Cayley Scanlon

Unit Plan The Land of the United States

Regions and their Components Lesson
4th Grade
Background Information
Expected Duration: 50 minutes
Concepts: Places, Environment, Culture, Products, People
Vocabulary: Region, Urban, Suburban, Rural, Economy, and Agriculture
Skills: Following Directions, Identifying, Analyzing, Synthesizing
Integration of Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to identify the assigned regions tourist attractions/human features,
population of each state within that region, and plants and physical features found within
that region.
Students will be able to write the needed information for their group map.
Students will be able to collaborate with team members in an appropriate manner.
Students will read researched information about their region.
Student will complete the atlas map by labeling 5 physical features.
Standards
PAStandards
7.1.4.B:
Describeandlocateplacesandregionsasdefinedbyphysicalandhumanfeatures.
7.2.4.A:
Identifythephysicalcharacteristicsofplacesandregions
7.3.4.A:
Identifythehumancharacteristicsofplacesandregionsusingthefollowingcriteria:

Population

Culture

Settlement

Economicactivities

Politicalactivities

CCSS:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of
a topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and
digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
Anticipatory Set
Teacher will say, Remember yesterday when we talked about regions and that there are
physical and human features within them, I have a big map up here and I want you to pin on the
board where youve been from your writing piece yesterday so we can see what regions our class
has been to.
Once all students have gone up to pin on the board, teacher will say, We see that a lot of
students have been to places on the east coast, which is the region we live in. I want you to
discover more information about all the different regions to become experts on what is within that
region.

Teacher will pair the students up with as equal groups as possible with 6-8 students to
research each region.
Procedures
Teacher will review each vocabulary word and its definition from the day before. Teacher
will say, You will all be paired up in groups of the regions you have been too. You will need to
find the physical features, human features or tourist attractions, and population of each state
within your region. You will be given a manila folder with the region picture on the front where
you will label the physical and human features and the population of each state. Inside the folder
you will list each feature along with the population. If you are done early there are other things
you can research to include that will be on the back of the manila folder. You will be allowed to
use the computer or iPads to look up information on the sites I have prepared for you and you
can use the atlases at the front of the room. Make sure to label neatly and that the placement of
the features is in as close to the accurate place on the map as possible. One person from each
region team can come up and get the materials and get to work! I will be walking around to
answer any questions you many have.
Teacher will bring students back with their work and they will share what they discovered
from each region. Teacher will then hand out the students maps from the day before. Now
class today you will now add the physical features you learned from each region or include at
least 5 physical features of the 5 regions you drew yesterday. Make sure that the placement of
these regions is accurate and I can read your handwriting.
Differentiation
Advanced/Gifted Students: Teacher will have students look up 3 famous people in that region or
the climate of the region. They will include this information on the back of the folders.
Lower Level/ELL Students: Teacher will provide an individual states sheet for the students to
label the information next to those states after the completion of the manila folder region. Teacher
will provide a list of physical features they can choose from for the completion of their atlas map.
All Students: Students will get to stand up and pin where they have been by receiving the pin
from the teacher, which will provide kinesthetic movement during the lesson.
Closure
Teacher will ask what is one new thing they learned about that region. Each group will share then
the teacher will collect folder and map on the way out of the classroom.
Formative / Summative Assessment
Formative:
Teacher will observe the students while they work in groups on their region.
Summative:
Teacher will collect students work to put into the portfolio.
Materials / Equipment
Map folders of 5 regions
iPads/Computers
Atlases
Big Map of the United States
Push pins
Atlas Maps
Technology
Students will be allowed to use the computers/ iPads to do research on their assigned region.
Reflection on Planning
I think the planning of this lesson was successful in all of its components. I started with such a

small idea to bring the students back to learning about regions with my anticipatory set. Its just a
pinned map of what region they have been too, that the students should want to share where
theyve been and it makes it easier to separate them into groups. For the core of the lesson, it is a
lot of a more student directed lesson, but this is geared for fourth grade so I thought I was an
appropriate task. They will become experts on their region through research on the iPads/
computers. To then have the students share their work at the end will wrap up the lesson nicely
because they will share one new thing they learned before exiting the classroom and I as the
teacher can see if something was truly learned about the regions rather then just guessing they
now know it.
Content Outline
3.
Regions of the United States
a.

To help us during this section remember how a compass is used for the regions of the

United States, with North, South, East, and West. Many physical and human features break up
the regions. Physical features are landforms and water and human regions are groups of people
who live there. Physical features can be mountains, valleys, plateaus, plains, wetlands,
grasslands, and forests. Religions or languages define human regions. These can change in size
to become larger or smaller over time.
i.

What is the difference between physical and human features that divide up regions and

which can change overtime? Physical features are land and water and human features are groups
of people. Human regions can change overtime.
Students will complete an atlas map of the regions to compile into one for the end of the unit.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/141441244521986413/ This will be what their map will look like.

b.

Different parts of the world have different religions. So places may practice the Mormon

religion while others are apart of the wheat belt, which is where they grow a lot of wheat. Human
regions can also be the communities people live in. Urban is a city and suburban is a smaller
town near a city. There is also areas classified as rural which is more country and open land. The
government owns public land where as private land individuals own.
i.

What three types of communities people live in create human regions and what is each

of them like? Urban is cities, suburban is smaller towns, and rural is open land.
c.

There are four major regions of the United States, which are the East, The South, the

Midwest, and the West. This helps locate their geographic location. States that are close allow
for the regions to be formed along their state lines. They will often share the same natural
features such as, landforms, plants, and animals. Many states in those regions depend on the
same natural resources.
Students will create a big compass and manipulate themselves around the room for N,S,E, and W,
and see what it is like to have landforms (desks and chairs) be the boarders that create these
regions.
Student Resources for Project:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/usa.html
http://mrnussbaum.com/united-states/regions/

i.

How do we classify the regions of the United States and what allow for them to be

classified this way? They are the East, The South, the Midwest, and the West, which are classified
this way because they are groups of states together that have the same features.
d.

Human features from the past can also link regions together creating a mutual history.

They can also be formed by the economy when they use the areas resources for their jobs. The
experiences we have in these areas can also lead to classification of them because when you
travel to their areas you think of certain things associated with them.

The So ut he ast Re gio n Unit Res o ur ce

Component #1
: MapBooklets

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Southeast-Region-US-Regions-InteractiveNotebook-Map-Booklet-Activity-1748658
Lesson Plan Elements
Lesson Plan Details
Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography. PA Common Core
(Language Arts and/or Math), NCSS
Anticipatory Set
Procedures
Differentiation
Closure
Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Materials/Equipment, Resources, Citation of Sources

Point Value
Total /30
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Technology
Reflection on Planning
Submitted peer feedback and final on time
Content Outline

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