Lesson Plan Guide

Teacher Candidate:

Daniel Beebe

Grade and Topic: 2nd grade Social Studies

Date: September 21, 2014

Length of Lesson: 55 minutes

Mentor Teacher: Professor Fair Josey

School: University of Memphis IDT 3600
UNIT/CHAPTER OBJECTIVE/GENERALIZATION/BIG IDEA:
This lesson plan is a portion of a unit plan on the geography of the United States.
LESSON OBJECTIVE:
Given a digital version of a blank United States map, the student will name two Great Lakes, three major
rivers, and two oceans with 100% accuracy.
Given a short worksheet on bodies of water, the student will recall the correct answer with 90%
accuracy.
The aim of this lesson is for students to gain basic knowledge about major United States bodies of water
using technology (internet links, games, etc.) as a learning aid. Students will demonstrate this knowledge
through labeling a map and filling out a worksheet.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
TN Social Studies - 2.17 Locate major cities, bodies of water, mountain ranges, and rivers in the United States
Bodies of Water: Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Rivers: Colorado, Cumberland, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio
ISTE Standards:
3. Research and information fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information.
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of
sources and media
d. Process data and report results
MATERIALS:
1. Computers
2. Projector for Internet Videos
(Links:
Great Lakes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYLhqLgn6ck
Major U.S. rivers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qft_CEYwfYM
Geyser video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE8NDuzt8eg )
3. Smart Board
4. Microsoft Word
5. Internet access to
a. Major bodies of water overview:
http://bennettes.schools.pwcs.edu/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=&pageid=106130
b. Great Lakes Quiz: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/cool/GreatLakesQuiz/
c. Great Lakes Game: http://www.purposegames.com/game/can-you-name-the-great-lakes-quiz

d. U.S. Map of Bodies of Water:

https://hamptonusi.wikispaces.com/file/view/US_Bodies_of_wat_map_label.jpg/252143128/US_Bod
ies_of_wat_map_label.jpg
e. Image of Bodies of Water in Eastern U.S.:
http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/115946/flashcards/751395/jpg/mississippi_watershed_map
_1.jpg
f. Simplified Map: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uDyOdh4_R8/SqjnsYWrOPI/AAAAAAAAABE/xDNWTJUqLFY/s400/USMapRivers.bmp
g. Great Lakes Image: http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/83/89883-004-8D5A37AB.gif
h. Blank U.S. map: http://st.hist-geo.co.uk/img/usa-48/USA-48-Fleuves-1.png

Technology Integration
Students will fill out a word document pertaining to important bodies of water in the United States. A
category such as rivers will be listed and the student will provide the required amount of items. Students
will use videos and the above internet links to obtain this information.
BACKGROUND and RATIONALE:
Students will gain knowledge about major bodies of water in the United States, especially information
regarding location and size as a part of a larger unit on United States geography.
Academic Language is not addressed in IDT 3600.
This lesson is a continuation of TN social studies standard 2.1.
In future lessons, we will relate the bodies of water to their respective regions, and compare and contrast
bodies of water in different regions, as well as investigate reasons for the different topography in
different regions.
I am aware that the lesson will be differentiated for students who did not master the objectives and for
those ready for enrichment. However, modifications are not covered in this course and are not part of
this particular lesson.
PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE:
Introduction (5-10 min.): Begin by talking about the ubiquity of water. Stress how important water is for life
to exist. Ask students how they encounter water in everyday life. Then, mention that there are big bodies of
water in and around the United States in the form of rivers, lakes, and oceans, along with some special cases of
water activity, like geysers and waterfalls. Ask the students if theyre familiar with any of these bodies of water,
or perhaps have even visited them.
Next, explain to the students that in class today we will be doing an overview of the most important bodies of
water in our country, including rivers, lakes, and oceans. Next, display a map of the United States with these
bodies prominently displayed (link above: bennettes.school). Pay special attention to the Mississippi river,
since we live so close to it. Relate these bodies to the students answers from a moment ago. (for example,
Heres the Mississippi River, just like you said, Dillon.)
Procedures:
Prior to the Computer (10 min.):
Teacher procedures:
1. Tell students to settle down because were going to watch some informative videos about bodies of water.
2. Show video about Great Lakes on projector. link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYLhqLgn6ck
3. Any questions?
4. Show video about U.S. rivers. link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qft_CEYwfYM
5. Any questions?
6. Inform students about the basic features of geysers (their definition, their location, their rare principles, etc.)
before showing video of Old Faithful Erupting in Yellowstone National Park.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE8NDuzt8eg
7. Any questions?
8. Ask students to volunteer to answer questions on smart board (Two questions each about the location of two
rivers, two lakes, and the two oceans).

