Deserts (& Intro of South American Deserts)
Grade: 3rd
Marissa Roen, Kayla Owens, Jamie Boehmer
MN Academic Standard
Learning Objectives
Grade Level
Academic Language Objectives
Research to Support Activities
(why are you doing what you're
doing?)
Time: 60 minutes
3.3.1.1.2 People use geographic representations and
geospatial technologies to acquire, process and report
information within a spatial context.
3.3.3.6.1 Geographic factors influence the distribution,
functions, growth and patterns of cities and human
settlements.
Students will be able to name the four types of deserts.
Students will be able to describe features of a desert.
Students will be able to identify ways that geographic
features can affect where people live.
3rd grade
Northwoods International School
Vocabulary:
- Arid: very dry, having little to no rain
- Coastal Desert: they are affected by cold ocean
currents that parallel the coast
- Cold Desert: extreme cold in the winters with still
very little precipitation
- Semiarid Desert: a partially arid region with less
than 20 inches of rain that falls annually
- Hot Dry Desert: a dry, sandy region with little
rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse
vegetation
- Precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, or hail that fall to
the ground
- Mammals: warm-blooded animals that have fur or
coats of hair
- Mean: another word for average
- Subtropical: a climate that has hot, humid
summers and mild winters
- Oasis: a fertile spot in a desert where water is
found
The biggest reason the students should know about
deserts is to see how other parts of the world live. These
students are used to the biome/ecosystem of southern
Wisconsin. Comparing the plant and animal life of
Lacrosse to the plant and animal life in deserts will
expand their geographical knowledge.
Materials & Resources Materials:
- Big paper
*Materials=items needed for the - Markers
students - Ipads
*Resources=items used by the - Paper
teacher to create the lesson
- Pencil
- Prezi Presentation
- YouTube video “Amazing Ways to Live in the
Desert”

Resources:
Student Research:
- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss
5/biome/deserts.html
- https://defenders.org/desert/types-desert
Teacher Resources:
- https://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/desert-biomes.php
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaZKEc59
g1w
Background Video:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDnvqZyx
0Wc

Student Prior Understanding - Know where South America is located on the

globe.
- Have a basic understanding of maps.

Opening Teachers will introduce themselves

Introduce agenda for the lesson
10 minutes Introductory question:
- Students will raise their hand to answer:
- What things do you already know about deserts?

Introduce YouTube video to activate prior knowledge

- “Amazing Ways to live in the Desert”
- Time: 4 minutes & 39 seconds

Questions to check comprehension:

- What are some ways to adapt to living in the
desert? (for people, plants, or animals)?
- How is living in the desert different from where
you live?

Procedure/Activities ● Talk about the four types of deserts. (Individual

checkpoint, small group Venn Diagrams- details
4 deserts lesson and checkpoint:
10-12 minutes
Venn diagram group work: 10
minutes
Venn diagram presenting: 5-7
minutes
South American deserts: 5
minutes
Kahoot closure/assessment: 10
minutes
Topics Covered:
under Assessments)
● Go over features of deserts, what lives there, how
they survive.
● Relate the knowledge of how plants/animals
survive in deserts to what we know about the
things we as humans need to survive.
● Have students brainstorm what that might mean
about where people choose to live.
● Circle back to focusing on South America. Talk
about the deserts that are specifically there. Ask,
based on our prior discussion, how students think
that affects the population of South America (as
far as where people choose to live & why).
1. Four Types of Deserts
2. Deserts in South America

Closure/Summarize Kahoot/discussion
- This will also be used as a summative
assessment
- The kahoot set will contain about 12-15 questions
about the informations previously taught
- Students will use their ipads to complete the
assessment

Assessment Formative Assessments:

● Individual Checkpoint- Matching the pictures with
the type of desert
● Small Group Venn Diagrams- students split up
into 2 groups, each group compares 2 different
kinds of deserts using a large paper with drawn
Venn Diagrams. After 10 minutes, each group
with hold up their poster and teach the other
group about the comparisons they found. Ex:
Group 1 compares Cold & Hot Dry, Group 2
compares Semiarid & Coastal

Summative Assessments: Kahoot about deserts

Differentiation Students with disabilities: Prior to teaching the lesson,

teachers will ask the main teacher about any IEP’s for the
students. Accommodations will be made to ensure that
these students have a clear understanding of the lesson.

ELL students: Students will work in small groups on

activities (especially writing/discussion like the Venn
Diagram), allowing for everyone to be a part of the
 conversation and providing peer support.

Lesson Presence Professional dress, everything covered, tattoos covered,

no gum, no jeans or leggings, skirts or dresses go to the
knee, nothing too tight