Lesson Title: What is Geography?

Day Number: 1
Author: Amber Hosmi
Unit: The Land of the United States
Grade Level: 4th
Background Information
- Expected Duration: 45 minutes
- Concepts
Geography
- Vocabulary:
Geography
Environment
Globe
Continent
- Skills:
Comparing & Contrasting
Following Directions
1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes/ Objectives
Students will compare and contrast maps and globes of different environments.
Students will create a personal size version of the globe.
Students will identify the 7 continents and 4 oceans of the world.
1.2. Standards
PA Standards
Geography 7.2.4.A: Identify the physical characteristics of places and regions.
Geography: 7.1.4.B: Describe and locate places and regions as defined by
physical and human features.
NCSS
D2.Geo.1.3-5. Construct maps and other graphic representations of both familiar
and unfamiliar places.
D2.Geo.2.3-5. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations
to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their
environmental characteristics.
1.3 Anticipatory Set
Teacher will begin the lesson by saying Boys and girls, today we are going to
start a new unit called The Land of the United States and explain that in this unit we
will be learning about all different aspects of Geography. The teacher will next explain
that Todays lesson is called The Geography of Our World and we will learn about
geography on a larger scale, in relation to the world.

The teacher will next put students into groups of 3-4 students and hand each
group a different type of map (globe, world map, map of America, map of Pennsylvania,
map of West Chester, map of the school). Without giving too many instructions, teacher
will put prompt on white board saying: Explore the map you are given. What types of
things do you see on your map? After giving the students about 2 minutes, the teacher
will ask them to share all the different things they found on their map and write them on
the board.
1.4 Procedures
1. After sharing about what each group discovered about the map they were given, create
a class web to have students share in class discussion anything they know/ learned about
maps.

Maps

2. Introduce these vocabulary words for lesson by writing the definition on the board, and
then selecting students to add the words to the Unit Plan word wall by writing the word
on index card and sticking it on the wall
Vocab:
- Geography: The study of our world and our place in it. It describes the
land, water, and living things that surround us.
- Environment: Includes all the surroundings and conditions that affect
living things.
- Globe: Shows Earths continents, or large masses of land.
- Continent: Large mass of land
3. Teacher will explain that Earth is shaped like a ball, which is called a sphere. Teacher
will also explain that a globe is a model of Earth.
4. Teacher will ask students to make connections between a map of the world and a globe
of the world by putting a picture of the map of the world on the board and passing around
a few globes.

5. Teacher will identify the 7 continents (North America, South America, Asia, Europe,
Africa, Antarctica, Australia) on both the map on the board, and the globes that are
around the room. Teacher will explain that the each continent has different countries
within it and that USA is a part of North America.
6. Teacher will next make a connection between the globe to North America to USA to
Pennsylvania to West Chester to compare the different masses of land.
7. Teacher will explain how the globe also shows Earths 4 oceans (Atlantic, Pacific,
Indian, and Arctic).
8. After collecting the globes, the teacher will introduce the model magic activity by
explaining to students that we will be creating globes made of model magic.
9. Teacher will have pre- measured the correct amount of model magic (white and green)
and pre-packaged them in bags. Each student will receive 1 bag of white model magic, 1
bag of green model magic, and will share blue Crayola markers and black Crayola
markers.
10. Teacher will tell students to take out white model magic and roll it in the shape of a
ball or sphere. Teacher will model doing this step by using the dock camera.
11. Once teacher sees that all students are complete with this step she will walk around
the room to make sure all of the spheres are an accurate size for this activity.
12. Teacher will next tell students to take a small piece of green model magic and make it
in the general shape of a mass of land and roll it out flat and put it on the white model
magic. Teacher will tell students to watch this step by looking at the dock camera before
they complete it. Teacher will also explain how this is representing 1 of the 7 continents
and that students will be creating 7 of these total and placing them on the white sphere.
13. Teacher will have a finished product made to show students while walking around the
room and seeing if anyone needs help.
14. Once students have added all 7 continents to the sphere, she will have the students
label the 7 continents by abbreviating using the black marker:
N.A. = North America
S.A. = South America
AS = Asia
AN = Antarctica
AU = Australia
EU = Europe
AF = Africa
Students will write the abbreviations directly on each continent.
15. Lastly, students will label the blank white space in between the continents with the
corresponding oceans.
16. As this step may be more difficult, teacher will step by step show students where to
label each ocean using the dock camera.
1.5 Differentiation
For Gifted Students: For students who already have this general concept and are not
being introduced to this for the first time, they will also be provided with different colors
of pieces of sticks to represent where some countries may be within a continent on their
model magic globe.

