Context

These social studies lessons were created for CI 3110 under the advisement of Dr. Claire Mamola.  These lessons were taught to a sixth grade classroom at Mountain View Elementary in Ashe County, <ST1:STATE><SPAN>NC</SPAN></ST1:STATE>. The lessons were on the regions of the US, including: the Northeast, the South and the Midwest.  This topic is important for students to know so that they have an idea of where they are located within the US.  It is important for them to understand how the states are grouped and what common characteristics they may share. 

Impact

The purpose of the lessons were to teach my students about the regions of the United States. 

When I was planning for these lessons, I tried to come up with activities which would not only be educational, but fun and interesting so that I could keep the students focused on what I was teaching them.  If my activities were fun, hopefully the students would absorb more of the information as compared to if I was just directly teaching it to them.

In the beginning of the first lesson, we held a class discussion so I could find out what my students already knew about the regions of the US.  Many students knew what regions were, but they did not know how they were classified.  One student did not know what regions were and I thought it was interesting that he told me that <ST1:STATE><ST1:PLACE><SPAN>West Virginia</SPAN></ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE> was in <ST1:STATE><ST1:PLACE><SPAN>Virginia</SPAN></ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE>.  From this I concluded he not only did not know his regions, he was unable to recognize some of his states as well. 

The first form of assessment I did for the first section of this chapter was have the children create a travel brochure with a partner.  They were to pick one state within the Northeast region and create a brochure to try to attract tourists to that particular state. 

Throughout the week I saw an overall improvement in my students' grades. Their grades continued to increase and get better. I am very proud of my students and their progress over the course of teaching my social studies lessons.  I do feel that they learned a lot from the lessons and overall their worksheets, map, and class activities show this. 

Alignment

I have met Standard 4, indicator 6 and its details, because I had my students label a map of the US with the important locations listed within the chapter.  They had to label mountains, cities, and lakes.  Also, we talked about the environmental issues that are arising from people heavily populating an area within a region.  We discussed pollution issues as well as over-population.

I have met Standard 4, indicator 7 and its details, because we talked about industrialization in the Northeast, in areas such as <ST1:STATE><ST1:PLACE><SPAN>New York</SPAN></ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE>.  We discussed as a class the affects of industrialization of an area socially and environmentally.  We also discussed agriculture.  The students learned about how agriculture is extremely important in some areas, and how without it, there may be a decrease within that region’s economy.

I have met Standard 4, indicator 14 and its detail, because I used a blank map of the US in my lessons and had the students label them with important places from each region.  This allowed the students to be able to apply it to their lives because we talked about who had visited what state and how important it is we know where we are located within the United States.  The students learned how to label a map and were able to build upon this skill everyday.

I have met Standard 7, indicator 3, because I used my students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions about the regions to build upon and teach them knew things about the regions.  An example is when one of my students thought <ST1:STATE><ST1:PLACE><SPAN>West Virginia</SPAN></ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE> was in <ST1:STATE><ST1:PLACE><SPAN>Virginia</SPAN></ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE>.  This was a misconception he had and by the end of our unit, it was cleared up and the student had learned a lot more about the Southern region, in which both of these states are found.

I have met Standard 7, indicator 4, because I used a variety of teaching and communication strategies in my lesson.  I read to the students for those who are auditory learners, I had some of the students read to me, I did hands-on activities for those students who are visual learners, and we also did activities which encouraged all students to use critical thinking skills.

I have met Standard 7, indicator 6, because I modified my instruction and assessments to meet the needs of individual students.  For my deaf student, I had the interpreter sign to her and I also had her doing hands-on activities which she could use her sight for and not have to rely on her hearing.  I also had to modify for my students who are on a low reading level.  Several of the students are pulled out to go to a reading specialist, and I had to work around them leaving the room and making sure to get with them on a one-on-one basis to explain the assignments to them.

I have met Standard 7, indicator 7, because I used several varieties of assessments with my students.  I assessed them reading out loud, or answering questions as a class, they worked with their peers to create a class poem, they worked with partners to create a travel brochure for a region, and they worked independently on several projects such as designing a new state quarter.

I have met Standard 11, indicator 1, because I was able to incorporate communication into my lesson.  My students, on several occasions, had to communicate with me on what they were learning.  An example of this is when they each came up with lines to contribute to the class poem.

I have met Standard 11, indicator 5, because I had the students use technology to collect information and then display it in different ways.  For example, they used the internet and book resources to find information about a state within the Northeast region.  Then they created a travel brochure for that state.  Each brochure was unique and original from each group. 

I have met Standard 12 because I was able to incorporate art into my lessons on several occasions.  My students created travel brochures, poetry, and designed a new state quarter.  There were several artistic aspects of these activities including:  design, coloring, and creative writing.

I have met Standard 14, indicator 5, because I used bias-free literature in my lessons.  I made sure that none of the instructional materials I was using or any of the material I was teaching involved any racial or sexist views or comments, stereotypical perspectives, or derogatory comments.