U.S. Regions
Submitted by Heather Palmer
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Unit Overview:
In this unit, students will be grouped into make-believe families (base groups). Each group will receive information about their family (members; responsibilities; interesting tid-bits) and be assigned roles in the family. In these groups, students will learn about an assigned US region, then present their findings to their peers so that all students have knowledge about each of the seven major US regions (as per district social studies textbook Regions and Resources, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc., 1997). The first part of the unit focuses on the breakdown of the United States in seven regions. The second part of the unit introduces students to identifying characteristics specific to the region they have been assigned to research. Families will create a PowerPoint presentation to assimilate the information they have learned. In the third part of the unit, students will listen to presentations about other US regions and choose the region that best accommodates their family.
Context:
In fourth grade, Edina students study the US regions. The students for whom this unit has been developed are partway through their fifth year in French immersion school. They are receiving formalized English instruction (70 minutes a day) for their second year. Students come from economically advantaged families for whom education is a priority. Many students have traveled extensively in the US and in other areas of the world, and are highly supported in their academic endeavors.
General Unit References and Resources:
This unit was made completely available as a website. It contains all of the same information as other CoBaLTT units, but in a webpage format rather than the CoBaLTT template.
Unit Website:
http://www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/lessonplans/attachments/152/regions/index.htm