Gwynedd Mercy University

School of Business and Education

Name: Camryn Guertse Grade/Level: 2nd Grade

Topic: How geography affects residents of specific regions

PA Core or Academic Standard(s): (1 point) PA Geography 7.3 Human Characteristics of

places and regions

Big Idea(s): (1 point) Geography, food, and climate are select examples that determine and
affect the way we survive and how many people do things.

Essential Questions: (1 point)

What are the different types of shelters citizens live in in different regions?
What are the different styles of clothing men and women wear in different regions?
What effect does weather or temperature have based on different regions?

Objective/Performance Expectation(one sentence): What will students know and be able to do

as a result of this lesson? (1 point)

Students will distinguish the differences of cultures and regions based off their research of their
assigned region and their classmates’ findings by filling in a designed T-chart identifying the
major differences. Students will participate in a class discussion how the type of communities
affects individuals and present what they learned.

I. PLANNING AND PREPARATION:

1. Briefly describe the students in your class, including those with special needs. Explain
how you will meet the needs of ALL learners (Differentiated Instruction). (2 points)

This is a second-grade typical classroom. There are 26 students in the class: 17 girls and 9
boys. There are two students in the class with a reading disability: dyslexia. I will have a
specially designed system when they are researching on a laptop or iPad a feature that will
read the text to them. When assigning tasks and presenting information I will highlight the
essential information and simplify written directions. Lastly, I will meet the needs of all
learners by introducing different methods of learning styles. For example, I will have a
PowerPoint including pictures for visual learners. The whole PowerPoint can also be for
visual learners as well as and a class discussion for auditory learners. When students access
laptops or iPad it enables visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners to succeed.
 2. List the specific standard and expectations as outlined in the PA Core/Academic
Standards (SAS). (1 point)
a. PA Geography 7.3 Human Characteristics of places and regions
(i) 7.3.2: Grade 2
(ii) 7.3.2.A: identify the effect of local geography on the residents of the
region (food, clothing, industry, trades, types of shelter, etc.)

3. Explain the psychological principles/theories you used in constructing this lesson and
explain how it is manifested in the lesson. (2 points)

In this lesson Cognitive Learning Theory will be used developed by Vygotsky. It gives
students a chance to help process their thoughts and I will allow opportunities for
students to share their own experiences. During the end of the lesson, a class discussion
will be held to discuss what students have found about each region, then for final
thoughts, and comments. The discussion will create a wrap up of the lesson about what
the students have gained and can think out loud with their thoughts.

II. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT:

4. Describe the effective classroom routines and procedures resulting in little or no loss of
instructional time. Include basic routines, procedures, and managing environment. (1
point
In the morning, students will enter the classroom while using indoor voices. They will take
their bookbags and lunch bags to their assigned closet number. They will grab their needed
materials from their schoolbags, place it in their desk to be prepared for the school day, and
then take a seat. Attendance will be taken and during that time, from the previous school day,
students will place their homework assignment on the top left corner of their desk to be
collected.

Students will then get started with the day and complete the “Do Now” activity on the front
board. If it is not stated, students must remain silent and not work with a partner or other
classmates. Once the class and I have reviewed the activity as a class we will then prepare
and start the school day with planned lessons.

At the end of the class day, we will close up our lesson with questions students have and
review the homework. Students will then get up from their seats table by table in a set order
to retrieve their belongings from their closet number. Once they gather their belongings, the
students will line up at the door for dismissal the same order from when they went to the
closet with my permission and commands.

5. Identify what you will do to set clear standards of conduct and behavior management of
student behavior. (1 point)

The start of the school year with new students, I introduce my expectations poster. Within the
first month I believe it is best to go over the classroom expectations once a day in the
 morning to remind my students what I am looking for throughout the schoolyear and how to
succeed. This allows my students to become more familiarized with the expectations and
better follow them throughout the year. The poster is located on the top right wall on the
front board next to the smartboard. Students can reference the poster at any given point
during the school year if needed. On my expectations poster I have listed: Be respectful, be
responsible, be honest, be polite, be on task, keep hands, feet, objects, and negative
comments to self, keep your area clean, raise your hand to speak, and do not interrupt others
while they are speaking.
Progress folders are made for each student starting the first day of class. I will explain that
they are used for recording student’s behavior during the schoolyear for everyday use. If
classroom expectations are followed, they will receive a stamp for that day on the calendar.
At the end of the year, they will be added up and there will be a small reward for those who
reach advanced for their outstanding achievement from my expectations. Instead of creating
a method where something can be taken away from a student and discourage them, I will
attempt to motivate them more with a reward at the end of the year.

