Exploring the Northeast Region

Name: Taylor Woodruff

Time Allotted: 30 minutes
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Subject(s): Social Studies
Materials Required:
- KWL Chart
- Guided Notes
- Menu Board Assessment & Rubric
- Prezi
- YouTube Videos
- Zane Education. (2010). The North East States: Location and physical features. YouTube.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPE-Kled5v8
- Power, Caroline. (2013). The Northeast Region of the US. YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PpR8vM7AE
- Geographic Characteristics Handout
- Mdk12.org (2014). Geographic Characteristics. Retrieved from
http://mdk12.org/share/pdf/social_studies/GEOGRAPHY/Geo_ch_chart.pdf
Michigan Content Expectations:
4 G1.0.4 Use geographic tools and technologies, stories, songs, and pictures to answer
geographic questions about the United States.
Objective(s):
Objective 1: The student will identify human and physical characteristics of the
Northeast region by using geographic tools, technologies, songs, and pictures so that the
student can create a final project where they describe the northeast region, and earn a 4/5
on the rubric.
Assessment:
Objective 1 Informal Formative Assessment: Classroom discussion will be the first
mode of informal assessment in this lesson. I will make mental notes of what the
students responses are when discussing the northeast region.
Objective 1 Formal Formative Assessment: The graphic organizers used throughout
the lesson will be formal formative assessments. These will be used to monitor the
students learning throughout the lesson.
Objective 1 Formal Interim/Summative Assessment: The summative assessment for
this lesson will be the menu board assessment. The students will be creating a final
project to display their knowledge of the Northeast region.
The data generated will be used to first monitor the students learning. If I see that the students
are not proficient during the formative assessment stage, I will use that information to go back
and reteach part of the lesson. The data collected from the summative assessment will allow for

me to determine whether or not the students have learning the information about the Northeast
region.
Instructional Procedure:
1. Anticipatory Set: (Allotted Time 3 minutes)
a. Upon entering the class, the students will pick up a blank map of the United
States. They are going to use a marker to outline the regions of the United States
to the best of their knowledge, and label any of the regions they may know. I will
be sure to let them know that its ok to be wrong. We will learn all the regions
over the next few days.
b. I will tell the students this is related to the previous lesson because we have been
learning about the different regions of the United States. This is also related to the
following lessons because we are going to be using the information we learn
about each of the regions to compare to the region we live in!
c. I will explain that I had the students highlight the different regions because we are
going to be learning about the Northeast region today. We are going to answer
identify several human and physical characteristics of the region.
d. Behavior expectations:
i. Show respect to both the teacher and the students, which means listening
and not talking when other are talking.
ii. Create a positive atmosphere, so that all students feel comfortable sharing
thoughts and ideas.
iii. Be open to others ideas, and work together.

2. State Purpose and Objective of Lesson: (Allotted Time 1 minute)

a. I want you to learn multiple human and multiple physical characteristics of the
Northeast region.
b. This is important to know because it is part of the United States, and because we
are going to be taking the information we learn today to compare it to our home
region.
c. This lesson connects to both the previous and upcoming lessons. There will be a
lesson for each of the regions, and then after those lessons we will be using the
information and knowledge learned to complete the final lesson. The lesson will
be taking one of the regions we learned about and compare it to the region
Michigan belongs to, which is the Midwest. This is connecting to our overall
theme of Theres no place like home because we are dive into what makes our
region so great to live in!
3. Instruction: (Allotted Time_______ You may want to break the times out by DII, Modeling, GP and IP to make sure youve
planned effectively)
a. Direct Interactive Instruction (5 minutes):
i. I am going to pass out 2 graphic organizers to the students. The 1st will be
a K-W-L chart, and the 2nd will be a note taking graphic organizer. The

students will have 1 minute to fill out all they know about the northeast
region on the K. Then they will have another minute to fill out they want
to know. Once they have completed that, I will explain the purpose of the
graphic organizer. This is going to be used to help them keep track of the
information they learn, and will be used as a resource when they complete
the assessment at the end of the lesson.
ii. To begin, I am going to first ask the students to formulate their definition
of human and physical characteristics. I will ask the students to share their
definition, and then explain why and how they came up with it. I will then
hand out a worksheet that defines human and physical characteristics.
iii. http://mdk12.org/share/pdf/social_studies/GEOGRAPHY/Geo_ch_chart.p
df
iv. During this time, the students will be actively engaged in the
conversations, as well as filling out the graphic organizers.
b. Modeling (5 minutes):
i. I am going to list off several different human and physical characteristics
on the board. They will not be in any particular order, and once I have a
few written on the board I will explain to the class how to sort these, using
the Geographic Characteristics handout.
1. To put on the board:
a. Religion
b. Mountains
c. Rivers
d. Language
e. Grand Canyon
f. Spring Arbor University
g. Grain
h. Fruit
ii. I will explain my thinking the entire time, and explain why it is a human
or physical characteristic.
c. Guided Practice (10 minutes):
i. For guided practice the students will be working in centers. There will just
be 2 centers, one is a PowerPoint presentation they will go through, and
the other is a video they will watch. The students will be using the centers
to identify human and physical characteristics of the Northeast region.
ii. The video link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PpR8vM7AE &
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPE-Kled5v8
iii. The presentation can be found at:
http://prezi.com/bp8sfcjni5wg/edit/#16_30863873
iv. When the students are at the stations they may work together or separately,
it is up to them to decide. They must each complete their own graphic
organizer, as well as do an equal share of work. When it is time for the
students to transition to the other center, I will ask them to transition using
a movement. Due to trains being a common mode of transportation in the
Northeast, I will have them pretend to be trains as they transition. This

movement will help to engage some students and make the transition
meaningful and related to the lesson.
v. I will be walking around while the students are at the stations to ensure
they are obtaining all the information correctly. I will answer any
questions, as well as make sure they are on task.
-

