Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: The Exploration and creation of maps

Objectives:
Students will be able to discuss the idea that maps represent a wide range of spaces, whether
small, like their bedroom, or big, like the town they live in.
Students will be able to create a map of their bedroom and classroom that includes a map title
and map key/ legend.
State Standards:
Standard 2: Utilize the college and career skills of a geographer to apply map skills and draw conclusions
about place in one’s personal community.

K.G.1 Identify a map, various map features, and explain the purpose of maps.

K.G.2 Utilize sources of geographic information (e.g., digital sources, maps, or

photographs/images) to define and identify cultural and/or natural features.

K.G.3 Describe and compare the cultural and natural environment around one’s home and
school by constructing a visual representation.

Context:
This lesson is a kindergarten social studies geography lesson focusing on exploring the idea that
maps can represent something as small as a room or as big as the world itself and the act of
creating a map on their own. Before this lesson, the students and I reviewed multiple maps and
created a map of the school together, so students will enter into this lesson with the previous
knowledge of what a map is, how it is used, what it should look like, the different elements of a
map including map title and map keys/legend, why maps need to contain these elements, what
the app Google Maps is, and how to create a map. This lesson is important because students must
understand that maps represent a large scale of places regardless of size. This lesson is also
important because students must learn how to independently create a map. Students creating their
own maps allows them to develop a higher understanding of maps, how they are created, what
they should contain, and why. This lesson will be a jumping-off point for students to compare
how different environments have similarities and differences; for example, in the next lesson,
students will compare the bedroom maps they created of their room to determine that they share
some qualities and differ in others, which will provide a stepping stool into the comparing
different natural and cultural environments.
Data:
Students will be grouped into three groups of four or five, depending on the number of students
in class. This process is conducted randomly by using a cup of the students’ names and choosing
the names out of the cup to create the groups. Grouping students in this way allows them to
socialize and work with other classmates they might not traditionally socialize with. Data will be
collected at the beginning of the lesson through a Kahoot game to determine students'
understanding of previous knowledge, and their completed project in the activities in today’s
lesson will allow me to assess who needs more help. Observing the students as they work
together will allow me to determine which students work better together.
Materials:
Part of Materials Used
Lesson
Introduction  Smartboard
 Kahoot
 iPads for Kahoot
 YouTube video “Martha Maps it Out by Leigh
Hodgkinson”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=DbAb8RfnxXg
Teacher  Teacher Laptop
Directed  Google maps: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.google.android.apps.maps&hl=en_US&gl=US
 Students’ notebooks
 Pencils
Collaborative  Pencils
 Colored pencils or markers
 3 pieces of craft paper cut before the lesson about the size
of a small group table (one for each group)
 YouTube video “Make Your Own Classroom Map”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ljlcUWs3ffg&list=LL&index=4
 iPad to view video
Independent  YouTube Video “Bedroom Map-Use a KEY”:
Digital https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wKE_PcxaaC8&list=LL&index=3
 Worksheet:https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3e/bc/
f8/3ebcf8122db1f75011a164effb8ec758.jpg
 Pencils
 Colored pencils or markers
Closure  Smartboard
 Students’ notebooks
 Pencils
 Maps they created in the stations
Procedures:
Introduction (20 minutes):
This lesson will take place after the students’ science lesson and will be the last lesson of the
day. I will communicate to the students that the science lesson has ended, and we will now be
entering into our social studies section of the day, where we will continue learning about
geography and maps. Students will be given time to put up their science materials, gather their
iPads, and get situated in their seats before I begin the lesson. To start the lesson, I will explain to
students that we will take a Kahoot quiz to review the previous knowledge they learned about
maps from earlier lessons. At this time, I will pull up the Kahoot on the smartboard, and the
students will enter the game on their iPads. Once every student has entered into the system, I will
start the quiz. During the quiz, I will take a moment after each question to explain what the
correct answer is and why it is correct. When we finish the quiz, I will explain to the students
that today, we will be learning about how a map can represent a wide range of places, including
small like a room or big like the whole earth, and they will practice creating their own maps.
Next, I will play the YouTube video of the book “Martha Maps it Out” by Leigh Hodgkinson
being read aloud. During the video, after each page has been read, I will pause the video before
the reader moves to the next page to explain the map shown. For example, the first pause will be
done after the page about the solar system has been read, where I will pause the video and
explain how the map showcases the whole solar system and all the planets in the solar system.
After the video is done, I will explain to the students that today, we will be splitting up into
groups and working in stations. At this time, I will group the students into three groups of 4 or 5
students, depending on the number of students in class, and explain what each station will be
doing.
Teacher Directed (15 minutes):
The teacher-directed station will take place at the small group table, where the students
will sit in a semi-circle around me and my laptop. To begin the lesson, I will ask the students if
they have any questions about maps and what we reviewed in the Kahoot quiz. After questions, I
will review what Google Maps is and how people mostly use it for directions. Once I have
reviewed the app and asked them if they have any questions about the app, I will instruct the
students to open up their social studies notebook, go to a new page, and title the page “All the
things seen on Google Maps,” and will tell them that we are creating a list of all the things we
see using Google Maps. At the same time, I will pull up the Google Map app on my laptop and
start in a room at the school. Now, I will flip the laptop around so all students can see the room
in the school. I will explain that Google Maps allows us to see a map of something small like this
single classroom in our school without having to be in the room. Students will now write room as
the first item on their list. After they have finished, I will zoom out or move out of the room until
I can see multiple rooms and explain that now Google Maps is allowing us to see many rooms in
the school, which students will write as the second item in their list. Then, we will repeat those
steps until we see the whole outside of the buildings, multiple buildings, the neighborhood, the
town, multiple towns, the state, multiple states, the United States, North America, and finally, all
the continents. At the end of this station, I will explain how Google Maps and most other maps
allow us to see some small stuff like the classroom we saw or towns and big things like when we
saw all the continents. I will then take questions until it is time to change stations.
Collaborative (15 minutes):
At the collaborative station, the group will work together to create a map of the
classroom. The group will go to one of the tables with their colored pencils or markers and iPads,
and one student will gather one big piece of craft paper I cut earlier that day. Students will now
watch the YouTube video “Make Your Own Classroom Map,” where another teacher will
explain that today, they will be creating a map of their classroom and what creating a map from a
bird’s eye point of view means. After the video, students will work together to create a map of
the classroom. This assignment will be graded less on the accuracy of the map and more on how
the students worked together and if they included a map title and map key/legend.
Independent Digital (15 minutes):
In this station, students will sit at a table together and use their iPads to watch the
YouTube video " Bedroom Map-Use a Map," where another teacher explains how to create a
map of your bedroom by using a map she created as an example throughout the video. After the
video has finished, students will use the remaining time to create a map of their bedroom using
the worksheet pictured below and their colored pencils or markers.

