EGP-335

1.0 Road Trip through New England, Day 7, Taylor Dubinski, Grade 4
45 minutes
Concepts: geography of New England
Vocabulary: pastures, blizzards, coastline, lighthouse, rural, common, maple syrup
Skills: creative writing, ability to follow directions, creating mental images
1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
After learning about the geography of New England, students will be able to give
a general description of the general terrain and major landforms found in the area.
1.2 Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography &
NCSS Themes I - X with subthemes
7.2.4.A Identify the physical characteristics of places and regions.
7.2.4.B Identify the basic physical processes that affect the physical
characteristics of places and regions.
7.4.4.A Identify the effect of the physical systems on people within a community.
NCSS.1.3.a enable learners to construct, use and refine mental maps of locales,
regions, and the world that demonstrates their understanding of relative location,
direction, size, and shape
NCSS 1.3.d help learners to locate, distinguish, and describe the relationships
among varying regional and global patterns of geographic phenomena such as
landforms, climate, and natural resources;
1.3 Anticipatory Set
The teacher will come rushing through the door of the classroom exasperated and out of
breath. She will have on hiking clothes with a camera around her neck and a suitcase
dragging behind her. Come on boys and girls, were going to miss the bus! At this point,
the teacher will give them a chance to respond. More than likely, they will be confused
and ask questions such as What are you talking about? What bus? The teacher will act
surprised that they did not remember the trip. I didnt tell you we were going on a road
trip today? Oh wow, it must have totally slipped my mind! I apologize, class! Well in that
case, let me tell you a little bit about our trip. Today begins our road trip through New
England! We are going to go site seeing and visit the major sites and landforms that are
around the area! Now, New England consists of several states. It includes Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. This is a lot of area
to cover, so we are going to be going on our road trip for a whole year! This way, we will
be able to see each geographic location in its prime! Give the children a minute to let
everything soak in. So, who would like to join me on this trip? Allow students to raise
their hands. Alright, I would love to bring all of you! But first, you have to pass a little
test. As a class, I need you to tell me what topic we talked about yesterday in Social
Studies, and tell me three new things that you learned. Allow students to answer the

questions. When they have, pass the bus tickets down the rows. Alright boys and girls, I
cannot wait for our road trip! Lets start off by finding out where we really are going!
1.4 Procedures
1. Pull up a map of New England. Begin by telling the basics of the area. This includes
what states New England consists of, where it is located on the map of the United States,
and what states, ocean and other country border New England.
2. Give a brief overview of the road trip you will be taking. The order is as follows: begin
in the Appalachian Mountains, travel to the farms of Vermont, stop by Lake Champlain,
head up to Maine to see the maple trees, travel to Boston to experience the city common,
end on the Coastline in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As you tell the students each
destination, be sure to point to its general location on the map pulled up on the
PowerPoint.
3. Tell the students how the road trip is going to work. So today we are going to voyage
through New England. Well visit each destination in the season that makes it most
unique. For example, we will visit the Vermont farms in the spring, but the maple trees in
Maine in the winter! Heres how it will work. We will jump on our bus and travel to a
destination. Well get out of the bus and explore a little bit. This is not a lesson where you
sit in your seats and listen to me lecture. Instead, we will all be up and moving around! I
will be doing movements with my body to go along with what I am telling you to enhance
the experience. I would love for you to join in and mimic my movements. However, we
need to remember to not get too out of hand!
4. Let the students know that after you finish the road trip, they will each be writing a
journal entry on their experience.
4. Begin the road trip. Alright, whos ready to begin the road trip? Wait and allow
students to answer. Great! Lets get on the bus! Act as though you are getting onto a bus
by walking up imaginary stairs. Get into the drivers seat and put on your seatbelt. Come
on up kids! Walk up the stairs, take a seat, and fasten your seatbelt! Our first stop is the
Appalachian Mountains! Pretend to drive. During this, you can have your hands on a
pretend steering wheel. You can pretend to brake, accelerate, stop at red lights, drive by a
friend, etc. After approximately 30 seconds, announce that you have arrived at your
destination.
5. Have the students pretend to get out of the bus, and immediately begin describing what
they are seeing in the Appalachian Mountains. Use the content notes for the information.
After you have given them an auditory version of what they would see, bring up the
slideshow and allow them to see the pictures that go along with the Appalachian
Mountains.
6. Tell them about the Appalachian Trail, and pretend to go hiking along it.
7. Tell the students about Mount Washington. Pretend that you have hiked to its highest
peak. The huge winds make it difficult to stand. Act this out, and allow the students to act
as though they are getting blown around as well. After a minute or so, jump back on the
bus and travel to the farms of Vermont.
8. Follow this format for each destination on the road trip. Before getting off the bus at
each destination, make sure to show the students on the map provided in the slideshow
where the destination is located. After every two destinations, use the pen on the Smart
board to show students the route they have traveled so far. Be sure to act out what you are