4.

d. Independent Practice (5 minutes):

When the students have completed the guided practice, and they all have gained adequate
knowledge of the Northeast region, we will move to the independent practice. The
independent practice will be given to the students at the end of the lesson, and if it is not
completed, it will be homework.
The independent practice will be a menu board option for the students to display their
knowledge of the Northeast region. They will select one of the options on the board and
complete the assessment. They are to incorporate 7 human and physical characteristics
into their final assessment.
The menu board and rubric are attached.
Differentiated Consideration (Adjust instruction and assessments, tools, resources or
activities for students who):
Multiple Intelligences weaved throughout the lesson to meet the needs of all types of
learners:
o

Visual-Spatial: The students will be using maps, pictures, videos, and PowerPoints
throughout the lesson to learn about the Northeast region.

Bodily-kinesthetic: One form of this being used in the lesson is having the students
transition from center to center by giving them an action to complete. In this lesson they will
be acting like a train when transitioning. In the assessment of the menu board, the students are
given the option to create a skit to demonstrate their knowledge of the Northeast region.

Musical: The students will be given the option to create a song or poem to demonstrate their
knowledge of the northeast region. The use of the video in the center is another form of this
multiple intelligence.

Interpersonal: When the students are in their center work they are given the option to work
with their groups to find information out about the northeast region. Discussion throughout
the lesson is also another form of interpersonal interaction for the students.

Intrapersonal: The students will have an option to work alone during the centers if they
wish. They are also to work independently on the menu board assessment.

Linguistic: For the linguistic learners, the use of PowerPoint will be helpful for them. They
are able to read the information off of the slides. They will also benefit from the poem
selection on the assessment.

Logical -Mathematical: Allowing for the students to formulate the definitions of human and
physical characteristics is one way that this lesson will be tailored to their learning style. The
use of the PowerPoint and video is also helpful because they have to take the information
from those, determine what is important, and then record their information.

5. Closure: (Allotted Time 10 minutes )

a. With the last 10 minutes of class, I will bring the students all back together to
conclude the lesson. I will restate the objectives for the students from the lesson.
b. To have the students summarize the objectives and what they have learned, they
will be given a piece of paper that resembles a yellow brick, from the yellow brick
road. On the brick they will write one complete the sentence Theres no place
like home because... The students will write one way there is no place like home
in regards to the lesson they have created. This brick will be their ticket out of the
door for each lesson. After each lesson the brick will be added to the yellow brick
road, leading the students one step closer to Oz.
c. The students can share with a partner about why theres no place like home based
on the lesson.
i. An example would be Theres no place like home because the Midwest
Region is the breadbasket of the United States.
d. This lesson connects to our theme of Theres No Place like Home because they
will be identifying different aspects of how their home is unique. Each lesson
throughout this thematic unit will be building the students knowledge of what
makes their home unique.
6. References:
Mdk12.org (2014). Geographic Characteristics. Retrieved from
http://mdk12.org/share/pdf/social_studies/GEOGRAPHY/Geo_ch_chart.pdf
Zane Education. (2010). The North East States: Location and physical features. YouTube.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPE-Kled5v8
Power, Caroline. (2013). The Northeast Region of the US. YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PpR8vM7AE
Philadelphia and The Countryside. (2013). Liberty Bell Center. Image. Retrieved from
http://press.visitphilly.com/media/3285
DesJardins, Jordan. (2014). NYCC 2014: Kevin Smiths Announces His Next Project Titled
Moose Jaws. Image. Retrieved from http://sciencefiction.com/2014/10/12/nycc-2014kevin-smiths-moose-jaws-incoming/
NW Okie & Sadie. (2012). The Okie Legacy. Image. Retrieved from
http://okielegacy.net/journal/ezine/?vol=14&iss=23
Niagara Falls. (2014). Facts about Nigeria Falls. Image. Retrieved from
http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Facts_about_Niagara_Falls.htm
How Stuff Works. (2014). Northeast region population density. Image. Retrieved from
http://maps.howstuffworks.com/northeast-region-population-density-map.htm
Wikipedia. (2014). White House. Image. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House
NYC Tourist. (2005). Statue of Liberty NYC. Image Retrieved from
http://www.nyctourist.com/liberty1.htm

The Hersheys Company. (2014). Hersheys Company. Image. Retrieved from

http://www.hersheys.com/

Physical Characteristics
Definition:

HumanCharacteristics
Definition:

4 pts
Excellent

3 pts
Proficient

2 pts
Needs
Improvement

1 pts
Unsatisfactory

The student clearly

identified 10 or more
human and physical
characteristics of the
Midwest and a region
of their choice. 3 of
which are human
characteristics.

The clearly student

identified 9 to 7
human and physical
characteristics of the
Midwest and a region
of their choice. 3 of
which are human
characteristics.

The student identified

6 to 4 human and
physical
characteristics of the
Midwest and a region
of their choice 2 of
which are human
characteristics.

The student identified

4 to 2 human and
physical
characteristics of the
Midwest and a region
of their choice. 2 of
which is human
characteristics.

Menu Board Rubric

The students will create a project where they compare the Midwest with another
region. They may pick any project from the menu board to complete and must
include at least 10 human and physical characteristics from the regions, with at
least 3 being human characteristics. To be proficient the student must earn 3 out of
4 on the rubric.

What I know about the Northeast region.

What I want to know about the northeast region.

The Northeast Region