All lessons are intended to span about a week and follow the same format: Mapping, Community Exploration, and Journal Entry tasks, with the topic and region changing for each lesson.
Before this lesson, students will have created their own personal Adventure Journal for logging data and discoveries as they explore new regions, historical events, and cultures.
| Lesson 2: Explore the geography of your home and the culture of your family. Introduce the lesson expectations and review the PowerPoint Slideshow on the first day. End with brainstorming ideas for the lesson with students. During the rest of the week allow students to work individually or in teams once they’ve shown they understand the concept and expectations. Check in frequently and have them use the student rubric as a work guide and for peer review. During this time you can support small groups, circulate the room to assist students, and direct student helpers who are able to support their peers while you are working with another student. Essential questions for this lesson: Are online maps accurate? What diverse cultures exist in this classroom? Mapping: Create a map of your home and it’s location on your street from memory. Use an online map to find your home and cut and paste it or draw it in your journal. Take a “walk” through the area using an online street view map. Compare your maps. Note any differences between your map and online maps. Community Exploration: Inventory observations based on your senses. What types of people, buildings, nature or activities do you see? If you are exploring in person, what do you hear, taste, smell, see, feel? If you are using a street view map to explore a location, what do you see? What would you hear, smell, taste, or feel if you were there? Draw a picture of your home or your family. Interview a family member or someone you live with. Journal: Write one paragraph including at least 3 facts about the culture of your family and facts about your home. Provide opportunities throughout the lesson for students to share their Adventure Journal discoveries with the class. Vocabulary: Chores Citizenship Culture Geography Interview Inventory Journal Relatives Responsibility Rural Suburban Urban Formative Assessment: Check in with students individually to review their progress. Use information from these assessments to inform future lessons especially in reference to the length of the lesson, more or less than a week may be needed. Possible Modifications: Peer support with reading and writing, audio books, extra time to complete assignments, one on one instruction, examples of completed work, present information in multiple formats, student rubric checklist. Possible Accomodations: Sentence starters, one step tasks, reducing complexity of the lesson, allowing breaks or alternate working location. |