Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03

Lesson: 01

Suggested Duration: 8 days

Ningunos dos lugares son exactamente iguales

Lesson Synopsis:

Students explore the characteristics of the physical environment of communities, including their own community, in order to describe and explain variations in the physical environment, including climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards. They also explore these characteristics to identify and compare how people in different communities adapt to the physical environment in which they live. Students also look at excerpts from the journals of Christopher Columbus, whose journeys “opened” the New World to further exploration and settlement, to see how he described the physical environment of the islands where he landed.

TEKS:

3.1 / History. The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have influenced the history of various communities. The student is expected to:
3.1C / Describe how individuals, including Daniel Boone, Christopher Columbus, the Founding Fathers, and Juan de Oñate, have contributed to the expansion of existing communities or to the creation of new communities.
3.4 / Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to variations in the physical environment. The student is expected to:
3.4A / Describe and explain variations in the physical environment including climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards.
3.4B / Identify and compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment in which they live such as deserts, mountains, wetlands, and plains.

Social StudiesSkills TEKS:

3.17 / Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
3.17A / Research information, including historical and current events, and geographic data, about the community and world, using a variety of valid print, oral, visual, and Internet resources.
3.18 / Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:
3.18A / Express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
3.18B / Use technology to create written and visual material such as stories, poems, pictures, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas.
Getting Ready for Instruction
Performance Indicator(s):
  • Compare physical characteristics of two places using a Venn diagram. Create and perform a “poem for two voices” that explains the similarities and differences shown on the Venn diagram. (3.4A, 3.4B; 3.17A, 3.17B; 3.18A, 3.18B)

1C; 3D

©2012, TESCCC04/17/13page 1 of 8

Kindergarten / Science

Unit: 01 Lesson: 01

Key Understandings and Guiding Questions:
  • Regiones diferentes tienen características físicas diferentes.

—¿En qué se diferencian los medios ambientes físicos?

—¿Cómo las personas de diferentes comunidades se adaptan al medio ambiente físico?

Vocabulary of Instruction:

© 2008, TESCCC Revised 09/22/2010page 1 of 8

Kindergarten / Science

Unit: 01 Lesson: 01

  • características físicas
  • clima
  • adaptar
  • accidentes geográficos
  • recursos naturales
  • peligros naturales

© 2008, TESCCC Revised 09/22/2010page 1 of 8

Kindergarten / Science

Unit: 01 Lesson: 01

© 2008, TESCCC Revised 09/22/2010page 1 of 8

Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03 Lesson: 01

Materials:

©2008, TESCCC 10/13/08page 1 of 8

Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03 Lesson: 01

  • Refer to the Notes for Teacher section for materials.

©2012, TESCCC 05/30/12page 1 of 8

Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03 Lesson: 01

©2012, TESCCC 05/30/12page 1 of 8

Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03 Lesson: 01

Attachments:

  • Handout:Excerpts from Christopher Columbus Journals (1 per student and 1 for display)
  • Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment(3 per student)
  • Handout: Academic Vocabulary (1 per student)
  • Handout:Comparing Physical Characteristics of Communities (optional, 1 per student)

©2012, TESCCC 05/30/12page 1 of 8

Grade 3

Social Studies

Unit: 03 Lesson: 01

Resources and References:

None identified

Advance Preparation:
  1. Become familiar with content and procedures for the lesson, including the physical characteristics of your community and children’s descriptive poetry.
  2. Refer to the Instructional Focus Document for specific content to include in the lesson.
  3. Select appropriate sections of the textbook and other classroom materials that support the learning for this lesson.
  4. Locate and practice performing the poem “Mayflies” from Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices.
  5. Choose several communities students will gather data on (including at least one from each of the following: desert, mountains, wetlands, plains. Prepare data sets (charts, graphs, etc.) for each community that includes pictures, climate (temperature, wind, precipitation), landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards.
  6. Preview available resources and websites according to district guidelines.
  7. Prepare materials and handouts as needed.

Background Information:

Climate: Climate is the weather at a particular place over a period of years. Those who study climate consider the averages and extremes of temperature, wind velocity, precipitation, and other weather elements. Factors which influence the climate of a place include distance from the equator (latitude), proximity to large bodies of water and the nature of the body of water (cold ocean currents versus warm ocean currents), location on a continent, and elevation.

Landforms: Landforms are features on Earth’s surface which include plains, mountains, deserts, hills, and canyons. The shape of landforms (tall and jagged, flat with steep sides, etc.), the nature of the landforms (easy to live on, difficult to live on, etc.), and the processes that continue to affect the landforms (erosion and deposition) are important factors to consider in studying the influence of these physical characteristics on humans.

