Geography of the United States Thematic Unit



The United States of America Thematic Unit

Grade 4

Text Set (Books to be used for read alouds, literature circles, mini-lessons and other special projects)

These books will be available for students to read on their own. Students will be encouraged to make notes in their learning logs regarding what they learned about the United States by reading this text. They will also be asked to use their logs to record connections they see between these texts and what they have learned about the United States.

Gaston goes to Mardi Gras by James Rice

Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer

Kiana’s Iditarod by Shelly Gill

M is for Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet by Annie Appleford

When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

The following books will be read aloud to the class.

Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon

This book will be read aloud to the class, and then used as the basis of a discussion about the geographic regions and landforms of the United States. Students will also discuss the use of imagery and descriptive language in this text.

Snowshoe Thompson by Nancy Smiler Levinson

This book will be read aloud to the class. Afterwards, a mini lesson about perspective will be taught, and students will write log entries from the point of view of Pa.

The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller

This book will be read aloud at the start of the unit to introduce the topic to students.

There’s a Map on My Lap!: All about Maps by Tish Rabe

This text will be read aloud before students are taught about the different qualities of maps, and what we can learn from maps.

These texts will be used as a resource for students in their research about a state of their choice.

Celebrate the 50 States by Loreen Leedy

Scholastic Atlas of the United States by David Rubel

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts from all 50 States by

Joan D’Amico

Graphic Organizers (Attached at the end of this document)

Landforms in the United States Graphic Organizer

This graphic organizer will be used at the geography center where students use maps to identify major geographic regions, landforms, and climates.

Regions in the United States Graphic Organizer

This graphic organizer will be used at the geography center where students use maps to identify major geographic regions, landforms, and climates.

Vocabulary Word Graphic Organizer

This graphic organizer will be used at the vocabulary center. After defining all of the words on the word wall, students will fill out this graphic organizer for the three words that they find most interesting.

State Facts Graphic Organizer

This graphic organizer will be used to outline some of the key facts that students discover about the state they are researching.

Internet and Other Multimedia Materials

Computer Games

“I Love the USA”

This computer game will be available for students to use during their free time. It will develop students’ background knowledge about the United States in an entertaining way.

VHS

Tell Me Why: Geography VHS

Trav’s Travels: United States of America VHS

These videos will be shown at the beginning of this thematic unit for the purpose of activating students’ background knowledge about these topics. The videos will also introduce new information about the United States and geography, and will help prepare children for the rest of the unit.

Websites

These websites contains detailed information about each of the 50 states and also feature links to other helpful and informative sites. They will be used by students for research purposes as they complete their final project about a specific state. These sites will not only aid in teaching them key concepts about the United States, but will also provide opportunities for them to experience note taking and summarizing information.

This website contains information about the various biomes found on Earth, and introduces children to the distinct regions of the United States. It will also be used for research purposes.

This website allows students to view printable maps, and also to create their own maps of the United States. It will teach key concepts about the geography of the United States, as well as many key statistics related to the US. It will also familiarize students with maps and their components. The website can be explored during students’ free time, and it will also be used to satisfy the map requirement for the final project that involves children researching a specific state.

This website reports the daily weather conditions at any location in the United States. It will be used at a center in which students record the weather and keep track of news stories for a specific city in the state they are researching. This will also provide opportunities for children to experience note taking and summarizing information.

This website reports daily news stories from any location in the United States. It will be used at a center in which students record the weather and keep track of news stories for a specific city in the state they are researching. This will also provide opportunities for children to experience note taking and summarizing information.

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This website allows students to make their own puzzles. It will be used at the puzzle center where students make word puzzles for their classmates to complete in their free time. This website will help improve children’s vocabulary, since the puzzles they make will use the vocabulary words for this thematic unit.