6. Identify what you will do to establish expectations for student achievement. (1 point)

My expectation is that students will come to class prepared, ready to learn, and put in effort
to achieve their best work. I will remind my students every day before lessons and activities
to do what they know and can do and if they are stuck then raise a quite hand for more help.
For this lesson I will be hanging out checklists along with given directions on the smart
board. I will split the class into twos, one half being assigned to learn the affect Philadelphia
has on its residents and the other half of the class researching Alaska. Students will also be
given a certain time limit to complete the activity, so we do not fall behind as a class. The
checklist will allow students to have what they need in front of them to be prepared to
complete the activity. There will be specific questions I will have listed on the checklist and
once the students are able to answer that question, they will have the satisfaction of checking
it off. During the activity, I will remind them to raise their hand if they have a question or
concern. I will also be walking around the classroom to evaluate their progress and giving
positive praise to the students and their work.

III. INSTRUCTION:

List Materials Needed: PowerPoint discussing directions, image of map. Examples of what
unique things make up geographic locations. KWL chart. T-chart including checklist for students
to fill in. Classroom laptops/iPads.

7. Motivation Activities/Strategies: (1 point)

How will you generate interest or focus your lesson for the students?
I will generate interest for my lesson for the students by bringing in props. I will use
myself as an example for the lesson of my background and what my culture has to offer. I
will bring in an article of clothing from my German background, I will display a picture
of the different kinds of popular foods, and two pictures side by side how the city of
Philadelphia looks versus a city in Germany and explain the clear differences presented. I
 will then ask my students if anyone would like to share something about them that is
unique and different from other parts in the world.

8. Prior Knowledge Activities/Strategies: (1 point)

How will you activate prior knowledge, build background, or review previous
lessons?
I will activate prior knowledge or build background knowledge by first having my
students apply what they already know about what makes different parts of the world
unique and differ from one another. I will have them complete a KWL chart but leave the
L portion blank for the end of class to complete. I will then ask my students if the topics
remind them of any experiences they have had in their life in school or at home.

9. Sequence of Lesson: What learning activities/strategies will you use to engage the
students in the learning? What will students do to use and apply new concepts or skills
(independent practice if relevant)? How will you monitor and guide their performance?
Include relevant vocabulary. (Please use bullets to sequence your lesson) (3 points)

• Introduce my own findings with my background and share that to the class.
• Activate prior knowledge.
• Explain how geography can impact the way people live and make decisions in their everyday
life.
• Introduce the map of the United States in a PowerPoint and then broken down specifically to
show Philadelphia, PA and Alaska.
• Specify and point out Philadelphia and Alaska on map.
• Split the class into two parts. One side of the class will be assigned Philadelphia and the other
section will be assigned to focus on Alaska.
• What makes parts of our country unique and different from all being the same. Ex: cultures.
• Using laptop/iPad to research assigned regions.
• Complete the given checklist to complete T-chart fully.
• Participate in class discussion from findings how geographic locations effects its residents.
• Finish L column: what I learned in KWL charts and will be used as a summative assessment.

10. Level of Learning/Assessment Evidence (1 point)

How will you know if students grasped the material? What techniques/strategies
will you use to assess learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy)? Identify what informal
and/or formal assessments you will use to monitor student learning. Also identify
if this will be formative or summative.
I will know my students have grasped the material from the lesson by evaluating the
progress of their research and information added on their T-chart. The T-chart will be
used for a formative assessment. I will have a copy of the t-chart next to me to make sure
they have recorded all the material properly that I have assigned. When walking around
the classroom, I will carry the behavior calendar log around, making small notes and
assessing their overall progress. I will use the class discussion as another formative
assessment. The interactive class discussion allows me to grasp what they know and their
performance allowing any last questions/concerns. Lastly, when the KWL charts are
collected, I will use the last column “what have I learned” as the major formative
 assessment what they have gained from their classmates of the region they were not
assigned.

11. What will you do to bring closure to the lesson? How will you summarize this lesson and
preview the lesson that will follow? (2 points)

I will bring closure to the lesson by using the class discussion to allow my students to tell
me what they have learned and the knowledge they’ve gained from the lesson. After the
discussion I will summarize the lesson of how geographic location can impact residents
from culture, climate, clothing, shelters. etc. During the lesson, we were able to research
new findings and information that allow us to understand the difference of how
geographic locations can make on its residents. For the next lesson we will discuss how
tools in geography are used to collect and organize information.
Name: Please fill in column that you are assigned.

Checklist Philadelphia Alaska

Shelter(s):

Clothing:

Weather/Climate:

Population:

Other:
What I learned box will be completed at the end of class.