Lesson Plan #2:

Grade: 4th
Social Studies Strand: Geography
Submitted By: Corrina Spidell

EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science
Nevada State College Spring 2014
Instructor: Karen Powell



Lesson Plan for Thursday GEOGRAPHY submitted by: Corrina Spidell

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2
Summary of the Lesson Plan: This lesson is designed for 4
th
grade and will help further their
knowledge on land formations previously discussed in class. This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin
Social Studies textbook States & Regions (20-21).



B. Basic Information:
Grade Level: 4
th
grade
Time to Complete this Lesson: approximately 50 minutes
Groupings: Whole group discussion and reading; individual activity and assessment.
C. Materials:
Text book Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook States & Regions (p. 20-21) for
each student.
Computer and projector for YouTube Video
Computers for students
D. Objectives:
o NV State Social Studies Standards
G5.4.2 Identify spatial patterns on a map of Nevada, i.e., deserts, mountains,
population
o Student-Friendly Standards
I can understand and identify the patterns on the earth that create the
land.
E. Vocabulary
Fault Rock when two plates collide sometimes one under the other. (p.20)
Folding when two plates collide sometimes the plates bend. (p.20)
Lesson Plan for Thursday GEOGRAPHY submitted by: Corrina Spidell

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 3
Volcano when magma pushes up through cracks in the earth. (p.21)
Dome Mountain some mountains are formed by magma bulging underneath the
earths surface. (p.21)
F. Procedure:
1. Engage students by turning their attention to the video with a quick overview on plate
tectonics.
http://youtu.be/ryrXAGY1dmE
2. Ask to join in on a discussion about the video, use
information on page 20.
3. As a class Read pages 20 and 21 and discuss as a class
make sure to pay attention to the different
classifications.
4. Introduce Vocabulary one by one, in this case, introduce the
different classifications.
5. Write Out the two questions from the activity on page 20 for the
students on the board, and allow students to begin researching
the answers on the computers.
6. Have students turn in their completed papers and get out a sheet
of paper for the pop quiz.
G. Assessment:
What will you use to measure student understanding?
I will ask the students the following pop quiz question and have them each answer in
their own words on their papers.

Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson.
With this assessment I can be assured that the students understood concepts that were
discussed with them in class.
H. Closure:
I will ask students if they know of any example where the movements of the rocks and plate
tectonics on earth caused a reaction that was visible to them or their family.

Lesson Plan for Thursday GEOGRAPHY submitted by: Corrina Spidell

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 4
Reflection:
1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach?
I think engaging the students with the video will be the easiest part for me, I feel
that whenever a video is shown in class, it is almost guaranteed to get their
attention.
2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach?
Making sure that the students are meeting the correct standards will be the most
challenging for me.
3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson?
This lesson can be extended with either science or math, the Earth Science
connection is clear but the math connection can be found on the bottom of page
21.
4. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts?
Having the students work on computers for the answers to the questions might open
them up to websites that can better explain concepts.
5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change?
I might have to have the students work in pairs or groups if I see that too much time
is being taken up and not enough questions are being answered.
6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part?
The most difficult part was relating this back to the standards; I believe I found on
that fits but I feel that this lesson plan could easily work for a science class as well.
Perhaps this is can just be used for both.