People and Places

Submitted by: Michael Feher & Greg Winiewicz Nevada State College Fall 2013 Instructor: Karen Powell EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science

People and Places Social Studies Lesson Plan Summary of the Lesson Plan: This is a second grade social studies lesson which will introduce the big idea that people affect the places where they live. Every place has geographic characteristics as well as human characteristics. The lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook Neighborhoods (p. 22-23). Student Population: Second Grade. Students at all learning levels. Whole group discussion, small group, and individual assessment. Materials: Objectives:

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook Neighborhoods. Grid paper, computers, maps, pictures, crayons, colored pencils Construction paper Houghton Mifflin Practice Books

Standard: G6.2.2 I can describe neighborhoods and communities.

G5.2.3A - Construct a simple map of the community.

Procedure: 1. The teacher will take the students outside of the school to look at things around the school. Teacher will ask the students what features they see. Students may say houses, park, signs, sidewalks or playground. Teacher will then ask the students what features they see that are man-made. They may say the roads, signs, playground equipment and parking lot. Teacher will tell the students that people help shape the places where they live. Students will record their observations on construction paper. 2. The teacher will then show the Unit Video, All about Neighborhoods. The teacher summarizes the video by saying, People work, live, and play in neighborhoods. Neighborhoods look different depending on where they are. Neighborhoods are different in the city and rural areas. People in different areas may have different backgrounds. People travel in different types of transportation. Rules protect our neighborhoods. 3. The children will be directed to look at the picture on page 23. Teacher will ask what the little girl is doing. Could this girl play this game inside? What makes this a good sidewalk game? Teacher will tell the students that children may play different games depending on the neighborhood they live in.
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People and Places Social Studies Lesson Plan 4. Teacher will show students a map of a neighborhood. Students will work in groups of five to complete a neighborhood map. They will include roads, signs, houses, school, parks, flags and any other important detail. Hang up the maps in the classroom for students to view throughout the unit. 5. Students will complete Practice Book-page 1, 6. Closure: Teacher will restate the objective and invite the students to share their maps and talk about what they learned about the places we live in. Assessment: Students will share their neighborhood maps with the class. Teacher will observe groups to make sure everyone is contributing to the task. Check Practice Book-page 1. Reflection:
Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? I think the easiest part of the lesson will be having the students make the group maps. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? I think the most challenging part will be to have them stay focused when we go outside to view our surroundings. They will have to follow directions and listen carefully to the teacher. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? I will follow up this lesson have the students draw a map showing where they live and share with the class. Also, I would share with them Google Earth and let them put the address of the school in the site to show them what the neighborhood looks like. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? For students who dont grasp the concepts I can pull them into a small group and reteach the concept. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? I may have to shorten the lesson if anything and use a couple days for this lesson. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? The most difficult part was making sure I was creating activities that were teaching the learning objective.

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Submitted by: Michael Feher

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