This collection of five lesson plans in geography can be adapted for use with K-12 students. Each lesson plan explains the lesson and provides basic instructions. The lesson plans are titled:  Teaching Geography Using Literature in K-University Classrooms  (Kay Weller);  Geography and a Mystery Novel  (Kay Weller);  Understanding Latitude and Longitude  (Kay Weller);  Mississippi River Cruise  (Kay Weller); and  Create a Magazine Project  (Nancy Howe-Ford). (BT

Howe-Ford, Nancy

Weller, Kay E.

University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Faculty Publications 2000 Geographic Alliance of Iowa. Lesson Plans Kay E. Weller University of Northern Iowa Nancy Howe-Ford Hudson Valley Community College Let us know how access to this document benefits you Copyright ©2000 Kay E. Weller and Nancy Howe-Ford Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub  Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Weller, Kay E. and Howe-Ford, Nancy, "Geographic Alliance of Iowa. Lesson Plans" (2000). Faculty Publications. 5690. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/5690 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@uni.edu. Offensive Materials Statement: Materials located in UNI ScholarWorks come from a broad range of sources and time periods. Some of these materials may contain offensive stereotypes, ideas, visuals, or language. ED 457 093AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTIONPUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROMPUB TYPEEDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORSIDENTIFIERSABSTRACTDOCUMENT RESUMESO 032 966Weller, Kay E.; Howe-Ford, NancyGeographic Alliance of Iowa. Lesson Plans.Northern Iowa Univ., Cedar Falls. Geographic Alliance ofIowa.2000-00-0011p.Geographic Alliance of Iowa, Department of Geography,University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0406.Tel: 319-273-5952; Tel: 319-273-2772. For full text:http://www.uni.edu/gai/Lesson_plans/LESSON_PLANS.html.Guides Classroom Teacher (052)MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.Curriculum Enrichment; Elementary Secondary Education;*Geography; *Geography Instruction; Higher Education; SocialStudiesGeographic LiteracyThis collection of five lesson plans in geography can beadapted for use with K-12 students. Each lesson plan explains the lesson andprovides basic instructions. The lesson plans are titled: "Teaching GeographyUsing Literature in K-University Classrooms" (Kay Weller); "Geography and aMystery Novel" (Kay Weller); "Understanding Latitude and Longitude" (KayWeller); "Mississippi River Cruise" (Kay Weller); and "Create a MagazineProject" (Nancy Howe-Ford). (BT)Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.Geographic Alliance ofIowaon PlansGeographic Alliance of IowaDepartment of GeographyUniversity of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA 50614-0406(319) 273-5952 or 273-2772Nttarp://metuounLedanigiati/Lezzon pllans/LIEZZOM PILaR9S.IvandPERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDCi) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HASBEEN GRANTED BY1BEST COPY AVAILABLE16x,t_E. Lie JIttTO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)20002U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and ImprovementEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)/This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.0 Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.Table of ContentsTeaching Geography Using Literature in the K-University Classroom 2Geography and a Mystery Novel 6Understanding Latitude and Longitude 7Mississippi River Cruise 8Create a Magazine Project 91Teaching Geography Using Literature in K-UniversityClassroomsDr. Kay WellerElementary and Middle SchoolBook: Minn of the Mississzppi, Paddle-to-the-Sea and Seabird for the elementary andmiddle school studentsThese books are by Holling Clancy Holling and should be available in most school orpublic libraries. Because these books are very content laden it is appropriate for thesebooks to be used from grade 4-9. As I re-read these books it was apparent that all levelsof students would have much to learn from them. If you are using these books with youngchildren perhaps you will want to read them aloud to your students.Goal: To learn to read books for geographic content.Objectives:Students will:read the book and identify the 5 themes of geography in their geography/literaturejournal making chapter field notes.research National Geographic Society magazines and find an article about theregion in the book and write a one page comparing information from the NGSarticle and the book.Procedures:1. Assign students the task of generating a geography/literature journal that they willuse throughout the school year as they/you read them.2. Have students read Minn of the Mississippi, Seabird, and Paddle to the Sea andmake journal entries for each chapter identifying and analyzing the five themes ofgeography. Have the student paraphrase the passages and tell why it is an exampleof the theme they are writing about based on their analysis. There should be atleast 1 example for each