Natural Resources: Natural Resources are items provided by nature from which people produce goods and provide services. Some examples of natural resources include water, soil, trees, and oil as well as minerals and metals such as gold and iron ore. Even abundant fish can be a natural resource.

Natural Hazards: A natural hazard is a process or event in the physical environment, not caused by humans and not predictable, but which can destroy human life and property. Natural hazards include hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, fires, floods, and insect infestations.

Regions: Areas of the earth’s surface which have similar physical or human characteristics distinctive from the characteristics of neighboring areas.

Getting Ready for Instruction Supplemental Planning Document

Instructors are encouraged to supplement and substitute resources, materials, and activities to differentiate instruction to address the needs of learners. The Exemplar Lessons are one approach to teaching and reaching the Performance Indicators and Specificity in the Instructional Focus Document for this unit. Instructors are encouraged to create original lessons using the Content Creator in the Tools Tab located at the top of the page. All originally authored lessons can be saved in the “My CSCOPE” Tab within the “My Content” area.

Instructional Procedures
Instructional Procedures / Notes for Teacher
ENGAGE–Columbus Journals / NOTE: 1 Day = 50 minutes
SuggestedDay 1–20 minutes
  1. Distribute the Handout: Excerpts from Christopher Columbus Journals.
  1. Introduce students to the concept of characteristics of the physical environment by reading excerpts from the journals of Christopher Columbus while students follow along.
  • The journeys of Columbus and thephysical environment of the New World that he wrote about interested people in coming in search of new sources for natural resources. His journeys and his writings opened this New World to other explorers and settlers, contributing to new communities.
  1. On the first 1/3 of the drawing paper, students draw the physical environment of the islands as described by Columbus. This drawing becomes the first ofthe 3 Environments sketches; keep the drawing for use later in the lesson. Note that since Columbus’s ships are human characteristics – the result of human intervention – they should not be in the pictures. Use this as an opportunity to lead students to understand the difference between physical characteristics and human characteristics of places.
  1. Mayflies are one insect that is part of the environment of the Caribbean, where Columbus landed. Provide students with some background information about mayflies. Then access the poem “Mayflies” from Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. With a student or another teacher, perform the poem so students will have an example to draw from when they create their poem for two voices in the Evaluate section of this lesson.
/ Materials:
  • map of Columbus journeys
  • drawing paper divided into 3 sections (to create 3 Environments sketches)
  • information on mayflies in the Caribbean
  • poem “Mayflies” from Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Attachments:
  • Handout: Excerpts from Christopher Columbus Journals (1 per student and 1 for display)
Instructional Note:
  • Characteristics of the physical environment are things created by nature not man. Buildings and roads are human characteristics, not physical characteristics.
  • The drawing created on the top 1/3 of the drawing paper is referred to as 3 Environments and will be accessed twice more in this lesson.

EXPLORE– Characteristics of the physical environment / SuggestedDay1 (cont’d)–30 minutes
  1. Introduce students to characteristics of the physical environment including climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards. Use information from the textbook (glossary, pictures, etc.) and other classroom materials to briefly define the categories of characteristics of the physical environment and build a basic understanding of them.Each category will be investigated more closely throughout this lesson.
  1. Distribute the Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment to each student.
  1. Model the research process students will go through as they investigate more about physical characteristics of communities.
  1. Relate the categories on the handout to the descriptions of Columbus’s journals and what we know about the islands where he landed. Show maps of Columbus’s journeys, the Caribbean Islands, and the world showing latitude and longitude for the West Indies and other islands. For example:
  • Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean. The climate for this island was very tropical with plenty of rainfall and warm temperatures.
  • The fact that it is an island gives information about landforms. So do his descriptions. What types of landforms did Columbus note?(beaches, reefs, not-quite-mountains, flat areas, bay, etc.)
  • What kinds of natural resources did his see? (Forests, fertile soil, perhaps spices, gold, and silver)
  • Are the West Indies subject to any natural hazards? (hurricanes, floods, volcanoes)
  1. Assign or allow students to choose a community they will investigate to find out about its climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards. Offer communities with diverse physical characteristics; some examples could include: where their grandparents live; a place they went on vacation; a place that interests them;Gnome, Alaska; Yuma, Arizona; Aspen, Colorado;Miami, Florida; Dalhart, Texas; Port Arthur, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; São Paulo, Brazil. Students work in small groups (4 or fewer) to research one of the communities.
/ Materials:
  • information on climate, landforms, natural resources and natural hazards
  • climate data for the West Indies, Dominican Republic and Hispaniola
  • physical environment of the Caribbean
  • map of Columbus’s journeys:
  • map of the West Indies
  • map, world map
Attachments:
  • Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment (1 per person)
Instructional Note:
Communities assigned or chosen could be of significance to the student, perhaps where they have visited or where grandparents live or that interest them. Make sure to include at least one community in each of the following physical environments: desert, mountain, wetlands, plains.
EXPLAIN – Academic Vocabulary / SuggestedDay2–15 minutes
  1. Distribute the Handout: Academic Vocabulary.
  1. Student pairs think for 30 seconds about the content and vocabulary terms just addressed and then fill out Handout: Academic Language (words 1-5).
  1. Think-Pair-Share:
  • Partner A talks for 20 seconds about the physical environments of places using as many academic vocabulary terms as possible while Partner B listens.
  • Partner B talks for 20 seconds using as many of the terms as possible and adding information to what Partner A sharedwithout repeating.
/ Attachments:
  • Handout: Academic Vocabulary (1 per student)

