TE 404 Field Based Lesson Planning

FS14

TE404 Lesson Planning Format

Prepared by: Dayna Denoyer
Mentor Teacher: Amber Davis
Date (lesson planned): 10-6-14
Length of lesson: 30-45 min
Date (To be taught): tentatively week of November 11th
Grade level: 2nd grade

Part I: Lesson Overview and Background Knowledge (25 points)

a). Lesson Title: Creating and Interpreting Maps
b) Big Idea(s).

Students draw upon prior knowledge of spatial awareness, place, human systems, and humanenvironment interactions from earlier grades to create more complex understandings using the
context of the local community.
Students create and understand maps in the context of where they live and how it relates to
other larger/surrounding communities around them

c). Social Studies Content: Students draw upon prior knowledge of spatial awareness, place, human
systems, and human-environment interactions from earlier grades to create more complex
understandings using the context of the local community. Geographic representations (maps) of areas
outside their immediate environment introduce students to the use of symbols, labels, and legends to
denote human and natural features. Geographic representation could be anywhere from their
playground to the neighborhood they live in. Students use maps to describe the spatial organization of
their local community, applying relative location and using distance, direction, and scale. The lesson
will focus on a smaller area that the children know well such as their room or classroom in school. In
addition to learning more elaborate distinctions between human and physical characteristics by
studying the local community, students compare these characteristics to those of another community.
They use these attributes to further their understanding of region by exploring how their local
community is part of larger regions such as county, state, and country.
The most important understanding that students will be able to create and then
interpret/explain the map to others students in terms of direction, spatial relations. Eventually,
students will develop from this topic are that we are all a part of a community and that the community
be lives in falls into the larger communities such as the county, state or country. It is important to
understand this topic in order to facilitate the learning of further concepts such as the concept of
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human systems and human-environment interactions by examining local land use, as well as the
positive and negative consequences of changing the physical environment.

d). Rationale: Geography is the study of places on Earth and their relationships with each other. For
students, geography begins with leaning about ones home community and expands as a person gains
greater experience. Therefore, as learning progresses between home, school and the world beyond
students expand on those ideas and apply to other aspects of topics of social studies. It is important
for students to understand how people interact with environment and with each other from place to
place and they can begin to make inference about the complexity of the world we live in.
Understanding the places we live in is important. It not only helps us read and follow maps but helps
us understand different types of data and statistics in social studies content as well as other core
academics areas as well.

e). Lesson Objectives:

Demonstrate knowledge of important characteristics of maps

Demonstrate geographic skills on a map
Create and interpret a map of their classroom community
Explain how we are all a part of a community and that the community be lives in falls into the
larger communities such as the county, state or country

f). Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):

The World in Spatial Terms
Use geographic representations to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
2 G1.0.1 Construct maps of the local community that contain symbols, labels, and legends denoting
human and natural characteristics of place.
2 G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the local community by applying
concepts including relative location and using distance, direction, and scale.
g). Lesson Abstract: Students will begin by listening to the book Me on a Map that emphasizes
how an area as simple and small as our room can relate to the bigger picture that we are all part of a
global community. This book helps students activate prior knowledge of spatial awareness and human
systems that they have learned about in previous grades. Then students will then design their own
maps of the classroom that is to scale and the cardinal directions. Before letting the students do this
task individual I will demonstrate on the board characteristics of a map to include, what should be
included and how to make things to scale in their map. Students will then be able to demonstrate their
own understanding of the information by creating a map of their classroom. They will show what the
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important characteristics to add to a map are and create/interpret the map of their classroom. I will
use the app google earth and zooming out show how their classroom community is part of a bigger
community and invite students to think about how these communities are connected through
technology, modes of transportation and other aspects of geography that relate to the big idea of the
lesson.

Part II: Resources

a). Resources, Preparation/Materials:

Materials for whole class:

Materials for groups:

smart
board/whiteboard
iPad- google earth app
dry erase markers
Me on a Map

paper
crayons
rulers
stickers

Materials to accommodate
individual student needs: (be
sure to indicate how you are
going to provide resources
needed for any students with
special needs ESL, gifted,
autistic, etc.)

