Part B

Unit Organization
This unit is designed to fit into five, forty-five minute periods in a fourth grade, inclusive
classroom during the allotted social studies time. This will be the first half of the first unit in the
curriculum. This is broken down into five sections, each will be discussed on different days. The
concepts are as follows: General map reading, New Jersey on a map, Geographical New Jersey,
Social New Jersey, and our relative location in New Jersey. Throughout the unit, students will be
exposed to new vocabulary having to do with map reading and location such as prime meridian,
hemisphere, and legend, as well as new skills. They will also be engaged in various activities such
as creating different maps, researching towns, and making a graph of data they discovered.
As the following Unit Outline implies, students will begin by learning about general map
reading skills. They will use their own compass as well as place a large compass facing North in
the classroom. Students will also re-discover their knowledge related to hemispheres, latitude
and longitude, and relative location through guided activities and a play dough recreation of the
globe.
The next lesson will focus on what was learned previously in relation to New Jersey. The
class will work together to create a large scale map on the floor which will be used throughout
the rest of the unit. After they locate their home town and other important places in New Jersey
on their map, students will take a Map Quiz which will assess their knowledge of the
information given in the past two days.
The unit moves on to cover the geographical sections of New Jersey. Students will get to
know how various geographical regions effect different parts of New Jersey and will see why the
landscape of New Jersey can vary so much depending on where in the state one is. The class will
then work together to organize characteristics into their different geographical regions on
another large map.
Next, students will get to know how New Jersey can also be separated by its social
differences. Since the state is split between two major cities, ones relative location to one of
those cities determines a lot about their social description. Students will research a town and
make predictions based on its relative location to New York and Philadelphia which sports teams
they route for and how they say certain words.
Finally, students will use the information they learned in the past week as well as data
they complied from friends and family to write a short persuasive essay regarded the social
identity of Monmouth Beach in New Jersey. In the end, students will have covered many crosscurricular concepts (science in geographical characteristics, literature in writing an essay, math
in using surveys and tallies, and technology throughout) all while gaining a further
understanding of their home states geographical and social identity and reinforcing all
important map reading skills.

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Curriculum Unit Outline
I.

Purpose
The 4th grade students will study the regions of New Jersey in the mid Fall in class in a
safe, interdisciplinary manner, in order to proceed to the next unit on NJ Counties.

II. Content
A. Map Reading
1. Compass Directions/Hemispheres
2. Continents
3. Maps, Scales & Legends
4. Grid System
B. New Jersey on a Map
1. Hemisphere
2. Content
3. North East
4. Latitude/Longitude
C. Geological New Jersey
1. Appalachian Ridge & Valley
2. Highlands
3. Piedmont
4. Atlantic Coastal Plain
D. Social New Jersey
1. Split between Two Cities
2. Sports Teams
3. Accents/Slang
E. Where We Are in New Jersey
1. On a Map
2. According to Geological Features
3. According to Social Features
III. Outcomes
A. Map Reading
Students will be able to depict their knowledge of globe and map skills at 90%
mastery level. This will be assessed by the clay Earth project. (Standard 6.1.P.B.:
Everyone is part of a larger neighborhood and community).
B. New Jersey on a Map
Students will be able to envision New Jersey as part of the world through maps
and globes at 80% mastery level. This will be assessed by a New Jersey Map quiz
and class map recreating. (Standard 6.1.4.B.1: Spatial thinking and geographic

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took can be used to describe and analyze the spatial patterns and organization
of people, places, and environments on Earth).
C. Geological New Jersey
Students will be able to sort descriptive words and phrases into corresponding
Natural Regions at 75% mastery level. This will be assessed by the group
matching activity. (standard 6.1.4.B.4.:Places are jointly characterized by their
physical and human properties).
D. Social New Jersey
Students will be able to recognize what causes the social differences in New
Jersey Regions at 75% mastery level. This will be assessed by the string locating
activity. (Standard 6.1.4.B.4.:Places are jointly characterized by their physical
and human properties).
E. Where We Are in New Jersey
Students will be able to persuade readers on their opinion of Monmouth
Beachs geographical, geological, and social location in New Jersey at 80%
mastery level. This will be assessed by the opinion paper. (Standard 6.1.4.C.14:
Economic opportunities in New Jersey and other states are related to the
availability of resources and technology).
IV. Timeline
Day 1: Map Reading
Teacher will go over compass and directions by using a compass to find North,
South, East, and West in the classroom. The class will work together to create a
compass rose to put up in the classroom.
Teacher will review Hemispheres, equator, prime meridian, continents, map
legends and grid lines using maps and text book.
Each student will be given a piece of play dough or clay. Teacher will ask
students to mold that clay into a globe-like ball and create hemispheres, prime
meridian, and equator. Will be handed in for grade.
Day 2: New Jersey on a Map
Teacher will review map facts discussed in the previous lesson. As a class, the
students will move the desks and recreate a simple map of New Jersey using the
tiles on the floor as a grid plot (the teacher will print out a map to the correct
scale to use). Once the map is in place, the class will work together to label their
hometown, the capital, and other important parts of the state in accurate
latitude and longitude.
During the last 15 minutes of class, students will complete a map quiz. Here,
students will show the knowledge they learned about New Jerseys place in the
world as well as their hometown in the state. The other portion of the quiz will

