Title:  This Land is Your Land (Regions Across the USA) 

 

Project Authors: Jennifer Lautt- Rock Lake School - Rock Lake, ND - j.lautt@sendit.nodak.edu 

                         Sandy Painter-Bonham Elementary- El Paso, TX - smpainte@episd.org 

                         Elisabeth Sweeney- Houston Elementary Librarian- El Paso, TX - ensweeney@episd.org

                         Maru Ramirez- Polk Elementary- El Paso, TX - eramirez@episd.org

 

Subject Area:   Social Studies--Geography

 

Intended Grade Level: K-4

 

Description:  This project involves studying the five geographic regions of the United States.  Students will learn about the climate, land forms, and cultures of each region.  Next, they will design a bingo game based on the region they researched.  Students will then do a point-to-point presentation about their region, and then play USA Bingo--one class gives a fact while the other finds a word to match the fact given. 

 

Learner Outcomes:

Texas   

 

(5) Geography. The student understands the physical and human characteristics of the environment. The student is expected to:

(A) identify the physical characteristics of places such as landforms, bodies of water, natural resources, and weather; and

(B) identify the human characteristics of places such as types of houses and ways of earning a living.

 

North Dakota Standards

 

Standard 1: Students use Social Studies skills and resources

     4.1.1. - Use chronological terms

     4.1.2.- Construct and interpret time lines

     4.1.5. - Use resources to gather and interpret information about people, places, and events.= O />= O />= O /> 

      4.1.6. – Use print and electronic media to gather, organize, and interpret information about current events.

     4.1.9. – Use spatial terms to describe the world

 

Standard 5: Students understand and apply concepts of geography.

     4.5.1. – Identify the physical features and relative locations of the major landforms of the regions of the = ST1 />= ST1 />= ST1 />= ST1 />= ST1 />= ST1 />= ST1 />United States

     4.5.2. – Identify the political regions of the US and their relative locations

 

Standard 6: Students understand the role culture plays in shaping human development and behavior

      4.6.2. – Explain how people’s background and history influence their actions and how people influence one another

 

Time:  One 45 min. videoconference per region.  

 

Preparation: two weeks per region students will research and write key information, as well as prepare visuals for the other class to see.

 

Materials: Videoconferencing equipment, bingo boards and tokens, signs and maps for the region, pictures of school and props for the region (cacti, cotton, cattails, salamanders, wheat, etc.)

 

Videoconference Agenda:

 Introduction 5 minutes

 

 Class Presentations 5 minutes each  

 

 Question and Answer 5 minutes each

 

 Bingo  15 minutes

 

 Closing 5 minutes

 

Post Activities: Write a letter to your partner class about what you learned, and later in the year have another conference where the older class can read to the younger class and the younger class can respond with either a journal entry or a picture depending on where they are developmentally.

 

Assessment & Evaluation:  The students' learning will be assessed through presentation rubrics and participation grades, as well as with the letter they write about what they learned from the other region.

 

Implementation Plans:

 

 Planning meeting to review details and dates--early October

 

 Test call--one week prior to videoconferencing

 

 Videoconference for presentations--mid to late November

 

 Videoconference for Reading--mid to late April