Class: 7th Grade/Social Studies                               

Teacher:Lee Ann Erickson               Unit: Trade and Culture

Date: 11/08                                         Topic: Eastern Hemisphere Geography

Lesson Title:Resources and Trade   

Content Objective:

Students will be able to identify and label several countries and continents in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Literacy Objectives:

Students will research ancient trade routes on the internet and takes notes based on what they find.

Materials/Resources needed:pencils or pens, computer, Cornell notes from 11/07, personal atlases, class set of laminated maps, colored pencils, PDF for the Culture of Candyland story, presentation on Transportation.

**Adaptations: Students who need assistance reading or researching will be able to ask their fellow students for assistance or myself. Because today is primarily a “catch up” day after the presentation on Candyland and Transportation there is plenty of time to spend clarifying anything those students need.

Note to self:

Write on the board Agenda items:

All homework items Due tomorrow!

1. Present “Culture of Candyland” story

2. Transportation Presentation

3. Finish Personal Atlases

4. Finish research on EH country

Welcome/Fill in Agendas

Log on to computers turn off the monitor and settle down please also please note that all homework is due tomorrow.

Set                              

The first thing I want to do is read to you the story I put together that is based on the elements of culture for Candyland.  I had a lot of fun putting this together; you were all very creative with your elements.

                                                                                                                                            10 min

Set: Project an image of the different vehicles used today for transportation.

Input:

Take a look at this photo....this shows what trade routes look like today. I want you to do some research to find out what trade routes looked like in the beginning. Did they follow the same trade routes that they do now?  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                10 min

The rest of the class time is for doing research, you can use the purple history books to look at trade; you can use the Internet to look up what you can about the history of trade in these Eastern Hemisphere countries. Please remember to take notes on what you find, you will be turning those in tomorrow at the end of class.

                                                                                                                                                20 min

Closure:

Who wants to share what they discovered during their research? Did anyone look at the book? Which ones did they list? Isn’t it interesting to see how much transportation has changed throughout the several centuries?

Daily Reflection:

            Today was originally planned to be a catch up/finish projects day; however, since we had to push back starting the trade route research as well as the start date for the Personal Atlas because of the necessity of spending more time on the lessons about culture and mapping.  Despite pushing back the time line I had originally planned at this point in the lesson I am very happy where the students are at with this unit.  They have a greater depth of understanding of the topics of culture and of the geography that we’ve covered, than I had anticipated. 

            They seemed to enjoy the researching, I think because it was a departure from how I had been teaching their lesson up to that point. While I think the presentations I’ve created haven’t all been the same, I know I want to develop other techniques for teaching the lessons.  

            I was happy to see that some of the students choice to do their research by using the class text. Being able to look up topics in books is just as important as knowing how to find them on Google and I was a little worried that there would be some reluctance to use the books.

            Most of the students used the time today for researching although there were a few students who were more concerned about finishing their Personal Atlas so I went ahead and gave them some time to work on those as well. Tomorrow will be a review and finish day and the research is bonus at this point so I was ok with allowing them to do that.