Title – Map Skills

By – JUSTIN MOSIER

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Grade Level – 3rd

Teaching Strategy: Cooperative Learning

Time Required: 45 min.

Concept or Skill – Map reading skills/Social Studies

Alabama Course of Study Correlation -

1. Extend student’s development of map and globe skills

2. Know how to interpret and display information and data using various graphic organizers.

Behavioral Objectives -

Read and analyze political and physical maps in order to find a route that goes through five countries and meets a specific, predetermined goal. Analyze routes selected by other students and draw conclusions about the criteria used to create the route.

Materials – world maps, access to the internet, pencils, and paper.

Teaching/Learning Procedures -

A. Motivation -
• Discuss local geography by asking students, “What landforms and other geographic features might we see if we were to take a five-minute walk from school?”
  
• Ask students about the geographic features they might see on a five-hour walk.

B. Instructional Procedures -

• Divide the class into teams of 3-4 and explain that each team is going to use world maps to plan a five-country tour.
  
• Explain that each team will pick a goal for its route.
• Read the following goals:
  • Find a route that travels through a wide variety of geographic features.
    
  • Find a route on which geographic features change very little from beginning to end.
    
  • Find a very long route.
    
  • Find an extremely short route.
    
  • Find a route that travels through regions where people speak many different languages.
• Allow time for each team to agree upon a specific goal.
  
• Have one member of each team write its goal and submit it to teacher.
  
• Allow the students to use the Map Machine provided by National Geographic at
  
  www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps/
  
  .
  
  Give time for the students to review options found on the home page.
  
• Give hints for successful try while challenging the students with each task

C. Closure -

• Have teams swap itineraries, without revealing their route goals.
• Let each team use the Map Machine resources to try to guess the goal of the other team.
• Discuss project results.
• Let teams vote to determine the most successful route.

Evaluation – Assessments will be based on how well each team worked together, the success of project, and individual contributions. The assessment will be based on a scale for each part, one being the best and five being unacceptable.

Professional Reflection – This is a very time consuming lesson. The rewards are great, but the lesson should be used for the advanced, focused students of your class.

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JUSTIN MOSIER

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