Social Studies Unit: What’s Around Me?

K.G.1 Use geographic representations and terms to describe surroundings.

Geography and Environmental Literacy
Developmental Centers-
Block: add in maps, paper roads, markers
Art- Put cut out shapes, paint… for students to create maps. You can also put black paper for roads, blue circle or ovals for lakes, squares for houses and have students build their own map.
Writing Center- Put maps and highlights for students to explore and find locations.
*Use lego people, Candy Land people, small dolls and more for students to use as you are discussing maps, locating places on a map…
You will need to collect maps from various resources. Print out from online, ask parents to bring in maps, ask for maps through your local chamber of commerce… The books used in this unit can be substituted based on the books you have in your library. See book ideas at the end of the unit for more options. These books can be used for Read Alouds as well.
Sample lesson: Use the following to guide your lessons. This is the same mini-lesson format in Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop and Daily Café.
Focus/ Teaching Point, Link/ Connection, Active Engagement, Mid review, Share
Daily Routine: Use the maps that students bring in and have a map of the day during your morning meeting. You can share where it is from, details and other skills that you taught from the day before.
Standards / Essential Question / Activity- planned for one activity per day / Resources
K.G.1.4 Identify locations in the classroom using positional words (near/far, Left/right, above/beneath…)
K.G.1.1 Use maps to locate places in the classroom, school and home.
K.G.1.3 Identify physical features (mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, roads, etc.).
K.G.1.4
Identify locations in the classroom using positional words (near/far, left/right, above/beneath, etc.). / Why is location important? / Discuss what we do in our classroom. Why is our classroom important? Discuss the word LOCATION. My desk is located near the phone because when we are working in reading groups and the phone rings I can quickly answer the phone. My desk is far away from the dramatic play center because I need it to be really quiet when we are reading. Location of things in our classroom is important because it helps us to learn. Make sure you model using the positional words.
Take a stuffed animal and put it around the classroom. Have students use the positional words to locate the stuffed animal in the classroom. What is the location of the stuffed animal?
Writing Prompt: What is located near your desk? Describe what you see that is located near your desk. You can draw a picture and label or write sentences depending on your students needs. / Stuffed Animal
How do we use maps to locate places? / Read My Map Book focus on the map of your face page.
Have students create a map of their face. Where should your eyes be located? What about your ears? Label their face. When students are sharing their face maps make sure they use the positional words. This is a great assessment of positional words. Keep all maps to make a map book for each child. Use the face map as the front cover of the map book. Use this map book for a parent night or student led conferences. / My Map Book , My Face
or Reading a Map
Paper, Markers, crayons…
How do maps help us? / Use The book, Me on the Map or
website http://k-8visual.info/maps.html
Use only the classroom map pages.
Discuss how a picture of a classroom can be turned into a map. How does this map help us? A map is a representation of a real life place. How can we locate places in the classroom by using a map? When we look at this map in the book we are seeing it from a bird’s eye view. Discuss how to get a bird’s eye view.
Writing Prompt: If you were a bird flying in the classroom what would you see? What would the birds eye view look like? (Teachers use the bird clipart to print out and put on your ceiling. You can even name your bird.) / Me on the Map or Reading a Map website:
http://k-8visual.info/maps.html
How do we use maps to locate places? / Next use blocks from the block center and create a map of your classroom with the students. This block is for our tables. Discuss how the block acts as a model for the desk. The desk is a feature of our classroom. Where should we put it on our map? When you have placed all blocks needed on your map trace around the blocks and you have a classroom map. Label the map the features so it will be easy to read later. / Blocks from the block center
Bulletin Board Paper
Markers
How do we use maps to locate places? / Use the map of the classroom that the class made yesterday to locate features. Desk, bookshelves, computers… use positional words to describe location of these features, within the classroom. Take the map and put it on the floor. If needed use the stuffed animal to sit on the map to locate places if students need more concrete examples. / Classroom map on bulletin board paper
How do we use maps to locate places?
Use as an assessment. / Students will be able to draw a simple map. We created a classroom map together. Today I want to see if you can create your own map of the classroom. Use the legos or snap cubes at your tables to create a classroom model. You can then trace around the legos or snap cubes to then make a map. Remind students that the legos or snap cubes are models to use to create your map. Students can create this as a group or independently depending on what your classroom needs. If you complete it as a group make copies of their map for each group member. Next take the students maps and mark an X on their map where you have hidden treasure in the classroom. This takes time but it is part of the assessment where you will see if students are able to find a hidden treasure and then explain where the treasure was located. Example: The hidden treasure bookmark was beside the computer table.
http://pbskids.org/lab/activity/treasuremap/-
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
Use rubistar to create class rubrics to evaluate student work. It is very important to create the rubric with the students to differentiate for each classroom. Rubistar will help you create rubrics 1-4. / Legos
Paper
Crayons, markers…
How do we use maps to locate places? / Let’s think of places in the school we can locate. Have students generate school locations such as lunchroom, office, art room… to add to the classroom chart. Why are these locations important? It gives us real life place that we use everyday.
Location in School / Why this place is important?
Library / We can research, read books, use the computers…
/ Chart paper
How do we use maps to locate places? / Next we are going to read a school map to locate places in the school that are important to us. We have to locate important places in our school every day but can we locate them on a map? Use the fire drill map posted in each classroom. Add in icons from this document on the map to help locate. Make copies for each student. Have the students make small finger puppets or use unifix cubes to mark locations. First locate our classroom. Put your puppet or marker on the hallway. Next turn right and go to the art room… describe locations in your school and have your students located them.
