EGP 335/535

Lesson Plan-1
SW-Group

1.0 Lesson Plan Details: Intro to Southwest, Day 1, Authors: SWGroup,

Grade Level: 4th
45 minutes
Concepts- Accessing Prior Knowledge
Vocabulary- desert, canyon, reservation
Skills- Making Connections, Group Cooperation

1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives

Students will recognize and make connections from previous regions that were
studied and the new Southwest region being introduced.
Students will differentiate between new concepts and themes to be explored in the
new unit from the ones that were previously explored.
Students will draw conclusions and make predictions about new concepts and
themes in the new unit.
1.2 Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography & NCSS Themes I
Standard - 8.3.4.A- Differentiate common characteristics of the social, political,
cultural and economic groups in United States history.
Standard - 8.3.4.B- Locate historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to
United States history
NCSS 1.3.f- ask learners to describe how people create places that reflect culture,
human needs, current values and ideals and government policies.

1.3 Anticipatory Set

Throughout the year, every time the class changes regions the teacher will bring in
a suitcase full of artifacts from the region. The suitcase will not be emptied
throughout the year and will accumulate artifacts from all over the U.S.
Class we have been on a roadtrip for the whole year, and have collected artifacts
from across the United States of America. As you know we are roadtripping to our
final region, the Southwest. Lets look through the suitcase and talk about where
each artifact is from, be on the lookout for the new artifacts.
The teacher should then converse with students as they group the artifacts by
region and discover the new artifacts for the SW region. What kind of conclusions
or what kind of guesses can you make from these new artifacts that we have about
the Southwest region? What do you think we will learn or discover?
1.4 Procedure
So boys and girls, as you can see from our suitcase, weve gone through a lot of
history and different landmarks of the United State from our roadtrip. Have
students reflect on the SW artifacts- what do students now expect to find/learn
about the southwest based on the artifacts in the suitcase. Students should share
begin by comparing and sharing with peers and coming up with a splash list of all

the information they might think to learn about the Southwest. Boy and I want you
to turn and chat with the person next to you (or across from you) and discuss some
of the different things from the suitcase and what you think they might mean for our
upcoming unit. And while you are discussing this, I would like both you and your
partner to write down these ideas in a splash because we are going to use them in a
couple of minutes.Ok- start sharing!
Once students have shared with peers, have them discuss as a class. Ok boys and
girls, can I get a few volunteers to share their ideas? I would also really like it if you
could come up and write it on the smartboard! Use interactive writing to have
students come up to the smart board and write down thoughts and ideas about the
SW. (this is a KWL chart but without the structured format, we are calling it a
splash!)
Discuss upcoming lessons to students and explain expert groups. Class, the
Southwest is going to be a really exciting unit because I find it to be unique from our
other regions of the United States that we have traveled to. There are not as many
major cities as some parts of the United States, but there is many rich and beautiful
geographical features and its big farming region. It has a lot of rich history because
these states were not always part of the United States. In fact, the land used to be
home to many Native American Tribes that we will talk about later on. Another
exciting thing about this unit is that you are eventually going to take the information
you learn and do your own individual project where you get to teach your
classmates about what youve learned!
The students will then be directed to take out their journals at their desk. They will
be given a prompt for the end of the lesson. Boys and girls, in your journals, I
would like you to write about one thing you would really like to know about in the
Southwest or something you are really excited to learn about. This could be a state
you want to know about, perhaps the Native American tribes, or maybe you are
really curious about what kind of farming they do there. Be sure to think about what
we talked about as a class to help you write!
1.5 Differentiation
ELL Students: Teacher will allow ELL students to write the journal entry in
their native language.
Struggling Students:Students will be paired with more advanced peers if
needed to help brainstorm and record their ideas. Students will be permitted
to use their iPads to record their journal entries if necessary.
1.6 Closure
Students will return to their seats and write a brief journal entry reflecting on what
they expect to see in the Southwest based on the discussion with their peers.
1.7 Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)

