Social Studies Lessons

Map Reading

Country Research Project

MAP READING SKILLS

Here are a few samples of social studies lessons I used to teach map reading skills and how to use an atlas. These lessons were meant as an introduction to our country research project which would focus less on the entire world and more closely on specific continents, countries and cultures. Enjoy!

Lesson: Introduction to Map Reading

Objectives: To begin reading maps; to learn how information is presented on a map; to locate countries, cities, rivers, etc. on a map

Materials:

• One atlas for each child
• Map skills worksheet

Procedure:

Each student will receive an atlas and be asked to open to a given page.

• Discuss what is seen on the page: how does the map look? What can they identify? How do they know what the words on the map refer to?
• As the class if they can identify a country – how did they know it was a country? How is the writing formatted (i.e. all uppercase letters, bold, italics, etc.)?
• Next have them do the same, only this time looking for a city in a given country, a river and a mountain range.
• Discuss briefly what the map symbols are: what does a capital city look like?
• Provide each student with a map skills worksheet which asks them to turn to a certain page and find a given country. Once they find the country they will be asked to find other specific things in the country such as rivers, mountains and cities.

Assessment:

Like most social studies tasks and assignments, this will be graded less formally. The students will be asked to work as best they can and complete as much as they can in the allotted time. They will be assessed based on their work during the lesson and how focused they stayed to the task.

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Lesson: Political and Physical Maps

Objectives: To examine the differences between political and physical maps; to learn which information is found on each type of map; to discuss the meanings of map symbols

Materials:

• One atlas for each student
• Poster board and markers
• Atlas scavenger hunt worksheets

Procedure:

Begin with the students in their seats, providing each student with an atlas.

• Ask the students to open to the maps on pages 58 and 59 (page 58 is a physical map and page 59 is a political map of South America).
• What are the differences and similarities between these two maps? Do they know what type of map each is?
• Direct their attention to the bottom corner of each map where the legend is. Have them notice the words “physical map” and “political map” on each page and brainstorm what these two maps are showing.
• The overall goal is to have the students understand that the political map focuses on the people and cities, whereas the physical map focuses on the physical attributes of the land such as elevation, rivers and mountain ranges.
• The next focus will be on understanding the various symbols on each map. First the students will be asked about the symbols for the cities on the political map and why they are different.
• Create a poster on the board showing what each symbol on the political map represents (the population of the city and the national/state capitals).
• Next the colors on the physical map will be discussed and the various elevation markings will be reviewed. These will also be placed on the poster which will hang on the board for the rest of the lesson.
• Finally the students will be asked to go on a hunt through the atlas looking to determine the population, elevation, and physical features of specific countries or cities. They will use their worksheet to complete this activity and turn it in when finished.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed not on correctness but on how well they worked. Their worksheets will be evaluated for how much they could complete, though their work habits during the class period will also be assessed. As the students work the teacher should walk around the room and speak to each group, making sure they are on task but also to assess their understanding of the concepts taught and the task at hand. As long as students are on task and working as best they can, they will receive full credit for the work.

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COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECT

Here you will find information about our Countries of the World project.

This project involved a lesson on using a table of contents before actual research on the country began.

Below you will find both the link for the lesson taught before the project work started and for the project itself.

Table of Contents Lesson Plan

UN DAY COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECT

Country Research Project Lesson 1 – Table of Contents

Objective: To determine prior knowledge of work with a table of contents; to determine the use and applicability of a table of contents.

Materials:

• Information books about countries from around the world (at least 1 per child)
• Table of Contents worksheet
• Project Themes (graphic organizer)

Procedure:

• Students will be asked about their knowledge of the Table of Contents. What does it tell us and where can we find it? What do we use it for?
• After a brief discussion, each student will receive their book for their assigned country. They will then be asked to open to the Table of Contents in their books.
• Note: Some students will receive two books, one of which as a post-it note on the front. This is because their own book for their project is not organized the same way as the others, so they will use a separate book for one part of this lesson but their other book for the majority of the lesson.
• When the students have their books open to the Table of Contents, they will be asked to explain what they see. How is the page organized? What are the key aspects of the page?
• The next part of the lesson focuses more on the practical use of the Table of Contents.
• First, students will be asked what one might look for on this page if they wanted to know about the people living in their country. What chapters or sections might one look in based on those listed in the Table of Contents?
• Have students read out some examples from their book. Then have them do the same thing for information about sports, games or festivals.
• After brainstorming areas in which to look for certain information, have the students actually turn to a page in their books where they could find something about people living in their country.
• Allow the students to read one sentence aloud to the class from the section.
• After practicing going from the Table of Contents to information in the book, have the students turn to a specific page in the book, and then ask them to find which section that page would be found in by looking at the Table of Contents.
• The purpose of this part of the lesson is for the students to learn what pages of the book are contained in which section.
• As a wrap-up to this lesson and an introduction to their projects, provide each student with a worksheet that sends them on a hunt through their books. They will be asked to find the facts section, areas about people, festivals, etc.
• (Note: Question 2 on the worksheet will require some children to use their book with the post-it note instead of their own book).
• When they are finished with this worksheet, they will have the rest of the time to look through their book and learn about the country they will research for their project.
• They will also be given the opportunity to use a graphic organizer to brainstorm some possible topics for their country research project and the pages on which those topics can be found in their books.

Assessment:

There is no formal assessment for this lesson specifically. The country research project assessment will take into account the work completed by the students during each phase of the assignment. A summative assessment will be used at the end which will include a portfolio of their work as well as anecdotal notes made during project work time.

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