chapter.Examples:a. Land of Ancient Waters (Chapter 1 Minn of the Mississippi). Page 8correlates with national standard 7; bottom paragraph is excellent. It couldbe paraphrased as follows: Volcanoes turned rock crystals to granite thatwere ground into soil by millions of rains. Seas came and went formillions of years. There was a period of heat again followed by the iceage. Glaciers plowed through stone crushing mountains leaving boulders,24gravel, sand and dust across the Northland. This passage focuses onmovement (glaciers), location, place, and region (Northland). The thememovement refers to the movement of the glaciers. The theme region refersto the Northland or upper Mississippi.b. Students should illustrate each entry with a picture or preferably a mapthat depicts one or more of the themes they are writing about. Thisparticular passage could be illustrated with a picture showing a glaciercrushing all in its path.c. Islands In the Seas (Chapter 12 Seabird). Page 30 paragraph 3 alsocorrelates with national standard 7; could be paraphrased as follows: TheSeabird looked down on palm-fringed atolls of white coral. Coral isformed by pulpy creatures whom have died over many centuries. Theblack island is formed by a volcano so is different from the coral island.Some islands such as the black one are actually the tops of mountainsaccording to the Whaler. This passage focuses on region (South Pacificregion), place volcanic islands that are black and not on the chart solocation is a bit uncertain (possibly on the Ring of Fire).d. Students should illustrate each entry with a picture or preferably a mapthat depicts one or more of the themes they are writing about. This entrycould include a map showing the relative location of the island or a mapwith islands colored.e. Paddle Finds One End of Lake Superior (Chapter 11 Paddle-to-the-Sea)Paragraph 3 can be paraphrased as follows: Paddle reached the narrowand western end of Lake Superior at Duluth, MN. It is a city built on a hill.Across the river is Superior, Wisconsin, which is on a flat plain. Lumber isa major product being shipped out of the port. Another natural resourcebeing shipped from there is iron ore. This entry focuses on movement ofnatural resources and location (relative). It relative location becauseDuluth and Superior are relative to each other and Lake Superior.f. Students should illustrate each entry with a picture or preferably a mapthat depicts one or more of the themes they are writing about. For thisentry a map of Lake Superior would be appropriate showing the locationof Duluth and Superior. Perhaps drawing a map from memory would beuseful.3. Have students research using the National Geographic Society magazines or CDsand find an article about the same region or topic of the book. The student willthen write a one page paper comparing and contrasting the article and the book.Assessment: Journal, comparison paper and illustrations or maps.3 5Fiction, Geography, and Migration for the High School or University Level StudentBook: Steinbeck's Grapes of WrathObjective:Students will:read the book citing specific examples of the role of geography in the story ingeography field notes.Goal: To read fiction for geography content.Procedures:1. Assign students to read Grapes of Wrath and write geography field notes from thebook. There will be a minimum of one entry per chapter. This would depend onthe instructor and the book being used.2. Make notes throughout the reading that must be typed and turned in. These notesmu§t address the following: push/pull factors of migration, climate, economicgeography, physiographic features, sense of place the characters had toward theirplace of origin and place of destination, human characteristics of place of originand destination, movement, human environmental interaction.3. Have a Socratic seminar to discuss the geography and issues in the book.Criteria for Grapes of WrathPick out pithy passages from the book and make field notes. The field notes are toreflect higher order thinking and are NOT to be simply copied phrases. Insteadlook for passages that develop a sense of place, ones where the script deals withhuman environmental relationships, region, and those dealing withmigration/movement. Your field notes should reflect how geography affects thelandscape, the characters, and develops the story line.Use the following format:Put your name and ID # at the top of each page and type notes or use a separate smallnotebook and hand write the notes.04-24-00-01 (this is the first hypothetical entry). Give a short summary of what ishappening and its relationship to geography.Chapter 1: Steinbeck creates a great sense of place in chapter one where he describesOklahoma. He tells how the window lights could not reach beyond the yard because ofdust in the air. He further explains how houses that are closed tight and even protected byclothes wedged around doors and windows that dust could still be seen in the air. Hedescribes how it settled like pollen on furniture and dishes. The description gives a senseof hopelessness to the task of keeping dust out of the houses. The relationship togeography