Jessica Guth



Jessica Guth

ED421 M 12-3pm

Technology Unit

Title of Unit: Geographical Features of the World

Grade level: 3rd – 4th

Content Area: Geography

Learning Goal:

As a result of this unit, students will be able to:

1) Use an atlas (both online and print) to locate specified geographic features such as mountain ranges, plateaus, rivers, oceans, valleys, deserts, etc.

2) Label all the geographic features on a given map

3) Identify specific characteristics of geographical features

4) Write a reflection of their experience through this unit

Technology Standards:

2. Communication and Collaboration

d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

3. Research and Information Fluency

a. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

4. Process data and report results

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

d. Understand and use technology systems

Technology Integrated:

The technologies used in this unit are listed below:

1) Online Research via the Internet

a. Google Earth

b. Web browsers to find relevant information

2) Word

a. 3-4 sentence typed reflection that is proofed, spell-checked, and double-spaced for each topic

b. Unit assessment of picture

3) Digital photos

a. From the Internet

b. Personal photos

4) Digital Video

a. From the Internet

5) Database Application

a. Simply a table inserted into a Word document or

b. Specific database application (if permitted)

6) Teacher created “Resource Website”

a. With links to all the geographical features discussed during the unit

Resources:

Some of the resources used in this lesson are:

1) Geography 4 Kids:

2) Geography 4 Kids: Live videos of Mount St. Helens and other features

3) Maps of the Modern World:

4) Mega Maps:

5) Information about landforms:

6) Geography Clip Art and Pictures:

7) Global Geography:

8) Canyon Video:

9) Images from

10)

11) Atlases and encyclopedias (class set)

12) Geography Alive!

13) Teacher created website with all 8 geographical features listed with links, information, pictures, and current Geography assignments

a. Students can access this website at school or home to find more information and resources (including links to other websites)

Unit Outline:

This unit takes approximately 8 weeks to complete. Each week we will focus on a specific geographical feature in the United States. Because grades 3 and 4 are focused on state awareness as well, it will be important to constantly connect the features we’re studying to our environment (i.e. Oregon). The technology strategies and integration tools are highlighted in bold.

Week 1: Day 1

1) Introduction to the unit

a. Display pictures from the Internet

i. Start class discussion in small pairs

ii. Begin class discussion

b. Preview vocabulary

i. Mountain

ii. River

iii. Plateau

iv. Etc.

2) Introduce topic for the week: Mountains

Day 2:

3) Students will be shown a map of the world large enough for all to see (pulled from a site listed in Resources)

4) Have students write on a sheet of paper what a mountain or mountain range is

a. Students can write sentences or draw pictures

5) After they have all written their answers, have students pair/share with a partner about their understanding of a mountain and mountain range

6) Ask class for volunteers to share findings with the class

a. As students discuss, write key vocabulary terms on the board

7) Based on student response, explain what a mountain is and begin to explain the vocabulary needed for the lesson

8) Front-Load Vocabulary for lesson

a. Define and discuss vocabulary:

i. Mountain

ii. Peak

iii. Terrain

iv. Volcano

v. Elevation

vi. Vegetation

vii. Climate

b. Display images of different mountains and mountain ranges you’ll be discussing

i.

ii. This will help students visualize what the discussion is about

Day 3:

9) Start class discussion by identifying that today we are going to be looking at mountain ranges

a. Point out some ranges in a print, but do not give the names.

b. Explain that some ranges go through a number of countries, and for that reason when they are looking at the maps they should also pay attention to what countries are there

10) Group students together in pairs or small groups. Pass out the map worksheet to students and ask them to go to their computer stations

11) Pass out the list of mountain ranges to students and the mountains they are going to be locating

a. Ranges could be: Andes, Rockies, Urals, Himalayas, Alps, Appalachian, etc.

b. Mountains could be Mt. Everest, McKinley, Kilimanjaro, etc.

12) Have students color all ranges brown on the map, then list the name beside it

a. They should also label every country that the range goes through on the map.

b. Students will access Google Earth and find mountains and mountain ranges in the United States (I.e. Cascade mountain range, Mount Everest, etc.)

i. Students may access appropriate and relevant sites to find information

1.

2.

3.

4. Teacher created website

ii. They should list the information about the ranges, such as highest peak, and length of the range on the back of the map

Day 4:

13) Students must enter their data in a table to create a database about mountains

a. The database will include the following information:

i. Highest peak

ii. Location of the mountain and/or mountain range

iii. Climate

iv. Vegetation

v. Name of the mountain or range

Day 5:

• After students have finished the map with all of the information colored and labeled, think aloud/pair share with someone from a different group about 3 interesting facts they learned from looking at mountains today

• Take two to three minutes to discuss their findings

• Ask them to type in a Word document of what they found the most interesting about the days lesson (3-4 sentences) and to save it as “Geography of the World”

Week 2-8:

The next 7 weeks would follow the same outline as listed above for each new geographical feature. Below is a shortened version of the outline.

Day 1:

1) Introduce topic for the week: Valleys/Plateaus/River/Ocean/Desert/Island/Lake

2) Draw a picture of interpretation and discuss and display images

3) Review vocabulary

4) Identify topic with images and video clips

Day 2/3:

5) Group students to work at computer stations to research topic on Google Earth and other relevant Internet sites

Day 4:

6) Insert new data into “Geography of the World Database”

Day 5:

7) Write 3-4 sentence reflection using Word and save

Unit Assessment:

Students will be given three images that naturally include a variety of the geographic features from our previous lessons. Students will be asked to label two of the two pictures with correct names of each feature. Using the database the student created during the course of the unit as the only resource, each student must type an in-depth analysis of one picture. Students will spell-check, edit, and double-space their typed report to turn in. The analysis will include the following:

1) What kind of geographical features do you see?

2) What are some unique characteristics of those features? (As discussed in class)

3) Using the photo as evidence- explain what part of the United States/World this picture might be from

4) Why are these geographic features present in this location?

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