Lesson #1

Grades 2-4
Mapping Your State
Students will research political, physical, and cultural features of
their own state or district and work collaboratively to create a
tourism map. The class will have a discussion about tourism
maps and what the purpose of them is and they will form small
groups to research specific features of the state or districts
history. This would all culminate to a wrap-up/reflective
discussion at the end.
Lesson #2
Grades 3-4
Latitude/Longitude Puzzle
Students use latitude, longitude, and research on characteristics
of different states and regions to solve a puzzle. Students will
learn about longitude and latitude and apply it when they create
a puzzle with clues using a world map.
Lesson #3
Grades 5-8
Mapping a London Epidemic
Students analyze patterns of cholera in an area of London,
similar to how Dr. John Snow did in 1854. The students will
brainstorm how mapping can help solve problems and look at a
map of cholera in London. The students will analyze the map of
water pumps to brainstorm how they would solve the problem.
I would use the mapping your state lesson. I like this one because it
teaches students about maps, how to use them, and the connections
that can be assumed by the different regional set ups of the state. In
addition, this lesson also will teach the students about the state they
live in. They will know about political locations within the state, the
physical attributes of the state, and cultural components of a state. So,
this is getting at two concepts in one!
After doing this, I think the students could analyze the maps they make
and infer how locations in the state might react to changing legislature
regarding various political, environmental, or religious/ethical beliefs.
Basically the students could use the map they create to infer the
interactions among the people living there in different parts of the
state. They could be asked why and how people would react to
changes and could back it up by explaining the regions of the state.

Station 5 was shared with you along with Jessica. Hopefully you
got it.

Station 8-T
Samuel de Champlain
Answers
1. He was born in Brouage, Norway in 1572
2. He explored Canada and the St. Lawrence River
3. He died peacefully in 1635
Sir Francis Drake
1. Sir Francis Drake was born in 1542 in Wayne, New Jersey
2. Greenbeard the Invincible
3. He died of fever at sea near Panama
Amerigo Vespucci
1. Born in the US in 1451
2. Four trips during 1499-1504
3. Amerigo Vespucci
What I liked:
From these lessons, I thought the neat parts about them were how the
incorporated technology, but also taught about what website were
quality information websites versus bad ones to use. Students these
days are quick to use whatever resource first appears in front of them.
In addition, students receive knowledge on how to use the Internet too
from emailing to using different search engines.
What Id use:
I would definitely use the first lesson. I think showing and allowing the
students to realize that different sites can result in different answers.
Furthermore, I would like to follow up with the second lesson because it
is a scaffold for the first lesson. Once we realize some websites are not
the best quality, how do you find good ones? What makes it a good
one? I like these two since the build off each other in important life
skills.

New Information:
I learned a lot of new information, from the activities especially. Weve
all done stations before, but the idea of completing them ourselves and
getting a sticker or something taped to the computer is new. I liked
that since it was a great way to see how far along students are and can

keep track of them, but also it serves as a motivator for students to

keep up with the rest of the group.
How have I been affected:
I was used to stations where there was a time limit for how long teach
students should be a the stations. I realize now this is a good way of
letting the students choose where they want to go and for how long
they want to stay there. Also, it was very engaging to use computers,
draw, and play games. I thought that was a good use of technology.
Challenged my thinking:
As stated before, I changed my thinking of how to run stations. This
way promotes students freely choosing what they want to do and for
how long. I like this method, but I see the problem of students not
being able to finish all the stations like we didnt in class. Also, the
concept of geography is something I love. I love maps and
relationships and all things geography. This has challenged my thinking
in proper ways to incorporate geography in lessons.