describing for each destination. Here are a few examples: swim in Lake Champlain, then
ice skate on Lake Champlain; put a tap into a maple tree and get maple syrup from it;
shiver in Boston and frolic in the town common; swim on the coastline and maneuver
your way across the rocky coasts to a lighthouse. You may incorporate as many other
movements as you feel are necessary.
9. Bring the students back on the bus one last time and travel back to the classroom. Act
as though you are exhausted and the trip really wore you out.
10. Have the students get back in their seats. Give them journal paper, and have them
write a journal entry about their road trip experience. They must include at least two of
the destinations visited, and at least two details about each destination included. Give
them 15-20 minutes to complete this task. If they do not finish, they can finish it for
homework.
1.5 Differentiation
For ELL students, the journal entry assignment will be a bit different. They will be able to
describe two destinations that we visited. However, they will be able to accompany the
description with a picture to get across any details they may not have been able to
describe through writing.
Advanced students will need to take the journal entry assignment one step further. Rather
than describing what they saw at two destinations, they will have to incorporate the other
senses into their writing. These students will have to describe at least two destinations
and include what they think they smelled, heard or felt at the various locations based on
the imagery provided.
1.6 Closure
To close the lesson, begin with a general statement about the road trip. Wow, kids! I had
so much fun traveling through New England with all of you! We saw some really cool
areas and landforms! How about we take a minute and reminisce about our trip. Can
anyone tell me his favorite place we visited? Allow students to raise their hands and
share. Make sure each destination is touched on. If one or two are left out, take it upon
yourself to tell the students they were your favorite destinations, and provide a brief
description of each. Begin handing out a note sheet. Just in case anyone ever needs a
little refresher on our road trip destinations, here is a list of all of the places we visited
and a brief description of each! You will want to put this in your notes section of your
folder for future reference! Im sure it will come in handy! Tomorrow we are going to
learn a little bit more about New England. However, instead of focusing on the
geographic makeup of the area, we will look into the old trade routes from long, long
ago!
1.7 Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Throughout the lesson, the teacher will assess students through observation and
asking questions. The teacher will observe the class while the lesson is going on
to make sure that students are participating and paying attention. The teacher will

ask questions throughout the lesson to assess how well the students comprehend
the material. The teacher will also give students the chance to tell about what they
saw on the road trip at the end of the lesson to ensure that they comprehend the
material.
To ensure that students meet the objective stating after learning about the
geography of New England, students will be able to give a general description of
the general terrain and major landforms found in the area, the students will each
independently write a brief journal entry describing the road trip. They will need
to describe at least two of the areas of New England visited as a class, and include
two details about each one. I chose this summative assessment because it allows
students to partake in a creative writing activity while simultaneously showing
what they learned from the interactive lesson.

1.8 Materials/Equipment

PowerPoint Slideshow
Traveling Accessories (hiking clothes, suitcase, camera)
Bus Passes (1 per child)

Website

http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com

M.IMinor
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http://www.usclimatedata.com

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http://www.netstate.com

M.I

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M.I

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http://www.nps.gov

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http://www.lclt.org

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http://www.britannica.com/

1.9 Technology
A PowerPoint presentation will be utilized during the road trip simulation to provide a
visual aid for students.
Content Notes
New England Geography Lesson Content Notes
I. Introduction
A. States
a. consists of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut
B. Borders
a. Atlantic Ocean
b. Canada
c. Mid Atlantic states
I. Appalachian Mountains-spring time
A. Physical Characteristics
a. goes from Central Maine down to northern Georgia
b. created by powerful upheavals within the terrestrial crust
1. Sculpted over the years by water
2. Creation began about a billion years ago
c. chain of mountains
1. Highest peak-Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 6,288 feet in
elevation
d. mixture of terrain: jagged rocky areas, wooded areas, grassy plains, fields of
wild flowers
e. natural barrier between eastern coastal plain and interior lowlands of North
America
B. Climate
a. breezy due to elevation

1. Up to 150 mph on Mount Washington

2. Can create negative degree wind chills
b. the higher the altitude, the higher the winds
c. temperate but hit extremes at highest altitudes
d. humid
e. heavy clouds and haze are common
C. Appalachian Trail
a. 2,185 miles long
b. started building in 1921, finished in 1937
c. open to public for hiking
II. Vermont and Farms
A. Physical Characteristics
a. grassy rolling hills
b. bordered by wooded areas
c. not many roads
d. rural areas: areas that are in the countryside and are sparsely populated
compared to suburban areas
C. Types
a. Dairy
1. main focus is cows
2. pastures: large fenced in areas where the cows are let out to graze
b. Crops
1. grow wheat, corn, hay and oats
III. Lake Champlain
A. Physical Characteristics
a. one of many lakes in New England
b. sometimes referred to as the sixth great lake
c. 120 miles long, 12 miles wide at its widest point
d. bordered by New York, Vermont and Quebec
e. fresh water lake
B. Extreme Winters
a. in the summer, the water is chilly but swimmable
b. in the winter, the entire lake freezes
c. ice is so thick, large trucks can drive across it
d. becomes an easy detour for traveling
IV. Maine and Maple Syrup
A. Physical Characteristics
a. maple trees are abundant
b. forests of these maple trees are scattered throughout Maine and Vermont
c. maple syrup: sticky, sweet sap that comes from a maple tree
V. Boston, Massachusetts
A. Physical Characteristics
a. common: large, grassy area in the center of a city
b. includes suburbs and city areas
1. suburbs: a residential outlying district of a city
2. cities are full of shops and large business buildings

B. Climate
a. blizzards: snow storms with strong winds
b. four seasons;
VI. Coastline
A. Physical Characteristics
a. definition: the outline of the coast the area where the land meets the sea
b. includes areas of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
and Maine
c. jagged
d. many areas are rocky
e. lighthouses
1. a tower-like structure containing a beacon light to help guide ships at
sea
2. abundant along coastline
3. attract tourists
B. Climate
a. temperate
b. warmer than inland areas of New England
C. Cape Cod, Massachusetts
a. huge attraction for tourists
b. equivalent vacation destination to Jersey shores for Mid Atlantic dwellers