United States in North America (Red stick)

Brazil in South America (Orange stick)
China in Asia (Blue stick)
Italy in Europe (Purple stick)
For ELL Students: For students who are English Language Learners and still struggling
with the English language have 2 sets of instructions in their native language. Depending
on how well their English is, they may be able to listen to the instructions in English
verbally and may just need verbal reinforcement in their native language by you (here is
where a set of their first language directions will come into play for you). If their English
skills are not very high, they may need the entire set of directions written in their
language and in this case they may be given a hard copy of the directions in written form
in their native language.
1.6 Closure
After each student has completed his or her personal globe made of model magic,
students will open their blank map packet and turn to day-1 map, which is a blank map of
the world. Students will label each of the 7 continents and the 4 oceans of the world.
After giving students a few moments to work independently, teacher will provide
students with a copy of the correctly filled in map using the dock camera. Students will
then color each continent green and each ocean blue.
1.7 Formative/ Summative Assessment of Students
- Formative: The teacher will observe students as they participate in
comparing/contrasting the maps and globes. The teacher will also observe how the
students create their personal globes with model magic and how they complete their
blank map packet (before the key is provided).
1.8 Materials/ Equipment/ Resources
A. Student Materials/ Reading Resources
1. Globes (several depending on class size)
2. World map
3. Map of America
4. Map of Pennsylvania
5. Map of West Chester
6. Map of the school

B. Teacher Materials/ Resources For Lesson Design

1. Dock Camera
1.9 Technology
Teacher will use the dock camera when modeling the model magic activity and when
displaying the key of the map of the world.
2.1 Reflection on Planning
After all of the time we have spent preparing for this Unit Plan, this second lesson was a
lot easier to write. I feel that this second lesson was easier to write because after
conversing with my group so many different times, and comparing/contrasting ideas, I
was able to create what I believe the best introduction lesson to this unit.
I believe this lesson is a fun, creative, informative hands-on activity that will enable the
students to have a full understanding of the 7 continents and 4 oceans of the world. The
use of the teaching introducing and modeling the activity really enables the students to
fully understand what it is that they will be learning.
Content Outline:
I. Core Lesson 1 The Geography of Our World
A. Welcome to Geography
- Geography: The study of our world and our place in it. It describes the
land, water, and living things that surround us.
- Geography is the study of the people and places of Earth
- Geography explains the forces that shape the land
- Geography helps us understand our environment

- Environment: includes all the surroundings and conditions that

affect living things
- Water, land, plants, animals, and weather are all part of an environment
Q: What is Geography?
A: Geography is the study of the people and places on Earth
- Geographers ask 3 questions about a place:
1. Where is it?
2. Why is it there?
3. What is it like there?
- Physical and Human features
- Physical features: Things we find in nature
- Include landforms, such as mountains and valleys
- Include bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers
- Examples of physical features: Wind, Rain, Plants, Animals, Trees, &
Soil
- Human features: Describe the way people live in a place
- Geographers look at the languages people speak in different places, kinds
of food people eat, jobs people have and beliefs they hold
Q: What physical and human features make places different?
A: Physical features: Mountains, valleys, and bodies of water, plants,
animals, and soil. Human features: Language, jobs, food, and beliefs
B. Where in The World Are You?
- Globes and maps can show the exact location of any place on Earths surface
- Earth is shaped like a ball Shape = sphere
- Globe: Shows Earths continents, or large masses of land
- The 7 continents are:
1. North America
2. South America
3. Asia
4. Africa
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia
- Earths Oceans
- The oceans of the Earth are:
1. Atlantic
2. Arctic
3. Indian
4. Pacific
- Ocean: Huge body of salty water