Key Vocabulary Words

|A B C |D E F G H |I J K L M N |

|Arid |Desert |Iditarod |

|Basin |Deciduous |Imports |

|Climate |Environment |Longitude |

|Coniferous |Exports |Lowland |

|Conservation |Geography |Megalopolis |

|Consumers |Hemisphere |Mountain |

| |Humid |Natural resources |

|O P Q |R S |T U V W X Y Z |

|Partnership |Scale |Taxation |

|Plain |Scarcity |Temperate |

|Plateau |Supply |Trade |

|Population |Symbol |Tropical |

|Prairie | |Tundra |

|Producers | | |

Students will have opportunities to work with these words during many activities in this unit. At one center, children will look up and record definitions for the words, and fill out vocabulary word graphic organizers for their three favorite words. Students will also create word puzzles at the puzzle center. The clues for their puzzles will demonstrate their knowledge of the words. At the first center we are going to have the students look up the definitions of the vocabulary words.

Learning Logs

Students will carry their learning logs with them so that they are constantly able to practice taking notes and summarizing key concepts.

As students read books and research, they will take notes of words they are unfamiliar with, questions that arise, and facts that are especially interesting to them. At the end of the day, students will have between 5 and 7 minutes to share these notes with a peer.

At the news and weather center, students will use their logs to keep track of the weather in their focus city each day. At this center, students will also read news stories from their focus city each day. They will make short notes about the news in their learning logs, and once a week they will complete a longer summary in their log of the most interesting piece of news for the week.

After Snowshoe Thompson by Nancy Smiler Levinson is read aloud, students will write a diary style entry in their learning log from Pa’s perspective. In this entry, they will be asked to explain how they feel about not being able to get home to Danny for Christmas, and will be encouraged to include details about what the climate is like in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where he is stuck.

Literacy Skills and Strategies to Teach

Learning New Vocabulary

While reading books aloud and discussing geography concepts, always point out vocabulary words that the students may be unfamiliar with. Then, model strategies that students could use to figure out words that they do not know, such as decoding the new word by looking at its context within a sentence, making analogies, using content glossaries, dictionaries, or electronic resources.

Organization of Non-Fiction Writing

Before students begin their independent research about the state of their choice, use the following books to lead a mini lesson about the organization of non-fiction writing:

Celebrate the 50 States by Loreen Leedy

Scholastic Atlas of the United States by David Rubel

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts from all 50 States by

Joan D’Amico

Explain how these texts are organized, including characteristics like headings, subheadings, indexes, glossaries and table of contents. Tell students that long texts like these are not always meant to be read in their entirety, but instead, characteristics like those above enable readers to quickly find just the information that they are looking for.

Summarizing

Before students begin to summarize news articles in their learning logs, introduce the center to students by looking up news articles for the city the children live in. As a class, summarize a particularly interesting article. Remind children that summaries only include the most important information.

Taking Notes/Identifying Big Ideas

Read There’s a Map on My Lap!: All about Maps by Tish Rabe aloud to the class. After reading a few pages, stop and model to children how to take notes on the information that was presented in that portion of the book. Explain that notes do not have to be in complete sentences, and that they only highlight the big ideas. After modeling this skill, ask students to take notes on the rest of the book while you read. Be sure to read slowly while students learn this skill, and pause frequently to allow students time to write down what they deem is important.

Literacy Skills and Strategies to Review

Point of View/Perspective

Read Snowshoe Thompson by Nancy Smiler Levinson is aloud, and then lead a class discussion on how the story would be different if it were told from the point of view of various characters in the story. Explain the different perspectives that stories can be told from (first person, narrator, etc.), and then discuss which of these perspectives would be most effective for Snowshoe Thompson. Have students write a diary style entry in their learning log from Pa’s perspective. In this entry, they will be asked to explain how they feel about not being able to get home to Danny for Christmas, and will be encouraged to include details about what the climate is like in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where he is stuck.

Metacognition

Students will naturally be practicing this skill as they record new information they are learning, make notes of questions they have, record new vocabulary words, and write down connections they are seeing. Having an opportunity to share what they are learning with a peer at the end of the day will also strengthen this skill. Throughout the unit, remind students that by writing in their learning logs, they are demonstrating that they can be responsible for their own learning, and that they are able to monitor and regulate their thinking.

