Integrations

Textbook Strategies
1. Cooperative Learning - Chapter 3 (Lesson #4):
Cooperative learning is a very effective approach when executed
correctly. Cooperative learning is basically group work, except each group
member has a defined role, and each individual persons role is accountable
for the success of the whole group. The five elements of cooperative learning,
as defined by Drs David Johnson and Roger Johnson in 1999 are positive
interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and group
accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing
(Dean et. al., 2012, p. 36). All of these are important aspects of cooperative
learning, especially individual accountability and positive interdependence.
Cooperative learning is effective because it provides an environment in
which students can reflect upon their newly acquired knowledge, process
what they are learning by talking with and actively listening to their peers,
and develop a common understanding about various topics (Dean et. al.,
2012, p. 37). These skills are not only important academically, but also are
important for students to develop for everyday life.
I am integrating cooperative learning during an activity where the
students will be making their own jingle about Europe that must include a
geographical feature we discussed. During this activity, each student will be
in a group of three based on ability and/or social levels. Within the groups,
each student will have an assigned role that is pre-selected by the teacher
based on what they would be able to do best in the group. The three roles in
this activity are: the group leader, who will keep track of the time and keep
their group on task; the recorder, who will write down the lyrics to the jingle
that their group is coming up with together; and finally the illustrator, who
will draw what their group comes up with as an image that would go well with
their jingle. Having the students use cooperative learning for this activity will
ensure that each student is actively engaged and participating. When I
explain the directions to students about their roles, I will be sure to remind
them that their individual roles are all important to the overall success of the
group, and that they need to be responsible for themselves and the
encouragement of their group members.

2. Graphic Organizers - Chapter 4 (Lesson #3):

Graphic organizers are some sort of visual that show the meaning
and/or relationships of concepts, help students to narrow in on what is most
important, and access students background knowledge (Dean et. al., 2012,
p. 51). Also, as represented in the name graphic organizers, they help
students with taking notes in an organized fashion, a skill that is very
important for students to develop. Graphic organizers are also incredibly
useful when it is helpful to differentiate for certain students, as the teacher
 can have some of the graphic organizer pre-filled out for those students, and
have them feel in the blanks rather than trying to write it all themselves. I will
use graphic organizers in my future classroom because they are not only very
helpful for the above reasons, but also because the teacher can make it
appealing to the students by varying the looks of these organizers, and make
them appealing and interesting to the students.
In my unit, I am incorporating a graphic organizer as a note-taking
strategy during my lesson on the bodies of water of North America. The students
will receive a pre-cut organizer on colored paper that already has a picture of each
body of water on the different sections of the organizer. I will call on a student that
volunteers that has neat handwriting and would have an easy time with it to come
up and bring their foldable under the document camera to fill out so that the
students have a guide to look at while filling it out, and I can be circulating the room
as we do it. I will discuss the different bodies of water, ensuring that students write
each one with the correct picture, and I will point them out on a big map as we go
through them. Using this specific graphic organizer will be helpful in this activity
because not only is it a great design for students to quiz themselves on the
information, but it also is a good organizer to look at information side-by-side, so it
will be easy for them to look at some of the differences and similarities the bodies of
water have.

Encore Integrations:
1. Technology Integration: Lesson #5
For my technology integration, I am having the students take a virtual
tour of the
Himalaya Mountains using the iPads. On this website, the students will
be able to pinch
on the screen to zoom in and out, as well as swipe up and down and
left to right to see
different parts of the mountains. At each stop of the Himalaya
Mountains, there is a
fact on the side about the section it is showing. There is also a feature
where the
students click on a helicopter icon to take a helicopter ride to
another part of the
mountains. The students will get some time to each have their own
iPad so that each
individual student has the opportunity to use the technology
themselves.
2. Music Integration: Lesson #4
For my music integration, it will be done on the second day that the
students are
learning about Europe, which is the last day as well. The students will
be put into groups
 and create a jingle about Europe that must include at least one of the
geographic
features that we went over from either that day or the previous Europe
lesson. The
students will create the jingles as groups, and then have the chance to
share with their
classmates (but do not have to sing if they do not feel comfortable
doing so).
3. Art Integration: Lessons #6 and #7
The art integration I decided to use will be done on the two days that
the students are
learning about Africa. The activity that the students will complete as
their art integration
is to create salt dough maps of Africa. The students will be provided
with pieces of
cardboard to trace the outline of Africa on, and then they will be given
the salt dough
(made ahead by teacher) to press onto the cardboard in the shape of
Africa. They will
build up the maps where there are mountainous areas, and they will
use pencils to draw
lines where there are rivers.
4. Health & Physical Education Integration: Lesson #5
For the health and physical education integration, I planned an activity
on the day that
the students are learning about the Himalaya Mountains. On this day,
as the hook of the
lesson to get them excited about learning and to get some energy out
of them, the
students will experience simulating climbing Mount Everest on a hill
outside near the
playground. The teacher will shout things to the students about the
conditions around
them, and they will act that out as they climb the hill. The students will
also simulate
how dangerous it would be to come down. There will then be a class
discussion of how
they felt, and how they really think it would feel like to climb Mount
Everest.

