Exploring Place: Comparing and Contrasting St. Paul and Manzanillo
Lesson 1: Introduction to Place: Defining physical and human characteristics
Submitted by Shannon DeLozier-Yee Yick
Objectives:
Content:
Students will...
- identify and use physical maps and their components
- identify major geographic features of the world, and physical characteristics of different places
- identify a variety of human characteristics
Cultural:
Students will...
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...
- use "hay" (there is/there are) to identify the location of a variety of physical characteristics with the following vocabulary: el oceano, el mar, la costa, el rio, el lago, el bosque, el desierto, la peninsula, las montanas, el llano, el valle, la colina etc.
- use present tense of "ser" to give examples of human characteristics of a place (Una casa es una caracteristica fisica.) such as la casa, el edificio, el parque, el rascacielo, la calle, la carretera
- use appropriate articles when identifying or labeling physical and human characteristics on a map or in a picture
- use "que" questions (Que es un rio?) to play jeopardy game with physical and human characteristics
- use demonstrative adjectives such as esta, estas, este, estos along with present tense of "ser" to describe physical and human characteristics in picture. For example: Estas son montanas. Este es un rio.
Language: Content Compatible
Students will...
- use first person past tense of "escoger" to identify characteristics chosen for picture
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...
- collaborate with a partner to complete guided reading activity and graphic organizer
- work with a partner to complete glossary of terms
- work with a team to play jeopardy game
Time Frame:
Four periods of 45 minutes.
Materials Needed:
- Aurora significa amanecer by Scott Russell Sanders
- Estudios Sociales: Comunidades, Harcourt Brace, 2000 (Student Edition)
- Glosario de geografia: caracteristics fisicas (worksheets)
- Examples of physcial maps
- Physical Characteristics Jeopardy
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Preview Phase
Part I
Whole group activity
- Teacher explains to students that the physical characteristics of a place include land formations, bodies of water, vegetation and climate. A chart showing these categories will be placed on the board.
- In whole group class will look at two examples of physcial maps. (Students will have already learned about map skills, keys/legends, political and physical maps.) Using map keys/legends students will identify different physical characteristics, decide which category it belongs to, and write it on the chart.
- Teacher passes out and goes over handout that includes guided questions for the story Aurora significa amanecer and a graphic organizer with physical and human characteristics. (handout)
- Teacher reads aloud Aurora significa amanecer by Scott Russell Sanders
- Students work in pairs to answer questions and fill in graphic organizer.
- Classroom discussion -Where does the story take place? What are the major physical characteristicsfeatures of Aurora? (Remind children that physical characteristics include the land formations, water, climate and vegetation of a place.) What human characteristics did the Sheldon family find in Aurora? What human characteristics did they create?
- During discussion teacher and students add to chart/graphic organizer listing both physical and human characteristics of Aurora.
Part II
Focused Learning Phase
- Teacher passes out handout that contains guiding questions for reading activity. (handout)
- Teacher will help preview text by reading aloud pages 88 - 89 in Estudios Sociales: Comunidades while students follow along. The driving question is: What makes places different? (Que es lo que hace que cada lugar sea diferente?) Together, class will come up with answer for first section, and each student will fill in response.
- Teacher will strategically pair up children for reading activity.
- Students read pages 90 - 95 in Estudios Sociales: Comuidades textbook with a partner and answer guiding questions on handout
Part III
(Focused Learning, cont.)
- Students work in pairs to complete glossary of physical characteristics to use as reference during this unit. (attachment)
- Students work in pairs to complete a glossary of human characteristics of a place to use as reference during this unit. (attachment)
Part IV
(Focused Learning, cont.)
- Students will work in small groups or teams to play a jeopardy game highlighting physical and human characteristics of a place. (attachment)
Part V
Expansion Phase
- Students will randomly draw 4 physical characteristics and 4 human characteristics of a place and create a picture incorporating all of them. After drawing, students will label the pictures with the appropriate terminology.
- Students will share their pictures with the class, naming and pointing out the physical and human characteristics in the pictures
Assessment:
- Students accurately draw, label , identify and describe physical and human characteristics in their drawings.
References and Resources:
Aurora significa amanecer by Scott Russell Sanders Estudios Sociales: Comunidades, textbook Physical Maps Handouts Geography Activity Book?
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)
- Glossary of Physical Characteristics Worksheet
- Glossary of Human Characteristics Worksheet
- Jeopardy game (on computer)
Mi vecindario-homework