Still need to discuss

with mentor teacher to see
if any accommodations
are necessary

b). Annotated Bibliography:

Me on a Map by Joanne Sweeney

This book demonstrates the important elements to include on a map such as directions, symbols,etc.
By beginning the lesson with this book, students will activate their prior knowledge while listening to
and answering questions about the book. It also introduces how a smaller community such as your
bedroom could be a part of a much larger community.

Part III: Knowing Your Students and their Learning Environment (20 points)
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a). Who are my students?

I will teach my lesson in a second grade classroom. The classroom contains around 26
students. The students arranged into to table groups which is where they will be working on their
maps during the lesson. The students seem excited to have a visitor in the classroom. The reasons
vary as to why they are excited. Some students are excited because they are looking for attention
from an adult, some students see it as an excuse to misbehave with little consequence and then there
are those who just get excited because I am a student just like them.

The energy is this classroom is high. The engagement ranges from barely paying attention to
trying to get every assignment done when the teacher asks. The students do best with guided
activities but are working on staying focused when it comes to the time when they work individually.
I believe that by scaffolding the activity will help keep the students engaged and help with the overall
temperaments of the classroom. There is a wide range of ability in this classroom. I have identified
which students tend to try to always get a word in and those who have great ideas but may be too shy
to share them with the class.

b). Student knowledge and interests.

The topic I have chosen to teach is maps. More specifically students will know how to create,
read and interpret maps of a community. Based off of interviewing of some of the students in the
classroom, I learn that student have bits and pieces of the background knowledge involving maps but
they struggle to put those details together to fit into one big idea. Students have a concept of what
maps and communities are but they do not apply it to the broader scope of information in the lesson.
For example, a student may identity a map of Michigan as a community but does not recognize that
their classroom could be a community.
I will work to emphasize the details and how they fit together in order for students to develop
an understanding of the information. Students have been specifically learning what is most important
on a map, the four main elements of a map and directions (compass rose) on a map. Students are able
to identify and add these features to a map with guidance and scaffolding in order to properly add
them to a map of a community. My lesson is a review that ties in all of the information they have
been learning and applying that to a map of their own creation.
c). Classroom context.
The students sit in tables of 4-5 students. There is a designated area in the front of the
classroom as well as a carpet in front of it that the students sit on. I plan to use both of these
classroom features in my lesson. I will sit in the chair at the front and have the students sit on the
carpet as I read Me on a Map. This is the procedure that my mentor teacher has the students follow
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and I believe that sticking to this routine will help with classroom management. I will have the
students go back to their table groups as they create their own maps during the lesson.
There are many resources available to use for this lesson. The students re used to having a
timer displayed on the front board during work time and other activities. I will use this to keep my
lesson plan on time as well as keep the students following the procedures the mentor teacher has set
in place. Students that have a hard time focusing may need to witch table groups in order to stay
focused on the task at hand.
d). Linguistic, social and academic challenges, resources and supports.
There are many ways to accommodate students that are advanced as well as those who fall
behind academically. All of the students in the classroom have standard motor skills, the barrier
occurs with students who struggle to stay on task as well as some students who still have difficulty
reading and comprehending. This lesson breaks this barrier by taking a hands-on approach to the
topic. The information is presented in multiple means of representation and scaffolds the activity so
that students can all match and keep on pace with the information being presented in the lesson.
There is not a whole lot of reading of text. The information is presented predominately verbally as
well as visual supports on the board to keep students that may be falling behind on point and also
give leeway to the advanced students to further their understanding of the topic. I also believe the
table groups to be a way to help barriers to learning styles because I see it happen every day where
the students who catch on a little quicker take the time to help those struggling around them.

