Level 2 Lesson 3 LP Paige & Ally

2.A. During my geography lesson, I taught three second-level students a lesson about locating

significant cities and states on a United States political map. I first handed out sticky notes with the

cardinal directions on each (N, W, E, S) and asked the students to place the cardinal directions on the

accurate areas around their political map. Then, I taught the students about intermediate directions (NE,

NW, SE, SW) and asked them to place them on the map correctly. The students could identify the cardinal

and intermediate directions accurately and use those vocabulary terms fluently throughout the lesson. The

students struggled when I asked them to identify the capital of Texas, one student expressing the answer

as “Dallas” and another student stating “Houston.” I explained to the students that the capital of Texas is

Austin and asked the students if any of them had ever been to Austin before. When all of the students

replied “no,” I knew it might be a struggle for them to identify Austin on the map. I asked the students to

do their best to try and locate Austin on the map with their expo marker. All three students were able to

place their dot in the state of Texas, but no student was able to identify where Austin was on the political

map correctly. After showing students where Austin was on a map of Texas, they could accurately draw a

dot symbolizing where the capital of Texas was. I then asked them to place another dot in Fort Worth.

Most of the students understood that Fort Worth was North of Austin. However, other students still

struggled to locate Fort Worth. I provided them with hints stating that Fort Worth is NorthEast of Austin.

The students then had a better idea of where Fort Worth was located, and after a bit of struggling and hard

work, the students were able to identify Austin. Next, I told the students that I would be going on a “road

trip” from Texas to Florida. I modeled the I-DO YOU-DO framework by demonstrating using centimeter

cubes by placing them on the map starting in Texas and placing cubes in Florida. I then asked students to

say which states I went to during my “road trip”, and they were able to label each state I passed through

on my “road trip.” I then asked the students to use centimeter cubes to model another route from Texas to

Florida and name all the states they passed through. The students were then asked to create their own

“road trip” from Austin to Washington D.C. with centimeter cubes, and I asked them to express all the
states they went through to get to Washington D.C. from Austin. I was able to see student creativity when

they were deciding their routes and their prior knowledge of political maps when asking them questions.

The children could model a “road trip accurately” and follow directions according to the teacher’s

instructions. The students made it easy to follow my “original plan” and were excited to explore the

political map and learn more about the United States.

2.B. My TEKS was Social Studies 2.4.B. The student is expected to locate places, including the

local community, Texas, the United States, the state capital, the U.S. capital, and the bordering countries

of Canada and Mexico on maps and globes.

One lesson objective my team wrote on the lesson plan stated: by the end of the lesson, students

will locate Texas, the capital of Texas (Austin), and the capital of the United States (Washington, D.C.) on

a political map of the United States with 100% accuracy. The other lesson objective my team wrote on the

lesson plan stated: at the end of the lesson, students will identify states they would pass through on a

“road trip” from Austin, Texas to Washington, D.C., with 100% accuracy.

My team’s lesson objective aligned with the TEKS because of similar vocabulary by using the

word “locate” that followed the language stated in the TEKS. We noted that students would be able to

locate Texas, the capital of Texas (Austin), and the capital of the United States (Washington, D.C.) on a

political map of the United States. The TEKS we were assigned states that students are expected to locate

places, including the local community, Texas, the United States, the state capital, the U.S. capital, and the

bordering countries of Canada and Mexico, on maps and globes. Using similar vocabulary, we ensured

that our lesson corresponded with the expectations aligned in the TEKS. Also, the students were able to

locate places, specifically significant cities such as Austin, TX, Fort Worth, TX, and Washington D.C.,

and were able to locate Texas.

Although the students struggled, I believe the students met our lesson objective because, with

assistance from the teacher, they could accurately locate Texas, the capital of Texas (Austin), and the

capital of the United States (Washington, D.C.). The students struggled during the process, but with the
teacher’s help, they could locate major cities in the United States. In our Play Class last semester, we

learned the importance of valuing the process instead of the product. This gives children time to explore,

fail, and explore again and allows children to play with ideas rather than focus exclusively on solutions.

So, I believe the students succeeded and struggled to learn in this way. Students were able to locate Texas

and Washington D.C. with ease; however, the students worked to find Austin (which was not labeled

directly on the map). However, they attempted to locate Austin, and by the end of the lesson, they were

able to describe and label the city of Austin, TX, accurately. The students were also able to identify states

they would pass through on a “road trip” from Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C., with 100% accuracy.

Each of the three students could correctly identify each state they would have to pass through to get from

Austin to Washington, D.C. The students all completed this task with little to no error.

