Sarah Zull

EDUC 302-303

Terpstra & Westbrook

24 February 2019

Topic Theme Statement

The overall, unifying topic for my social studies unit is maps. I plan to help them

answer questions like, “how do I use a map and a map key to identify where places are

in relation to me?” Or “how do I use maps in my everyday life?” Maps and spatial terms

are a very important skill to learn in life. To be able to tell how they get from home to

school or from home to the store are great skills to learn at a young age. Other things

we will discuss are the compass rose, directions, and scale. I think this will be fun and

important for them to learn through viewing/creating maps and activities.

This unit will meet standards within the “G1 The World in Spatial Terms” from the

Michigan K-12 Standards for second grade. Some of the standards in this category are

“2-G1.0.1-Construct maps of the local community that contain symbols, labels, and

legends denoting human and natural characteristics of place.” As well as, “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.” I feel that these

standards for second grade geography are a good basic start to having a spatial

knowledge. 2-G1.0.3 Use maps to describe the location of the local community within

the state of Michigan in relation to other significant places in the state,” is the final

second grade standard I will be using.

 This standards will hit all the topics we will be discussing. I will also be using a

1st grade standard about creating a classroom map. My students are in an immersion

program so they miss out of a lot of social studies. I get the chance to give them the

basic of maps and directions which are huge skills they will need their whole lives. One

topic we will be discussing is scale or perspective. This can be a problem for students

because it is a hard concept to understand and translate. The third grade curriculum

goes a lot deeper into directions, thematic maps and cardinal directions so I feel that

they will be very prepared for those later lessons. My students love to draw and play

games which I have included in a couple of me lessons so I feel they will enjoy it very

much.

Citation-

Michigan Department of Education. (2018, May). Michigan K-12 Standards- Social

Studies. In Michigan.gov. Retrieved from

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SS_May_2018_Public_Final_622357_7.pdf