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404
Part IV: Lesson Procedures (25 points)Please share part IV with your Mentor Teacher
for feedback before teaching your lesson. You will also have a workshop in class to work on
part IV. [Note: you may use an alternative lesson plan format, provided it includes the same
information]
a) Lesson Procedures
Activity
Procedures and management
Element
Step-by step procedures including questions and main points:
& Time (in
visualize what you are going to say to the students. Be sure to
minutes)
include ways you will have students demonstrate engagement
(curiosity, interest, understanding, passion) during the lesson. It
might be helpful to script out what you are going to say, although
during the lesson you do not need to use this language verbatim.
Introduction

Introduce/Review what the students have learned about

maps so far
- Birds eye view
- Most important characteristics on a map
- 4 elements of a map:
1. Map key
2. Symbols
3. Title
4. Compass rose

Activity 1

Transition

Activity 2

Read Me on the Map

As I read the story I will ask questions to relate to the
importance of the book to the students
Emphasize that the book starts with a room and eventually
covers a wider view of maps. Compare this to a bird. A
bird can see a lot more than a person can. Maps can be
used to locate information in a small area or a large area.

Tell the students to think about the maps that they saw in
the book and then I will pull out a map that I have map of my
lecture hall and point out the characteristics on the map that
we have been talking about so far

Pass out a piece of paper

Tell the students to lightly sketch with a pencil map their
bedroom. I will first model how to draw a key for the most
important things in their bedrooms (it is important to
emphasize that this is what their bedroom mostly looks like)
Ex: a student does not need to draw a toy on the floor

Academic, social & linguistic

adaptations, resources, and
support
How will you support ALL
students?

Academic/ support:
Students will be
introduced to the big
ideas of the lesson. It
will be written on the
board so that students
have both a verbal and
visual representation of
the information

Academic- students are

provided multiple
means of
representations, while
reading the book
students will be
redirected to the main
points of the book

Support- this
transitions relates what
the students learned
from the book to
another representation
on a map
Social- this activity
allows students to go
back to table groups and
work together with
peers if needed, the
scaffolding of adding
elements to the map will

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404

Transition

Activity 3

Continue this strategy with having students add a compass

rose and direction, symbols and a title
Have students turn in map to me when they are finished

4 Corners Game

To begin, four corners (or general areas) of the room are marked
from the numbers one to four. One player is designated to be "It,"
or the "counter." This player sits in the middle of the room and
closes his or her eyes, or exits the room, and counts to ten. The
remaining players choose any one of the corners and quietly go
and stand in that area. When the "It" player has finished counting,
he or she calls out one of the numbers. All players who had
chosen that corner or area are out of the game, and they sit down.
Then, "It" counts again and the remaining players move to a
different corner. Unless the corner is out.
The last person to still be in the game wins, and usually becomes
the new "It."

help with classroom

management and time
management of the
lesson
Social- students work
on effectively
transitioning between
activities
Academic/social- this
allows students to apply
what they have learned
to a fun interactive
activity, it allows peer
interaction and they
play the game. The
activity allows for the
teacher to progress
monitor exactly what
the students
comprehend about the
directions of a compass
rose and if they can
identify the directions
besides in the context of
reading a map

If "It" calls out a corner containing no players, she either calls out
another number right away or the players rotate to a new corner,
according to different versions of gameplay.

Transition

Conclusion:

Instead of calling out numbers, I will have the room dived into
north, south, east and west. This allows practicing learning the
directions of a compass rose.

Direct the students to come back to the carpet area for one
last discussion

Have a discussion that summarizes what we have learned

today:
- What are the four elements that we must always include
on a map?
- How would you use what you learned today to make
another map of your house?
- Ask students to name the corner of the room that I am
pointing to

Social- students work

on transition s between
activities
Academic- this
conclusion of the lesson
touches on the main
points and big ideas of
the lesson , as well as
the vocabulary that
students have been
learning in their social
studies unit

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404
-

What do I mean when I say birds eye view of a map?