 Formative Assessment: Teacher will take note of students contributions during

class discussion and peers interactions to assess if students are making meaningful
connections and predictions about the upcoming unit. ( Learning Outcomes 1 & 2)
Summative Assessment: Teacher will collect journal entries from students and
read through them to ensure that the students were able differentiate among
themes from the previous units and the upcoming unit as well as drawing
conclusions. (Learning Outcome 3)

1.8 Materials/Equipment
A. STUDENT MATERIALS/ READING RESOURCES:
Student Journals
B. TEACHER MATERIALS/RESOURCES FOR LESSON DESIGN:
Smartboard for KWL Chart
Suitcase
Artifacts- Souvenirs and significant objects from regions of the United States
Books
Orr, T. B. (2011). It's cool to learn about the united states: Southwest. Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry
Lake Pub.
Websites
http://www.britannica.com/place/Southwest-region
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/southwest-united-states/
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/southwest#articles
C. Chart

Website

http://www.brita
nnica.com/plac
e/Southwestregion

http://adventu
re.nationalgeo
graphic.com/a
dventure/trips/
southwestunited-states/

M.I-Minor
Influence or
S.ISignificant
Influence
S.I.

If S.I. include why

credible

S.I.

National Geographic Very Easy

is a very well known
and highly
reputable magazine
and brand.

Britannica is
reputable and
widely known brand
of encyclopedia.

How easy
is it for
teachers
to
access?
Very Easy

How easy
is it for
students
to
access?
Very
easy, one
of the
first
sources
to pop
up.
Very
easy,
comes up
on first
page of a
google
search,
offers a

lot of
informati
on
https://www.lo
nelyplanet.co
m/usa/southw
est#articles

M.I.

Very
easy.

Very
easy.

D. Content Notes: SEE LAST PAGE.

1.9 Technology
Smart Board
2.1 Reflection on Planning
We wrote this lesson as a group, which ended up working very well because
we were able to build off of each other's ideas and contributions and ended up
feeling very much like a team effort. When one person would put an idea out
there, we were all able to listen to each other's praises and critiques and gave
consideration to how the idea could be molded into the lesson. Due to the
supportive nature of the group, we were able to piece all the different ideas into a
lesson that we cappy could all be happy with. One of the challenges with starting
this lesson was how to introduce such a broad topic and the many different lessons
that we had in store for the students. There are many different aspects of the
Southwest, as highlighted by the various types of lessons we have, that we
wondered how we could make an introduction that could touch on all of those
things. I think that by having the artifacts in the suitcase, it helps to skim the
surface of the many topics we have while also making for a fun introduction. A
benefit to our intro is that the roadtrip and souvenirs in the suitcase gives the unit
an imaginative, playful feel that will get the students excited to learn.
Lesson Plan Elements (see WCU lesson plan rubric on
D2L for specifics)
Lesson Plan Details

Point Value
Total /30
/1

Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives

/2

Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography &

/2

Anticipatory Set

/1

Procedures

/5

Differentiation

/1

Closure

/1

Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)

/3

Materials/Equipment , Citation of Sources

/2

Evaluation of Sources (Information Literacy)

/5

Lesson Plan Teacher Content Notes

/7

Technology

Reflection on Planning

Total
Points will be taken off for spelling/mechanics.
Comments

Content Outline- Intro to the Southwest

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1.As a social studies class, we have been travelling to different

regions of the country throughout the year. So far we have been to
Northeast
Southeast
Northwest
And finally we have arrived in the Southwest
2. Throughout our journey we have toted along many things and
collected many souvenirs that highlight the main themes and significant
symbols/landmarks from each area.
3. The Southwest Region includes
Arizona
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas
Sometimes included: Parts of Nevada, Colorado, and Utah.
4. Physical Features include
Grand Canyon
Rocky Mountains
Colorado River
Rio Grande
Great Plains
5. Notable History
Home of many Native American Tribes-Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and the Ute
Mexican-American War
6. Economic Contributions
Cattle Farming
Cotton, grain, sorghum
Natural gas & petroleum
Aluminum and automobile industry