Writing using Descriptive Words and Imagery

Read Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon aloud to the class in order to introduce the fact that the United States is made up of many different geographic regions and contains many landforms. After reading the text, lead a discussion about the different types of imagery and descriptive words that were found in the book, and how this enhanced the reading experience. Remind students of the importance of including imagery and descriptive language as they write letters to their friends and family during the dream vacation project.

Centers

Vocabulary Center

At this center, students will look up the definitions of the vocabulary words that we have identified for the word wall. After looking up the words in the dictionary they should write down the definitions of each word in their learning log. Students will then choose their three favorite words, and fill out a vocabulary word graphic organizer for each.

Puzzle Center

At the puzzle center, students will make a word puzzle online to print out for their classmates to complete at . At this center they will be using the vocabulary words that they studied at the vocabulary center and create a hint that will be used to identify that word. The hint will use the vocabulary word in a sentence, such as, “The __________ is a biome that is very cold and covered in permafrost.” Answer: Tundra.

Art Center

At this center, students are going to create a square to add to a quilt that the class will create together. The square that they are creating should represent a state of their choice with significant names, words, phrases, symbols and pictures.

News and Weather Center

At this center, students will visit and to find information about a city of their choice in the state they are researching. They will record the daily weather and keep track of news stories in their learning logs. Once a week, students will write up a longer summary of the most interesting piece of news.

Geography Center

At the geography center, students will use maps, , and informational books to learn about the major geographic regions, landforms, and climates found in the United States. They will fill out both the landforms in the United States graphic organizer, and the regions in the United States graphic organizer to illustrate the knowledge they gained through their explorations. Children will also be given a blank map and asked to use various colors to label the different geographic regions and landforms.

Reading Center

Here, students will have a chance to read selections from the text set. As students read books and research, they will take notes of words they are unfamiliar with, questions that arise, and facts that are especially interesting to them. At the end of the day, students will have between 5 and 7 minutes to share these notes with a peer. Students will also be encouraged to make notes in their learning logs regarding what they learned about the United States by reading these texts. They will also be asked to use their logs to record connections they see between these texts and what they have learned about the United States.

Culminating Projects

State Research Project

For this project, each student in the class will choose a different state to research using informational texts and websites such as:

Celebrate the 50 States by Loreen Leedy

Scholastic Atlas of the United States by David Rubel

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts from all 50 States by

Joan D’Amico

Their research should include a brief history of the state, interesting facts about the state, important exports and products from the state, tourist attractions in the state, and anything else the student deems important. Students should also describe the landform region that their state is found in, and what sort of biome their state is in. They will be asked to prepare a short paper that outlines examples of the five themes of geography for their state (these themes include location, place, human/environmental interactions, movement and regions.) Their paper should include the use of headings and subheadings.

Children will also be required to use to create a map that includes all the key components of maps, and illustrates an important feature of their state (for example, population distribution). They will then need to prepare a visual aid of their choice that summarizes their research. After they complete their projects, a “museum” will be set up in the classroom where students’ projects are put on display and they serve as the museum curators and tour guides. Parents, teachers, and students from other classrooms in the school will then be invited to learn about the United States.

Dream Vacation Project

Through this project, students will have the opportunity to plan their dream road trip vacation across the United States. They will use the same resources that they use for the State Research Project to learn about various locations in the United States. Children will then plan a journey that includes stops in at least three cities in the United States, and draw a map that illustrates their route. They will then imagine that they take their dream vacation, and create a postcard from each city that features an illustration of something important about the location that they are visiting. Students will then write a letter to their friends of family on the postcard in which they discuss what they did while they were visiting the city, what the weather was like while they were there, and the key geographical features of the area.