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require students to use their knowledge of general map reading to answer
questions about a different location given a map.
Day 3: Geological New Jersey
Teacher will begin class by asking the students to talk about the different kinds
of places they have been in New Jersey and list them on the board. The teacher
will then discuss the four different physical regions in New Jersey and their
different characteristics.
The class will be split into four groups, each group given a piece of the New
Jersey map that represents one of the four physical regions discussed. Teacher
will spread out index cards containing adjectives around the classroom. The
class must work together to decide which cards go with each region. Once
decided, the class will present and decide if any changes will be made. Finally,
the pieces will be added to the map on the ground. (For this unit the desks will
be in a U shape around the New Jersey map that the class is creating. This map
will then go on display in the hall at the end of the unit along with student
essays).
Day 4: Social New Jersey
Teacher will begin the class with a discussion about how New Jersey is
separated into regions other than those taught the day before. The class will be
asked to discuss different sports teams liked throughout the state and different
ways words are said. Lifestyles will also be discussed such as farming, city, and
suburban life.
Next, the class will discuss what cities are close to New Jersey (NYC and Philly).
How does the closeness of different areas in New Jersey effect their way of life?
the way they say things? what teams they like?
Students will be separated into pairs and asked to throw a counter onto our
map of New Jersey. Where the counter lands they will find the lat and long as
well as measure the distance with a piece of ribbon to NYC and Philly. The pair
will research the town (chrome-books)and see if there are any connections
between them.
In the last few minutes of class, students will be given a tally sheet in which for
homework they will fill out. It will ask them to interview family and friends
about which sports teams they like etc. It will be used the next day in class.
Day 5: Where We Are in New Jersey
The students will share their results of the tally. The results for each section will
be averaged and the class will work together to create a graph depicting the
adverse they found (this will also be hung in the hallway). The graph will be
made using the smart board and excel.
The final project for the unit will be a short persuasive essay describing how
they believe Monmouth Beach fits into New Jersey as a whole based on the

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research done on physical geographical and social characteristics of the state
and town. Students will create a boarder and assist in displaying their work on
the bulletin board in the hall.
V. Resources
A. Technology
1. Chrome-books
2. Smart Board
3. Microsoft Excell
B. Teacher Made
1. Large Compass Rose
2. Large Map of NJ for floor
3. Map Quiz
4. Physical Regions Puzzle
5. Adjective Index Cards for Puzzle
6. Tally Sheet
C. Art Supplies
1. Play Dough
2. Tape (for gridlines on floor)
3. Sharpie (to label grid lines on floor)
4. Markers/crayons/colored pencils (for various activities)
D. Other Resources
1. Text Book
2. Globe
3. Maps (Contents, US, and NJ)
4. Compass
5. Counters
6. String

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VI. Evaluation
This unit will count as 25% of their marking period grade.
Grade for unit will be deciphered out of 25 total points.
Project

Total Point Available

Percentage of Unit
Grade

Percentage of MP
Grade

Clay Earth Project

20%

5%

Map Quiz

20%

5%

Map Recreation

8%

2%

String Activity/Town
Research

20%

5%

Tally Sheet

4%

1%

Graph Participation

8%

2%

Paper

20%

5%

The Clay Earth Project, Map Quiz, Town Research, and Paper are graded on a scale from
0-5 based on handed in assessments by the students. The Map Recreation and Graph
Participation are graded on a scale of 0-2 and will be based on teacher observation of
participation and comprehension. The Tally Sheet will be given a 0 or 1 based on homework
completion.

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Part B
Description of Diverse Learners
As stated in the classroom description, the class has 14 students, five boys and nine girls. Of the
five boys, three are classified special education. One boy is removed for language arts periods
while two boys require personal instructional aides for most periods. Of the nine girls, three
have IEPs or 504s. Although none of the students are classified as gifted and talented (being in
the top 10% of the grade), many have strong academic interested and require enrichment.
Students with Learning Disabilities: The documented learning disabilities in this classroom are
ADHD and Dyslexia while some students are being evaluated for other disabilities as well. In
order to ensure the success of these students, opportunities for extra time will be given when
necessary, important concepts will be highlighted, written on the board and reiterated, and the
schedule will be kept as uniform as possible and will also be listed on the board daily. The
teacher and classroom aides will also provide extra help when necessary.
Gifted and Talented Students: In order to keep students who are ahead of most of the class
interested and academically stimulated, various enrichment projects and programs will be
provided to be done if work is finished early. Enrichment will be available to all students who
have time but will not be grades. Enrichment will be planned to coincide with each lesson and
vary in context in order to remain relevant.

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