edel453 spring2014deavonhinebauch lp-3

Lesson Plan #3: Integrating Language Arts & Social Studies

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies Strand: Geography

Submitted By: Deavon Hinebauch

EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social ScienceNevada State College – Spring 2014Instructor: Karen Powell

Lesson Plan #3 –Geography submitted by: Deavon Hinebauch

B. Summary of the Lesson Plan : This social studies lesson is designed for 4th grade students to learn about the major differences between rural, urban, and suburban settlement in Nevada. This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook “States and Regions” (p. 42-45).

C. Basic Information: Grade Level: 4th grade Time to Complete this Lesson: 50 minutes Groupings: whole group for pre-reading, reading, three-column chart, and whole-

group discussion, small group for areas in Nevada, and individual for writing and picture assignment of “Where I want to live.”

D. Materials:

Houghton Mifflin 4th Grade Social Studies Book: States and Regions (p. 42-43)- 1 for each student

Smart board/white board

Pencil and paper

E. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards

G7.4.3 Describe differences among rural, suburban, and urban settlement in Nevada.

o Student-Friendly Standards I can describe the differences between rural, suburban, and urban communities.

F. Vocabulary Urban-of, related to, or located in a city. Suburban-of, or related to a community near a city Rural-of, or related to a countryside

G. Procedure: 1. Pre-reading (whole group)

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2


Introduction discussion about how regions are defined, focusing mainly on human features.

Explain that students will be reading about the ways in which human features are defined by regions: suburban, urban, and rural.

Introduce vocabulary terms to students. Instruct students to create a three-column chart, instructions can be found

on page 43 under “ELL” in Houghton Mifflin 4th Grade Social Studies Book. Preview the images on the pages 42-43 and make predictions about which

areas each picture represents.

2. As a class, read pages 42-43 adding characteristics under each category as they read. Ask students question #3 under “Types of Regions” on page 43 following the reading.

3. (Small group) Place the students in small groups and have each come up with some examples of each region in Nevada. The teacher should provide one example, “Las Vegas would be considered an urban area.” One member from each group should come write their example on the board. Encourage background knowledge from students (my grandma owns a farm in Eureka Nevada; it must be a rural area). The class should discuss if they agree or disagree with each response and clarify any mistakes.

4. (Individual) Lastly, students will be instructed to create a picture of the region they would prefer to live and give reasons to justify why they want to live in this area. Key vocabulary terms should be used in writing.

H. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding?

Three-column chart will be collected and graded, as well as the picture and writing. Observational assessment during discussion, group work, and presenting.

Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson.



Students must “describe the differences between rural, suburban, and urban communities” using three-column chart. In addition, writing, “Where I want to live” including a picture will show if students understand the area they are writing about.

I. Closure: Students will answer numbers 1 &2 for the Lesson Review found on page 45 in

Houghton Mifflin 4th Grade Social Studies Book: States and Regions.

J. Reflection: 1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach?

I think that the chart will be easy to teach because there are specific definitions and guidance from the reading.

2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? It will be difficult to know how much background students have in the state of Nevada, and therefore hard for them to know examples in Nevada that represent the different regions. The lesson should follow instruction regarding the various regional areas in the state of Nevada to ensure all students can participate and contribute to the discussion.

3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson?A good extension to the lesson would be to have students learn more about the agriculture and economy of each area to understand the differences more in depth. The book covers different areas in the U.S., but the state standards want more of a focus on Nevada so another resource may be more useful.

4. What can you do for students who do not grasp the concepts?Provide plenty of opportunity for background knowledge. I would encourage a lot of detail about where students have lived in the past so we can discuss its features and how we can categorize each area. Linking to real-life experience will help students grasp the concepts more in-depth.

5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change?I think that students need to have a thorough understanding of the state of Nevada to be able to be successful with the lesson. Specific students must be considered and there should be constant assessment to see if enough information is provided before the lesson. Therefore, the amount of background information may need to be increased.



6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part?Geography should be explicitly linked and provided in a systematic manner. I found myself spending a lot of time considering the proper order in which to teach lessons thinking about students who do not have as much background knowledge with the state (reading maps, culture, land, etc.) I was thinking a lot about the big picture even though I was only creating one lesson plan.

7. Explain the strategy from “Integrating Language Arts & Social Studies” that you included in this lesson plan.

Students are required to write about a regional area that they prefer to live in, and justify their responses using key vocabulary. In addition, students will be encouraged to verbally communicate with peers (speaking and listening).


edel453 spring2014deavonhinebauch lp-3

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