Assessment

See attached rubrics

Geography of the United States of America

4th Grade

Expectations for Quality

|Criteria | | | |Comments |

| | | | | |

| |( |( |( | |

| |Excellent Work |Good Work |Incomplete | |

|Learning Logs | | | | |

|Research and Notes | | | | |

|Student carried log with them to all centers. | | | | |

|Student made notes of questions. | | | | |

|Student made notes of unfamiliar words. | | | | |

|Student made connections between text set and new | | | | |

|information learned about the United States. | | | | |

|Student recorded weather of focus city each day. | | | | |

|Student made short notes about the news of focus | | | | |

|city each day. | | | | |

|Big ideas of the story were highlighted. | | | | |

|Student completed a longer summary of news for the | | | | |

|week. | | | | |

|Diary Entry | | | | |

|Student included details of the climate. | | | | |

|Student used descriptive words. | | | | |

|Student made a thoughtful and creative effort to | | | | |

|write from the perspective of Pa. | | | | |

|Criteria | | | |Comments |

| | | | | |

| |( |( |( | |

| |Excellent Work |Good Work |Incomplete | |

|Culminating Projects | | | | |

|State Research Project | | | | |

|Student included brief history of the state. | | | | |

|Student included at least 3 interesting facts about the| | | | |

|state. | | | | |

|Student included exports and productions from the | | | | |

|state. | | | | |

|Student included tourist attractions. | | | | |

|Student described landform region and biome of state. | | | | |

|Student included five themes of geography: | | | | |

|Location | | | | |

|Place | | | | |

|Movement | | | | |

|Regions | | | | |

|Human/Environment Interactions | | | | |

|Student created a map with a key and included an | | | | |

|important feature. | | | | |

|Student thoughtfully developed a visual aid to display | | | | |

|at the “museum.” | | | | |

|Dream Vacation Project | | | | |

|Student created a postcard from three cities including | | | | |

|something important about each city. | | | | |

|Student drew a map that illustrated this route clearly.| | | | |

|Student wrote a thoughtful letter describing the city, | | | | |

|the weather, and geographical features. | | | | |

|Criteria | | | |Comments |

| |( |( |( | |

| |Excellent Work |Good Work |Incomplete | |

|Centers | | | | |

|Vocabulary Center | | | | |

|Student wrote down the definitions of the words from| | | | |

|the word wall in their learning log from the | | | | |

|dictionary. | | | | |

|Student filled out three separate graphic | | | | |

|organizers. | | | | |

|Puzzle Center | | | | |

|Student made puzzle using vocabulary words. | | | | |

|Student created appropriate hint for the vocabulary | | | | |

|word. | | | | |

|Art Center | | | | |

|Student created a square for the quilt accurately | | | | |

|representing the state of their choice. | | | | |

|News and Weather Center | | | | |

|Student recorded information in learning log (see L.| | | | |

|Log rubric) | | | | |

|Geography Center | | | | |

|Student filled out two separate graphic organizers | | | | |

|completely. | | | | |

|Student labeled the geographic regions and landforms| | | | |

|of a blank map. | | | | |

|Reading Center | | | | |

|Student used their time at this center to read books| | | | |

|from the text set in a quiet and respectful manner. | | | | |

|Student made notes in their learning log (see | | | | |

|L. Log rubric) | | | | |

|Criteria | | | |Comments |

| | | | | |

| |( |( |( | |

| |Excellent Work |Good Work |Incomplete | |

|Participation | | | | |

|At the end of each day student shares notes in learning| | | | |

|log with peer | | | | |

|Student participates and contributes ideas in classroom| | | | |

|discussion. | | | | |

|Student sits quietly during read alouds and mini | | | | |

|lessons. | | | | |

|Student participates in literature circles. | | | | |

|Student demonstrates a higher level of knowledge about | | | | |

|geography in the U.S. | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Extra Credit | | | | |

|I Love the USA | | | | |

|The student used their free time to explore this | | | | |

|computer game | | | | |

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Biomes in the United States Graphic Organizer

[pic]

Landforms in the United States Graphic Organizer

[pic]

Vocabulary Word Graphic Organizer

[pic]

State Facts Graphic Organizer

[pic]

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Biomes in the United States

Tundra

Coniferous Forest

Prairie

Deciduous Forest

Desert

Landform Regions

in the

United States

Columbia Plateau

Pacific Mountains

Rocky Mountains

Basin and Range

Colorado Plateau

Coastal Plateau

Coastal Plains

Appalachian Highlands

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