Lesson Plan Template

TE 401: Social Studies Methods

Prepared by: Megan Byrne

Collaborating Teacher: Sarah De Ruiter
Date (lesson planned): 10/10/10
Length of lesson: 30 to 40 minutes
Date (To be taught): November 12th , 2010
Grade level: 4th / 5th split

Part I: Lesson Overview and Background Knowledge (25 points)

a). Lesson Title: Our Great Lakes
b). Lesson Abstract: First we will ask the class what region Michigan is located in?
Then ask the students if they know anything about the great lakes?
c). Lesson Objectives:
• Be able to read a map and locate the five great lakes
• Understand how these lakes get transport resources as well as provide resources
for us
• Discuss the several things everyone can do to protect out lakes
• Understand how important the great lakes are to the resources of our region
d). Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):

4 – G2.0.1 Describe ways in which the United States can be divided into different
regions (e.g., political regions, economic regions, landform regions, vegetation regions).

4 – G2.0.2 Compare human and physical characteristics of a region to which Michigan

belongs (e.g., Great Lakes, Midwest) with those of another region in the United States.

e). Rationale: The reason for teaching about the great lakes is because of the importance
of them to the region we all live in. It directly affects us everyday because we are from
the Midwest and these lakes are surrounding our state. This will be meaningful to
students because the students use these resources everyday and without our great lakes
they wouldn’t have all the resources available to them. It is meaningful to the community
and society because discussing how we can keep our lakes clean can affect the rest of the
community they live in and keeping our waters clean. Students can relate this to their
everyday life which is something that will keep them interested.
f). Social Studies Content:
Students are going to be asked how many and what the names of the Great Lakes are.
They will be introduced to the mnemonic device HOMES as a tool to remember the
names throughout the lesson. They will then be able to locate the great lakes on a map
surrounding their region. Students will also learn how the great lakes were formed and
understand some vocabulary around that idea. (Glaciers, boarders, bay, ice age, etc). The
great lakes were formed thousands of years ago during the melting of the glaciers and this
water filled in the whole that were left. Students will be broken into groups to research
specific fun facts about each great lake. I think it will be very hard for the entire class to
know all facts about all the lakes so by having groups research each and then present it
will help them understand the concept that all the lakes are different. Students will be
able to identify what are some things we can do as humans to help preserve our great
lakes. (This will be important to them because they will understand that the great lakes
provide a lot of our fresh water supply which affects them). By helping out the world a
little at a time. Such as turning off the water while brushing your teach, pollution, etc.

The most important thing for students will need to develop from this topic is the idea that
the Great Lakes are all different but at the same time are equally important to us. Each
lake has its features and is located at a different area, but we need to use them all and it is
important to understand how they were made and what they can do for us. As I
mentioned students will each be assigned a lake and research some facts, the group that
does this will obviously understand more about a specific lake. I will have each group
present which will reenforce the idea that all the lakes are different from one another. It is
important for them to understand how important these lakes are to us which they will get
from a reading about their history. I want them to take the ideas we learn in class of how
to keep them clean and apply it to their daily life outside of the classroom.

Part III: Resources (15 points)

a). Resources, Preparation/Materials:

Materials for whole class: Materials for groups: Materials to accommodate
individual student needs:
(be sure to indicate how you
are going to provide
resources needed for any
students with special needs
– ESL, gifted, autistic, etc.)
• Text Book • Worksheet • There are no
• Worksheets • Map of great lakes students who need
• Writing Board • Text Books special accomidations
• Elmo • Individual Great in this classroom
• Blank Map of Great Lakes facts
Lakes • Blank Map of Great
Lakes
b). Annotated Bibliography:

Foresman, Scott. Social Studies; Regions. Chp. 8.

This book is a forth grade level social studies text book. This book has several
different chapters that provide brief information about different topics concerning
regions. It has a specific chapter just on Great Lakes, their names, their formation,
history, importance, and how they help us transport goods around the world. There is no
bias in this information as it is extremely general in its facts.

Donnellan, Kathy. Great Lakes Homepage for Kids. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-

12/Summer_Training/LincolnParkES/START_PROJECT.html.

This website was very helpful in making my individual sheets containing

interesting facts about each great lake. It is useful for grades 4-8 and has a lesson plan but
I only used the links that directed you to facts about each Lake. Each link has a good
illustration of the lake and contains very helpful information from states it boarders, its
shoreline, lakes it connects to, depth, sealevel, etc. This site has no bias and relates
directly to the information I am giving the students about the facts about each lake.

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes

This website can be related to any grade level because you can tweek the
information however you would like which is what I did. It contains indepth information
as well as basic information about all 5 of the great lakes. It helps with finding random
fun facts that one may not find on any other website. I understand it may be unreliable
because tons of people can edit it but because it is pretty basic information that is fact and
not opinion I trust it more.