When students find locations have them color in the map. Example: Color the art room blue, the lunchroom red… / School map- use the fire drill map of your classroom
Crayons
School icons- print out and place on school map.
How do we use maps to locate places? / Now it is time to create a map of your bedroom. Close your eyes and think about what your bedroom looks like. Think of the features in your bedroom. Create a list of features found in your bedroom.
Review map features from your classroom map if needed. Classroom features: desk, block area…
If needed create a list of features that might be in your bedroom as a class. / Features I want to include on my bedroom map paper
Chart paper
How do we use maps to locate places? / Students will use their Bedroom Features planning sheet to create their own bedroom map. / Bedroom Features planning sheet- select the planning sheet that fits each child’s need. Pictures provided for ESL students.
Paper
How can we create a map and then locate places? / Have students share their bedroom maps with each other. You can do this with a gallery walk with each child posting their work at their desk and students walk around to look at other student maps. Compare bedroom maps of students. My bedroom has… your bedroom has … This also celebrate diversity among students in your class. / http://www.nsrfharmony.org/index-2.html
Gallery Walk
K.G.1.2 Use globes and maps to locate land and water features. / The globe is a three-dimensional representation of the earth. What does that mean? / Have you ever been to the beach? I love the beach. What is at the beach? One of the things I love is seeing the water in the ocean. Let’s locate on the globe the oceans. The globe is a three-dimensional representation of the earth. What does that mean? What color will the oceans be on the globe? Show the globe and have students locate the oceans. What else do you notice about the globe? Land! Write on chart paper what you notice about the globe. What does it tell us? / Globe
Chart paper
Markers
How do we use a globe to locate land and water? / Yesterday we looked at a globe to identify water and land. Today let’s look at a map online to locate water and land.
Use google earth to locate your school. By using google earth locate and discuss simple land features and water around your school. / Computer and projector
Google Earth
How is a globe different than a map? / How is a globe different than a map? Create a poster with this question on it. Give students sticky notes and have them write or draw their answer. If needed you can write on the chart if students are unable to express their thoughts on a sticky note.
Or if students are ready give them this as a writing prompt and then share. / http://www.wallwisher.com/- you can use this site to have students post their ideas. Or as a teacher bring up this site to post their ideas.
K.G.1.3 Identify physical features
(mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, roads,
etc.). / What are physical features? / Have students explore maps. Put maps out on the tables in your classroom to explore. Having students explore is VERY important so they will be able to locate physical features tomorrow and not play with them. This is a great time to put out Lego people, Candy Land pieces, small figures… for students to use with the names to explore and find locations. / You will need to collect maps from various resources. Print out from online, ask parents to bring in maps, ask for maps through your local chamber of commerce, check out books from the library…
Use a large map with physical features. (You can use the document camera, map online, large atlas…) Show students the map. Ask what do you notice? Students will notice the roads, mountains, lakes… if they do not notice these physical features than point them out ask what is this? When students notice these physical features then ask students how did you know that? Explain that different landforms are distinguished by their physical features on maps. For example: rivers have water and roads have a hard surface. Have them explain their answers. Example: The roads are long and connect to go places just like the roads my mom drives to get to school. Have maps at the student tables/ desks again. This time have students look at the maps with the purpose of locating hills, mountains, roads…
Once students have had time to locate physical features on the maps then make a chart titled “Physical Features we Found” Write in one column roads and glue one of the maps that show roads. Continue through other physical features. This will also give you a word bank for students to use when talking about maps. / Large map to share
Maps to display at tables. Maps must include physical features.
ASSESSMENT / Can you create a map? / We have learned a great deal about maps. Write “What Surrounds Me?” on chart paper. Have students write or draw on a sticky note something they have learned from our “What Surrounds Me?” Then have them put the sticky note on the chart paper. Discuss that we learned. If needed have students locate what they learned on the classroom map or on the larger map with physical features.
Next explain the PROJECT!! Let’s pretend we have a new friend that just moved to our school. He/she is a great friend. We really want to show them around our school, classroom, home or community. So you have to make a map of a place that is important to you. Example: I could make a map of the art room because it is my favorite special class or I could make a map of my street because I love to play soccer with my neighbors. The important part is you want to create a map that will help our new friend locate places. What could we include on these unique maps? Have students brainstorm and write them down on chart paper. This will help when students are unsure about what to include. Make sure students understand the project and directions. If needed model a map of the local park. This place is important because he/she will want to play there after school. In your map model physical features such as a lake at the park…
Note: Have students work in partners, table groups, or independently depending on your class needs.
Let students work on their maps. If students need more structure have students use the planning sheet first.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
Use rubistar to create class rubrics to evaluate student work. It is very important to create the rubric with the students to differentiate for each classroom. Rubistar will help you create rubrics 1-4. / If you can use Wall Wisher to post ideas. (wallwisher.com)
Chart paper
Markers
Supplies to create maps. You could include fabric, markers, crayons, colored pencils, scrapbook paper, yarn…
Another project Idea for art and maps: http://princessartypants.blogspot.ca/2011/09/map-of-my-world-from-kindergarteners.html
Students will continue to work on their project. When they are finished have them share with the class and make sure they use positional words to locate items found on their maps. If time set up a museum of their maps for other kindergarten classes or parents to see. / When maps are finish put into a class book for students to enjoy throughout the school year.


Name: ______