion (about two minutes
long) on the Know of their KWL chart.
The teacher will then have the students turn and talk to a neighbor about
what they would like to know about the region in general.
After two minutes, the teacher will bring the class together.
The teacher will now introduce the 5 stations set up around the classroom.
Groups will be predetermined by the teacher in consideration to their
academic level (This allows the teacher to differentiate the resources given to
the groups to aid lower level students).
The teacher will explain, We will be exploring each state within the MidAtlantic Region with a scavenger hunt. I will hand each of you a paper to fill
out within your groups. You will all visit each state. Each station will be 8, 58 minutes long. I will indicate when to switch.
The teacher will then give out the groups. The students will collect their
papers and head to their first station.
In each station, there will be a video clip, a state fun fact sheet, and an atlas
to help the students fill out and research their information.
o Station 1: Pennsylvania
o Station 2: New Jersey
o Station 3: New York
o Station 4: Delaware
o Station 5: Maryland
Attach lesson plan teacher notes (fact sheets/content outlines)
Videos:
Maryland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxAKRfdfXk
Pennsylvania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-AXjouXvu0
Delaware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKNxmQXxOmU
New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu_7beOXdNM
New Jersey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ2_y70AqJ8
Differentiation
Adaptation - Extension
Students who advance in this skill: Students will be expected to label each of
the States and their Capitals on to their given map.

Students who struggle in this skill: Students will be given a map with the
States labeled. They will need to fill in the Capitals. The students will also be
given a word bank of the answers for their worksheet.

Answer Keys:
Maryland State Nickname: Old Line State/Free State
State #: 7th state
State Capital: Annapolis
State Tree: white oak
State Bird: baltimore oriole
State Flower: black-eyed susan
New York State capital: Albany
State nickname: The Empire State
State #: 11th State
State bird: Eastern Bluebird
State tree: Sugar Maple
State flower: Rose
Pennsylvania State Nickname: The Keystone State
State #: 2nd state
State Capital: Harrisburg
State Bird: Ruffed Grouse
State Flower: Mountain Laurel
State Tree: Eastern Hemlock
New Jersey State Nickname: The Garden State
State #: 3rd State
State Capital: Trenton
State Bird: American Goldfinch
State Flower: Viola Sororia
State Tree:Northern Red Oak
Delaware State Nickname: The First State
State #: 1st State
State Capital: Dover
State Bird: Blue Hen
State Flower: The Peach Blossom
State Tree: American Holly
Closure
The teacher will bring the students back to a class discussion after all of the
stations are completed.
Teacher will tell students to take a couple minutes to individually look over
their state facts sheets.
Then as a class, students will complete the KWL chart but break the L chart
down into individual states. Teacher will start by writing Pennsylvania on the
board and then ask the class what they learned about Pennsylvania during

their centers time. Teacher will write the students responses on the board as
they answer.
The teacher will then do the same thing for the other four states in order to
complete the KWL chart.
*For the rest of the unit we are going to be discussing the Mid-Atlantic region
in more depth. We will be discussing the geography of this region, what
agriculture was like in the past, what industry was like in the past, what
agriculture and industry look like today in comparison, important people of
the Mid-Atlantic region, the government and its connection to this region, the
cities of Philadelphia and Washington D.C and their significance, and the
cultures and diversity within this region.*
Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Formative: As the students are working in their stations the teacher will be
walking around the room observing the students to ensure they are on task
and receiving the information they will need for the rest of the unit -- making
sure the students are putting down correct information
Summative: Submission of worksheet -- On the Fun Fact sheet there will be
a map and the students will label the states and capitals of the mid-atlantic
region as they stop at each station during the class activity (Pennsylvania:
Harrisburg, New Jersey Trenton, New York, Albany, Delaware, Dover,
Maryland, Annapolis)
Summative: Submission of worksheet -- The students will also have a
worksheet to fill out during the stations where they will be recording key
information from each state
Materials/Equipment
KWL Charts
State Fun Fact Sheet
Atlas for each state
Ipads at each of the five stations with the videos already loaded on them
(links listed above).
See teacher materials for lessons 2 through 9
United States Map with states labled - http://www.united-statesmap.com/usa7243z.htm
Technology
At each station there will be a video clip about the state that the students will
be able to watch on either a laptop or an iPad (links provided above in
procedures).
Reflection on Planning
We decided to give a brief overview of the States and their Capitals that
make up the Mid-Atlantic Region. We wanted to have our students brainstorm
about their prior knowledge of this region. After that, we felt that hands on
learning would help them decipher the differences of these grouped States.
We decided to group the students based on their ability on the academic
level to allow us to differentiate their worksheets in order to create a stress
free learning environment.

Name:

Pennsylvania

Maryland

Delaware

State Nickname:

State Nickname:

State Nickname:

State #:

State #:

State #:

State Capital:

State Capital:

State Capital:

State Bird:

State Bird:

State Bird:

State Flower:

State Flower:

State Flower:

State Tree:

State Tree:

State Tree:

Interesting fact(s):

Interesting fact(s):

Interesting fact(s):

New Jersey

New York

State Nickname:

State Nickname:

State #:

State #:

State Capital:

State Capital:

State Bird:

State Bird:

State Flower:

State Flower:

State Tree:

State Tree:

Interesting Fact(s):

Interesting Fact(s):