2.C. One strength of my lesson is that the lesson resulted in students learning something new. The

students were able to learn more about political maps by identifying border states, learning to locate the

United States capital, learning to find the capital of Texas, and being introduced to a map of all fifty

states. I assessed students’ prior knowledge by starting the lesson by asking them geographical questions

such as, “What is the capital of Texas?” and “What is the capital of the United States?” The students

struggled to answer those questions and did not previously learn this information. However, after the

lesson, when I asked, “So, what is the capital of Texas?” all the students could express that the answer

was Austin.

Another strength of the lesson was that it was appropriately challenging (not too easy or too

difficult). The lesson was developmentally appropriate and could follow the TEKS, allowing the students

to be exposed to a United States political map and use expo markers on the map to answer specific

questions. For example, the students did not understand Austin’s location, but all knew that Austin was in

Texas. The students all made guesses on where Austin was located. After assisting them with finding

Austin on the political map, I asked them to label Fort Worth. When the students did not know where Fort

Worth was, I explained that it was NorthEast of Austin. This allowed students to be more successful in
locating Fort Worth on a map. Although they struggled, they learned new information about major cities

and states on a political map.

Another strength of my lesson is that it was personally meaningful to students. In Education

Psychology, we are learning that students create memories and remember information when they can

develop meaning behind that information. We are learning that students need to derive meaning from a

context and need to create something important out of it. Knowing this information, I wanted to allow

students to create meaning from their learning information. So, I asked students to identify Fort Worth, a

place they lived and asked them to identify states they had been to. I also asked students where they

would want to travel to from Fort Worth. I wanted students to develop meaning from the lesson by telling

them facts about Austin and asking them if they had been to Austin and how long they thought it would

take to drive from Fort Worth to Austin. By trying to develop meaning, such as allowing students to

locate their favorite city on the map, the students would be more likely to remember the information

thrown at them. By developing meaning from their environment, the students are more likely to store this

information for their long-term memory.

Collecting a map sample from students before planning the lesson informed my lesson plan

because it allowed me to gain background knowledge on students’ map knowledge. I knew that Ethan

struggled with geography, so I could make differentiation for him to help him be more successful during

this lesson. I understood that Ethan had experienced difficulty understanding cardinal direction after

asking him questions about his map sample. So, I provided him with a printed compass rose which he

could use throughout the lesson when needed.

I learned about geography from this assignment that it is essential for teachers to gather

information about a student’s prior knowledge. I learned that ​assessment helps teachers plan instruction.

In the Parker (2009) reading, Mrs. Rivera gathered intel by assessing what her students already knew

when creating a lesson plan on locating states and geographical features on a United States map. Mrs.

Rivera used the information she gathered to conduct a lesson plan and monitor individualized student

progress. I felt as if I conducted an assessment similar to Mrs. Rivera by asking students to locate Austin
on a political map. When I noticed the students struggling, I did not just give them the answer, I wanted

them to try their best, so I could gather intel on their prior knowledge of locating major cities in Texas.

The map production is called a supply assessment, and I expressed to my students the learning goal or

target as they completed the activity. I was collecting baseline data for what students already know. It is

essential to set goals for students and show what they already know to best plan for future effective

instruction.

Another thing I learned about geography from this assignment is that teachers must understand

geographic terms/tools to teach and assess geography. I learned the importance of knowing where major

cities are located and the importance of knowing the capitals of each state. I now understand the

importance of using cardinal and intermediate directions when teaching students to explain where places

are located on a map. I learned that students are inquisitive, and teachers should be prepared and

knowledgeable about what the students are asking. For example, a student asked if Washington D.C. was

in Virginia. Since I was knowledgeable about this topic, I could express to students that technically,

Washington D.C. is not located in Virginia. However, the students could still locate Washington D.C. and

Virginia on the political map.

If I could teach this lesson again, I would have also brought in a map of Texas to help students get

a better understanding of major cities in Texas. The students struggled to pinpoint Austin on the political

map even after I showed them where to place the dot. I wish I had a map of Texas that showed the

students the major cities to understand Austin’s location in Texas and where Austin is in relation to Fort

Worth. The students would have also been excited about locating other cities in Texas that are familiar

and meaningful to them.

I worked with Paige Czepiel to plan the lesson. We worked together on the Lesson Plan and

worked on all the corrections. We both worked on different parts of the lesson but made it a goal to work

on the lesson objectives together. We broke up the differentiation for each of our students but then created

differentiation for our whole group. The planning experience was exciting to me as I am very interested in

geography and enjoyed planning this lesson and feel as if the students enjoyed it as well.