is clearly a sense of place but also gives an apt account of an arid climate.04-24-00-02 (this is the second hypothetical entry). Give a short summary of what ishappening and its relationship to geography.Chapter 20: In this passage the camp where they stopped was described. The camp issimply a collection of tents and shacks. The shacks are made of roofing paper, moldycarpet, and rusty corrugated iron. They stop by a steep incline giving the readerthe idea this might be a place where there were gullies caused from water erosion. Thesense of place again is one of very poor economic conditions with little housingavailable. The migrants are being forced to live in unsanitary and what we today wouldconsider 3rd world conditions.Continue with these until the end of the book. You may have many one day and fewanother but you must have a minimum of one per chapter.Assessment: field notes57GEOGRAPHY AND A MYSTERY NOVELby Dr. Kay E. Weller, GAI CoordinatorObjective:Student will:write the beginning pages of a mystery novel set somewhere in Canada.Procedure:1. The exact place in Canada chosen for the setting is up to the student.2. The student will then write approximately 3 to 4 opening pages for theirnovel. These pages should describe the geography of the area. Some of thethings that may be included are natural resources, landscape, climate,vegetation, ethnic diversity, indigenous people, issues, industry, or agriculture.Assessment: The students are encouraged to be creative, but base their novel on realphysical and human characteristics.86UNDERSTANDING LATITUDE AND LONGITUDEby Dr. Kay E. Weller, GAI CoordinatorBefore class, the teacher has chosen cities from around the world and puts their names onslips of paper in a basket. The cities chosen should be from a variety of geographicallocations.Procedures:1. The students will draw a city from the basket and look up the absolutelocation of that city.2. Then the student will use an atlas to learn something about that city (climate,vegetation, relative location, etc.).3. The student's task is to find another place in the world that has similarcharacteristics. This can be presented in a paper or as an oral presentation.97MISSISSIPPI RIVER CRUISEby Dr. Kay E. Weller, GAI CoordinatorStart class by telling your students that this is their lucky day and they have won a 10day cruise at the port of New Orleans and cruise up the Mississippi River to the portof St. Louis. The Delta Queen is a paddle boat that travels at about 6 miles per hour.This gives the passengers an opportunity to savor the region.The assignment is to keep a diary to share with your class when you return home.Describe the human and physical characteristics you experience as you make thistrip.What kind of climates and vegetation do you experience?What types of food and architecture do you find along the way?Tell from your own view point why the Mississippi is such an importanttransportation route to the North.Assessment: Diary108CREATE A MAGAZINE PROJECTby Nancy Howe-FordHudson Valley Community College, Troy, NYGoal: The goal for this project is to have groups publish a magazine that focuses ona place in the world such as Quebec, Canada. The magazine should have articleswritten from several different perspectives, news stories, graphics, and illustrations.At least one article must focus on the future. For example, a hypothesis on whatmight be the outcome of Quebec's separation for Canada and the U.S. and how itaffects them and why it is important.Procedure:The students will work in groups of 4-6 people. The scenario is that the groups havejust formed a magazine publishing corporation. The group must select a title andassign each member a duty (such as editors, journalists, and graphic artists.) Thegroup will receive the same grade for the project and also submit and receive peerevaluations. The magazine should be done in APA format and on a word processor.The editor in chief only has to do one article for the project.The magazine should include the following:name of magazinetable of contentslist of all publication members and their responsibilitiesa minimum of 2 stories per person about the subject of your magazinea minimum of 1 fiction story, poem, rap, or work of art per person.All articles must have maps that accompany them and charts and tables shouldbe used when appropriate. Use of the internet to access some information ismandatory.Each person is also responsible for at least one political cartoon, pertinentadvertisement, word search, crossword puzzle, or letter to the editor about thesubject.Some ideas for the magazine could include the caste system in India, homelessness inthe United States, water issues in the Middle East or the role of an Islamic woman.U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)National Library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)NOTICEReproduction BasisERICThis document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form(either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").EFF-089 (3/2000)

Geographic Alliance of Iowa. Lesson Plans

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