Lesson Plan for Wednesday Strand: Geography submitted by: Zachary Haro

Unit Plan: Map Concepts and Analysis

Lesson Plan for Wednesday: Authentic
Geography and Cartography Studies
Grade: 5
th

Social Studies Strand: Geography
Submitted By: Zachary Haro


EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science
Nevada State College Spring 2014
Instructor: Karen Powell

Lesson Plan for Wednesday Strand: Geography submitted by: Zachary Haro
B. Summary of the Lesson Plan:
This lesson will require students to look at two maps of the same area from different
time periods and focus on the differences and changes. Students will report the
differences and reasons behind them. Activity is on pages 180-183 in the Integrating
Language Arts and Social Studies text.
C. Basic Information:
Grade Level: 5th grade
Time to Complete this Lesson: 50 minutes
Groupings: Whole group, pairs, individual
D. Materials:
Maps of same area at different times in history labeled Map 1a & Map 1b
Data Sheets
E. Objectives:
NV State Social Studies Standards
o G5.5.3 Describe purposes for different types of maps and globes, i.e.,
topographical, political, physical.
o G5.5.6 Derive geographic information from photographs, maps, graphs,
books, and technological resources.
Student-Friendly Standards
o Students will be able to why we use different kinds of maps
o Students will be able to show differences in maps and significance of those
differences
o Students will be able to get information on geography from maps.
F. Procedure:
1. Warm-up: Prepare students for the lesson by having a few examples of items that
are the same thing, but have different features due to being from different times;
for example, the American flag, a telephone, or automobiles. Have the pictures
displayed side by side and have the students think, pair-up with their shoulder
partners, and share what the differences are between the pairs of items and why
they are different.
Lesson Plan for Wednesday Strand: Geography submitted by: Zachary Haro
2. Bring the class together and call on students to share some of the differences their
partner mentioned. Come to an understanding as a class that over time the items
changed due to various factors.
3. Remind students that the different kinds of maps they have been studying have
developed and changes have been made to them with time due to various
factors like political, social, or economic upheavals.
4. Have students stand up, hand up, and pair up with partners not at their table and
have one partner get a set of two maps and a data sheet for their pair. Each pair
should have map 1a and 1b and a data sheet that they both write their names on.
5. Explain to students that they are going to be looking at these two maps and first
noticing the differences between them and noting these differences on one
column of their data sheet. As they find the differences, students should
collaborate with their partners to think of reasons why these differences exist and
record their reasoning on the second column of the data sheet.
6. Have both maps on display for the whole class to see and model how the students
should navigate through the thinking process when noticing the differences and
giving rationale for them.
7. Release students to work in their pairs for 10 minutes and walk around asking pairs
guiding questions like Why do you think this map has more symbols in the map key
than this one? or Why does this map have darker shaded areas where mountains
are located on the other map?
8. Bring student attention to the front and have a few pairs share a difference they
found and their rationale for the difference.
9. Explain to students that using the data sheet as a graphic organizer, they will now
each write a short essay comparing and contrasting the two maps.
10. For closure, have students return to their tables, and take turns reading their short
essays to their shoulder partners. Have the class remember one of the differences
their shoulder partner discussed that they didnt have in their own essay so they
can share it with the class when I call on students to share what they heard from
their partner.
G. Assessment:
Use the pair data charts as an assessment graded by a rubric, and use the short
essays as further assessment of student concept understanding.
Score Criteria
4 All sections of the datasheet are complete with exceptional detail and
insight
Lesson Plan for Wednesday Strand: Geography submitted by: Zachary Haro
3 All sections of the datasheet are complete with acceptable level of
detail.
2 Most of the sections of the data chart are complete with an
acceptable amount of detail, or all sections complete with some errors.
1 Few of the sections are complete, or multiple errors are present


Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson.
If students can give a solid and relatable rationale with details for the differences
they listed between the two maps they
H. Closure:
For closure, have students return to their tables, and take turns reading their
short essays to their shoulder partners. Have the class remember one of the
differences their shoulder partner discussed that they didnt have in their own
essay so they can share it with the class when I call on students to share what
they heard from their partner.
I. Reflection:
1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach?
Modeling the process for how to identify differences and giving explanations for
them will be easy.
2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach?
The challenging part might be making sure students know what an acceptable
rationale is for why the difference in the maps exists.
3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson?
I will follow up this lesson every time we use a different style map of an area we
have seen different maps for previously. I will ask students to remember this
lesson and to point out some differences and reasons why they think those exist
before continuing.
4. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts?
Lesson Plan for Wednesday Strand: Geography submitted by: Zachary Haro
I can work together as the teacher with the student to help them complete the
data sheet. Guide the students by modeling questions you would ask yourself
when noticing differences so they know what questions to ask themselves.
5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change?
I might need to change the explanation part of the data sheet to be more or
less specific depending on the kinds of explanations students give.
6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part?
The most difficult part was tying a Nevada Social Studies Standard with this
activity from the textbook.