Student procedures:
1. Sit and watch videos quietly.
2. Raise hand in between videos if he/she has question.
3. Raise hand to answer smart board question, then drag and drop correct answer from word bank.

At the Computer (30 min.):

Teacher procedures:
1. Explain to students that they will be filling out a worksheet based on the videos they just watched and the
internet sources they are about to explore.
2. Have students open the Microsoft Word document with the blank worksheet and then an internet browser
which opens to a home page with links to the websites above.
3. Direct them first to link to an image of the Great Lakes (link above: media.web.britannica)
Show them the locations and names of each lake.
4. Then have them go to the link with the Great Lakes quiz. (Link above: dnr.wi.gov)
5. Help them with questions four and five, since they were not decipherable from the map in the previous link.
6. Next, direct them to the Great Lakes game. (link above: purposegames.com)
7. Assist until students are done with the activities on the Great Lakes.
8. After twenty minutes on computer, show students how to save a document. In this case the name of the
document will be the students name.
9. Teacher goes around room and asks students to name three rivers, two Great Lakes, and the two oceans from
a blank U.S. map.

Student procedures:
1. Students open Microsoft Word and find document with blank worksheet.
2. Then, they open an internet browser and navigate through links as teacher directs, asking for assistance
if needed.
3. Students fill out worksheet using links provided when they open the internet browser.
4. Students save their file in Microsoft Word as their name.
5. When teacher comes to student, he/she names the seven bodies of water (outlined in the teacher
procedures section above) on the blank U.S. map.
6. Students ahead of schedule on their word document can name additional rivers. If they finish with this,
they can research the largest and highest waterfalls in the United States and add it to their Word
document.

ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE:
Teacher will go around room asking student to name three rivers, two Great Lakes, and two oceans on this
blank map. (link: http://st.hist-geo.co.uk/img/usa-48/USA-48-Fleuves-1.png)

The following is the worksheet (blank):

Important Bodies of Water in and Around the United States

Name the five Great Lakes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name five rivers you learned about today:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name the oceans on each side of the United States:
1.
2.

Which geyser did we talk about? (And for bonus points, which state is it in?)

The following is the answer sheet:

Important Bodies of Water in and Around the United States

Name the five Great Lakes:
1. Lake Ontario
2. Lake Michigan
3. Lake Erie
4. Lake Superior
5. Lake Huron
Name five rivers from the video or from the big picture displayed on the projector:
(Student names any five.)
1. Mississippi River
2. Ohio River
3. Missouri River
4. Hudson River
5. Rio Grande River
6. Colorado River
7. Columbia River
8. St. Lawrence River
9. Tennessee River
Name the two oceans on each side of the United States:
1. Atlantic Ocean
2. Pacific Ocean
Which geyser did we talk about?
A. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

MODIFICATIONS:
I am aware that modifications will be made for students who did not master the objectives and for those ready
for enrichment. However, modifications are not covered in this course and are not part of this particular lesson.
Closure:
Tell everyone to logoff computers. The teacher then asks if anyone has any questions about the assignment
today. Next, the teacher asks students to reflect on what they learned in class today. See if everyone can name
the Great Lakes and the two oceans, and any major rivers. Good job today, everyone. Well build on what
weve learned tomorrow!