Name Maria Diaz Date 3/4

Elements of a Good Lesson Plan Places and Regions

URL link to the lesson plan reviewed is:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/understanding-geography.cfm
Title:Understanding: Geography
Author: Tamar Burris
Overview what the lesson is about?
No overview is provided.
(Background information needed by the teacher to learn about the topic)
No information provided.
Grade Level k-8
Amount of Time needed to teach 3 class periods
Materials Needed:
Materials teacher will need to bring will be purple.
Materials usually in class will be orange.
Materials students and teachers can bring.
Large white construction paper (at least one sheet per student)
Pencils and erasers
Colored markers or crayons
Maps of your local area and other city maps
Information about the economy, industry, and attractions in your local area (usually can
be found in relocation packets at a local Chamber of Commerce or local real estate
offices)
Computer with Internet access (optional)
Understanding: Geography video and VCR or DVD and DVD player
(Key Terms list of vocabulary that the student needs to learn or will learn as a result of
doing this lesson)
culture
Definition: A body of learned behaviors common to a given human society
Context: Culture is the way of life of a group of people who share similar beliefs and
customs.
environment
Definition: The circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded
Context: Geographers may study how the environment influences the way people earn
a living.
geography
Definition: The scientific study of Earth and its features
Context: Geography is the study of the Earth, its features, the distribution of life,
including humans and the effects of human activity on the environment.
habitat
Definition: The place or environment where a plant or animal lives or grows; the typical
place of residence of a person or a human group
Context: Geographers are examining how the Chesapeake Bay has created an industry
centered on harvesting oysters and how that industry affects the bay's habitat.
map
Definition: A representation of a whole or a part of an area
Context: With so much information to show, and so many ways to show it, maps are
valuable tools for understanding the world around us.
Standards and Skills addressed:
Lesson plan list these three standards:
Places and Regions
Physical Systems
Environment and Society
But they are 3/6 Essential Elements
So, what geography standard(s) is addressed? (I see them in your evaluation)
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students should be able to . . .
Students will use geography skills to create neighborhood maps, and identify
connections between geography, culture, and the economy in their local area.
Procedures:
 Opening the Lesson: Class views Understanding: Geography. Then lead
discussion about the science of geography, the types of things geographers study, and
the reasons they study them, cultures and industries students saw in the program and
the connections between a place's cultures and industries and its geography Tell
students that they will be making neighborhood maps to discuss local geography,
economy, and culture. Share maps of your local area or other city maps, and discuss
roads, major buildings, parks, natural geographic features, town centers or shops, and
other kinds of things found on such maps. Talk about how to use the scale and other
important features on a map. Talk about how some maps may include numbers or
symbols to represent terrain or buildings; point out each map's key, where symbols are
identified.
Have students talk about their own neighborhoods. How big are they? What
activities take place there? Are there parks or businesses? What kinds of buildings are
in their neighborhood?
In the opening of the lesson you get students to share previous knowledge, and analyze
cultural and physical demographics of their local and global locations. They can ask
geographical questions and focus higher order thinking skills.
Developing the Lesson: Have students create a map of their neighborhood, and
write a paragraph answering 5 guided questions to go along with their map.
What kinds of terrain and vegetation can be found in your neighborhood?
What do the buildings in your neighborhood look like? What similarities do the buildings
have?
What kinds of activities take place in your neighborhood? Where do they take place?
Has your neighborhood changed since you've lived there? If so, how?
Concluding the Lesson: Have students share their maps and paragraphs with
the class. Then discuss the similarities between the maps, the overall similarities in your
area, and how these similarities help define the local culture. Share with the class the
information you have gathered about the economy and industry of your area and talk
about how geography and environment has influenced the local economy.
Have students share maps and discuss geography around places and regions.
Assessment (Summative) how you know that the student has achieved the
objective(s)) NONE
(If Rubric used to assess it should be provided. There is a 3 point rubric
Does this really assess the objectives well? How does it assess the geographic content
that students are supposed to learn?
(Extensions modifications for different ability groups and/or grades) No.
Works Cited resources used by author to create the lesson, if not original: Not
provided
Handouts ready to reproduce None
Answer Keys None
(Technology Component): A technology component is suggested but not
required. Lesson plan suggest websites students can visit for examples of
neighborhood maps.
YOUR EVALUATION OF THIS LESSON PLAN:

This lesson did not provide geography standards, but it seems to address many.

It addresses number standard #1 because you discuss local and state maps with
students in class. It addresses number standard #4 because by creating a map of their
neighborhood based on observations they make by explorations students are learning
to organize info in a spatial context. It addresses number standard #6 because you are
ask to discuss physical and human characteristics of the world in general, then their
neighborhoods and their local area. It addresses number standard #6 sharing their
maps with each other may help students see geography through others perspectives
and learn about how culture can explain your view. Some opportunity is there for
students to work on physical skills, motor skills and creative skills on the physical
creation of said neighborhood map. They can also work on their speaking skill and build
a positive classroom culture by having students share and discuss their maps. The
questions answered can also help students with language and writing skills as well as
help them analyze information and look for patterns.
Overall this lesson was very brief, its not very detailed and the majority of it involves
heavy classroom discussion. This is good for verbal learners, but visual and tactile
learners may drop out of the conversation and more introverted students may have a
hard time contributing. Having students create a map of their neighborhood seems
engaging fun way to get students to explore and connect content to life, but
environmental and demographic factors may inhibit the possibility of this. (too cold,
rainy, unsafe) The three point rubric seems a bit vague using criteria like somewhat to
asses students seems trivial and subjective.