Differentiation Component:
Lesson #4: Heterogeneous groups- The students will be placed into heterogeneous
groups that the teacher has thought about in advanced. Each group will be assigned
to a different shape, and written on each shape will be the students name and their
role within their group. When it is time to get into the groups, the students will be
given their shapes, and they will find the other two people with the same shape as
them. This will help to make it less obvious that the grouping was purposeful, and
not making any students feel left out and/or singled out.

Cross-Curricular Options
1. Math
How long is the Nile River?: The students will get into
groups and each group will be given a map. The teacher will explain to
the students about how a scale on a map works, and show an example
of how the students can use the scale and a ruler to measure how long
something is. The students would then work in their groups and using
their map and its scale, and a ruler, measure the length of the Nile
River. The students would record their answers, and then we would
come together as a whole group and discuss why groups might have
gotten different answers. This corresponds with Mathematics SOL 3.9
because the students will be using the US Customary system to
measure. (Map of the Nile River:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRNILEBASINI/Images/map_full_
size.jpg)
U.S. Time Zones: The students would be shown different
time zones throughout the world on analog clocks. The students would
have to write down what time it shows in each time zone, and then
they would have to figure out what the time differences (in hours) is.
This would be connected to Mathematics SOL 3.11, where students
have to be able to tell time on clocks and calculate elapsed time. (Map
of current times: https://www.mathsisfun.com/time-zones-world.html)
2. Reading
Folktales: Students would partner read one of the
following folktales from a country. After the student read, we would
come together as a class and discuss the questions that follow and talk
about these different cultures and where they are located in the world,
and some of their traditions. This would correspond with English SOL
3.5, which indicates that students will read and discuss fictional texts.
(Folktales from:
http://web.archive.org/web/20120915194613/http://eps.schoolspecialty
.com/external/read_write_think/folktales.pdf)
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
by Lynne Cherry: The teacher will do a read-aloud of this story and as a
class, there will be a discussion about different things that they noticed
throughout the story. This corresponds with English SOL 3.5, as the
students would have to ask and answer questions about what was
 read. This activity would be good to read the day that the students will
learn about the Amazon Rainforest. Afterwards, the students could
complete a 3-2-1 about the book. (3-2-1 Template: https://s-media-
cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f7/f0/fb/f7f0fb575da7d70cb64870a32e403b2e.jp
g)
3. Writing
Writing a Letter or Postcard: Using one of the locations
discussed, the students would pretend they are living there and write a
postcard or letter home to their family or friends and tell them what it
is like, where exactly it is located, etc. This would correspond with
English SOL 3.9, because the students would be choosing an intended
audience to write to, and the focus of their writing would be centered
on one topic, which in this case would be writing about where they are.
(Postcard template: http://www.timvandevall.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/09/Post-Card-Template-02-600w.jpg ; letter
template: http://earn-make-money.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/04/letter-writing-template-hk6sdzgd.jpg )
Create a Travel Brochure: Students will be placed into
heterogeneous grouping of mixed abilities and each be assigned a
different country. Each group will have to do some research on their
country (with nonfiction books provided by the teacher on each
country) and create a travel brochure to convince people why they
should visit this country. This corresponds with English SOL 3.9 and
3.11, because they will be writing about a specific topic by conducting
research, and will be writing to an intended audience, which will be
people that want to go on vacation. (Brochure template:
https://en.islcollective.com/wuploads/preview_new/big_islcollective_wor
ksheets_elementary_a1_preintermediate_a2_intermediate_b1_upperint
ermediate_b2_elementary_school_high_sc_200425660157abf731dee2c
4_68567717_1.jpg)
4. Science
Habitats: The students will learn about different habitats
that are at the five continents they need to know about. The students
will learn about the organisms that live in these habitats. When we are
discussing Africa, we would discuss savanna habitats. The students
could use Play-Doh to create a grassland habitat. The students would
be provided with Play-Doh as well as laminated pictures of plants and
animals to place in their savannas. This activity corresponds with
Science SOL 3.6, where the students learn about different ecosystems.
In this case, it would be part of the terrestrial ecosystems. (Play-Doh
habitats might look similar to this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
CylmLxr4q8Y/UEvUz5Bx6BI/AAAAAAAAKT8/UAyL2gBRvMU/s1600/DSC0
0200.JPG)
 Air Quality: The teacher will discuss what air quality is,
and show the students pictures of places around the world with poor
air quality. The teacher will ask students questions about what affects
poor air quality has on people and animals. The teacher will also ask
students reasons air quality might be so bad, and how we can work to
improve it. This corresponds with Science SOL 3.10, where students
need to understand the effects of humans on air quality.
Community Connection

1. The students will take a field trip to Appalachian Mountains. The

students will go on a hike with the teacher and chaperones, and they will
record different things they notice about the mountains in a journal as they
walk. This would really help students because they would be able to see one
of the geographic locations they need to know, and they would get to
observe the features of it on their own instead of being told. The students
would have the opportunity to look at one of the maps there that shows
where the mountains extend, and exactly where on the mountain trail they
are located. This would directly coordinate with History and Social Sciences
SOL 3.6, as the students will be able to identify that the Appalachian
Mountains are located in eastern North America and extend from Canada to
Alabama by looking at the maps at the mountain trail.