Closure (20 minutes):

At the end of the lesson, we will all clean up our stations, then gather back together in the
front of the classroom with the maps they created in the stations. I will ask the students if any of
them would like to show the class the map they have created of their bedroom and then allow
them the time to share their drawings and talk about it while asking questions about how they
chose to represent some of the parts of their room, why did they choose certain colors to draw
those objects in. Then, each group will share the map they created of the classroom and talk
about it in the same way we talked about the map of the bedroom earlier. Next, I will review
with the students what we saw and did in the teacher-directed activity and ask them to name
some of the things we saw using Google Maps and write their answers on the board. I will then
explain how today they created two different maps of different scales and using Google Maps,
they saw all the different scales of maps that can exist and how technology can help us see and
use them. As an exit ticket to today’s lesson, I will have them go back to their table and write in
their social studies notebook on the same page as they created their list from earlier their answer
to one of the following questions, “What was your line of thinking when creating your maps
today?” or “ What was your process in creating your maps today?” Smaller levels of questions to
guide these answers include what you decided to draw first, why, and why they used a certain
shape to represent that object. After being given the time to write, I will instruct students to bring
me their notebooks and to get ready for dismissal.

Rationale:
1. Kahoot Game
a. Using the Kahoot multimedia at the beginning of the lesson allows me to assess
the students' understanding of previous knowledge they will need to complete
today’s lesson. The Kahoot game also fulfills the LORI criteria. It has perfect
content quality because, as the teacher, I can create the content to fit what I need
to assess in the students, so it can be created to fit any learning goal or standard, it
tells students the correct answer and allows me to explain why it is the correct
answer, and it keeps students motivated to try their best and earn points for
getting an answer right. Kahoot is also designed so it is easy to use with
kindergarten students and can be reused for any lesson of any standard. Kahoot
also allows students with physical disabilities the ability to participate in
interactive lessons. For example, it is easier for a student with a physical disability
to select the answer on the iPad than to hold a pencil and circle the answer.
2. YouTube Video: “Martha Maps it Out by Leigh Hodgkinson.”
a. I chose this video because the book being read accurately fits the lesson because
each page shows a different scale map. For example, the book starts with a map of
the universe, then the solar system, earth, a city and continues until the map is of a
single girl’s bedroom. Using a video of someone reading the book out loud
instead of buying the book and reading it in person to the students allows the
students to better see the book because it will be played on the large smartboard in
the front of the room so all students can see it, especially any students with vison
problems or who are hard of hearing because they can better see the pictures or
words when displayed on the smartboard than if I was holding the book and
reading it out loud to them. This piece of multimedia also allows me to pause the
video at different points so I can explain each map to the students and allow time
for them to ask questions.
3. Google Maps
a. Using the app Google Maps as part of the lesson allows students to see real-life
examples of different scales of maps and how technology is used to showcase
these maps. Google Maps fits the standard because it shows students different
scales of maps, and the students are more engaged in the lesson when they can
physically see the map move from showing a small room to seeing how the app
allows the map to get larger and larger. Google Maps also allows me to show
students any part of the world, which can be especially helpful when some
students may not have the opportunity to see things in person or for kindergarten
students who are unable to visualize abstract ideas and need concrete examples.
4. YouTube Video: “Make Your Own Classroom Map”
a. I chose this multimedia video because it briefly describes the assignment so
students can again be reminded of what they are doing at the station. The video
also introduces and explains new vocabulary words such as floor plan and bird’s
eye view. The video also fits the LORI criteria because it has high-quality content
that emphasizes key points, accurately fits into the standard and curriculum the
students are learning in this lesson, and is age-appropriate for my kindergarten
students. Providing the students with the video also allows them to review the
instructions if they get confused or cannot remember what they are supposed to be
doing. The video also comes with closed captioning that can help hard-of-hearing
students, and the video can also auto-translate the captions into other languages,
which is helpful for English Language Learners.
5. YouTube Video: “Bedroom map- Use a Key”
a. Like the video used in the collaborative station, this video also explains to
students what they will be doing in that station. The video also fits the LORI
criteria because it emphasizes the key points of the assignment, matches the
objectives and learning goals of being able to create a map of their bedroom, is
appropriate for my kindergarten students, and the teacher explaining the
instructions uses a simple background and created a simple but accurate map to
use as an example to show the students. Using the video also allows students to
review the instructions multiple times throughout the station if they need more
help or need to be reminded of the instructions again. The video also has closed
captioning and will auto-translate the video into any language, which is very
helpful for any hard-of-hearing students or students who are English Language
Learners.