b) Basis for assessment

Task:
The following objectives are
demonstrated in the task of
creating a map of their bedroom:
Demonstrate knowledge of
important characteristics of
maps
Demonstrate geographic
skills on a map
Create and interpret a map
of their community

Diagnostic features:

I will look at the

information that displays
that students show the
most important part of
their room (ex: landmarks
such as bed, dresser, door)

I will also be looking

to make sure that all of the
students included a key,
compass rose, title and
symbols

This data is a
demonstration of
understanding of the
information presented in
the lesson

I will assess the task

by looking for these
features marked down on
each of the students maps

Support:
-adaptions can be made for students
with low motor function by doing
the map electronically or pairing
them with another student to work
with on their map
- there are multiple means of
representation and
action/expression so that students
are able to succeed in multiple
aspects of the lesson to demonstrate
what they may know

c) Out-of-school learning opportunities to expand and enrich the curriculum outside of

class (home assignment):
How will students apply what they learn in the school to out-of-school settings? What task or
assignment will you give to students to complete outside of school? Note: draw upon your
rationale for ideas about application to the content of the lesson to the world beyond school.
I will invite the students to take their maps (when I have passed them back ) at a later date and
see if there is anything they would add or change on their map based on having now finished the
social studies lesson. Students will be encouraged to go home and compare the map they created
to how it looks when they are standing in it. Again ask if there is anything that they would
change or add to it? And why? To further their understanding of the information I will give them
a link to google-earth and let them see for themselves how their community is part of a much
larger community. Therefore, as learning progresses between home, school and the world beyond
students expand on those ideas and apply to other aspects of topics of social studies

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404

Part V: Post-Teaching Reflection (15 points)

a) Reflection: A one-two page response to the following questions. What were the strengths and
weakness of this lesson and your teaching? What were highs and lows? What comments did your
cooperating teacher offer? What might you do differently? What did you learn about the topic
and about students, curriculum, and teaching? Give specific examples to illustrate your points.

Overall my lesson about maps went well. The lesson was engaging for most students but
some students struggled with staying engaged in the lesson and on task between activities.
The main strength of my lesson was content and having engaging activities. The
weaknesses of my lesson mostly revolved around aspects of classroom management. The lesson
started out well when I showed the examples of map that I had made to go over the big ideas of a
map and demonstrate what a map of the classroom should look like. I automatically got the
students attention and they were eager to continue the lesson. Another high point/strength of the
lesson was the brainstorming portion on terms that the students already knew and reminders of
key elements of a map. Students were actively engaged through their eye contact and their
eagerness to contribute to the review in the beginning. A strength that my mentor teacher

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404
mentioned was the clear set of directions we easy to follow. Another strength mentioned was
preparation of the materials. I had all of the review material already sorted out and the
worksheets ready to distribute to the students.
Next the students transitioned back to their group tables to complete the activity of
creating a map of their bedroom. Students did a great job with the first three steps of creating the
title, key and directions on the map together. It was when they were given more individual work
time that they struggled to stay on task. In the future I will try a few different strategies to correct
this behavior. The first strategy is to consider checking students seat choice. I may need to
remove certain students from their group tables before the lesson starts to be proactive of
behaviors. The second strategy I will implement is to have a behavior management plan in place
for specific students in case they act out. The third strategy I would use to keep students focused
on the objectives of the lesson is to project a timer on the board so that the students have visual
reminder of how much time is left instead of listening to me call out the times. This is a
suggestion that my mentor teacher made as well.
The area of content that the students struggled with the most was trying to narrow down
the most important characteristics of a map of their bedroom. They were able to tell me at the
end of the lesson the four elements of a map and the importance of these elements. This told me
that they understood and remembered the big idea of the lesson. One thing that the students need
to specifically work on is identifying the important characteristics of a map and adding these
characteristics to a map of their own.
The overall positive result of the lesson makes me eager to use this lesson in my own
classroom one day. I think that the main struggle was staying on task and with that problem set
aside I think the students grasped and understood the key concepts.

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404

Dayna Denoyer
TE 404