EXPLORE–Climate / Suggested Day 2(cont’d)–30 minutes
  1. Show a map of the world with latitude and longitude marked.
  • Latitude is one geographic tool that influences climate.
  • What is one thing you can tell about a place just by looking at its location on a map?(latitude)
  1. Again model thinking by using Columbus’s journals.
  • Think back to what we read in Columbus’s journals.
  • Look at the map. Where are the islands where Columbus landed?(West Indies)
  • At what latitude are they? What does that say about the temperature in the islands?(Include a brief discussion of the temperature at the equator, the relationship between temperature and the distance from the equator.)
  • Temperature is one aspect of climate.
  • Columbus sailed west from Spain in search of a passage to India. (Model westward movement from Spain on the world map.)
  • You would expect him to wind up in Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims landed after they sailed from England. How did Columbus get from Spain to the islands?
  • Wind is another aspect of climate.
  • What was one thing Columbus commented on in many of his journal entries?(so many plants and trees)What does an abundance of plant life indicate?(rainfall)
  • Precipitation is another aspect of climate.
  1. Distribute the Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment to small groups of students (4 or fewer).
  1. Students investigate the community they were assigned or that they selected and fill in as much of the Climate section of the handout as they can.
  1. Facilitate a brief discussion where student volunteers share their data and compare the characteristics of communities, noting patterns they can predict.
  1. Identify the communities from the desert, mountain, wetlands, and plains environments that were studied. Include in the discussion questions such as:
  • How do people in those different environments adapt to the physical environment?
/ Materials:
  • map of the world with latitude and longitude
  • Handout: Excerpts from Christopher Columbus Journals (from Day 1)
  • Atlantic windsand Columbus
  • information on climate (longitude, temperature, wind, precipitation) for communities
Attachments:
  • Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment (1 per person)

EXPLAIN – 3-2-1 / Suggested Day 2(cont’d)–5 minutes
  1. Students write:
  • 3 components of climate (temperature, wind, precipitation)
  • 2 ways people adapt to the physical environment
  • 1 interesting community studied

EXPLORE –Landforms / Suggested Day 3–20 minutes
  1. Return to Columbus’s journals for examples of landforms he mentioned.
  1. Students underline and identify landforms Columbus described.
  1. Provide information about other landforms. Use the glossary and pictures from the textbook as well as other classroom materials.
  1. Show a physical map of the Caribbean region and pictures of landforms in the Caribbean region. Encourage students to identify landforms.
  1. Students return to the Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment and access research materials (including physical maps) to find out about landforms for the community they are researching. Students add information to their handout.
/ Materials:
  • Handout: Excerpts from Christopher Columbus Journals (from Day 1)
  • Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment (from Day 1)
  • map, physical map of the Caribbean region
  • pictures of landforms in the Caribbean region
  • maps, physical maps of communities being studied
  • information on landforms

EXPLAIN –1-2-3 / Suggested Day 3 (cont’d)–5 minutes
  1. Students write:
  • 1 landform identified by Columbus on the Caribbean Islands he visited
  • 2 landforms found in the community you are researching
  • 3 other kinds of landforms

EXPLORE–Natural Resources / Suggested Day 3 (cont’d)–25 minutes
  1. Students access information on natural resources for the communities they are researching and add that information to their Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment (from Day 1).
  1. Facilitate a discussion about information related to natural resources that students have found. Wherever possible, provide students with information about economic activities in the area to encourage students to see the connection between the physical environment and human activities.
  1. Continue the discussion by asking
  • How do people in different communities adapt to the physical environment?
/ Materials:
  • information on natural resources, especially those near the communities studied
  • information on economic activities near the communities being studied

EXPLAIN – Academic Vocabulary (continued) / Suggested Day 4–20 minutes
  1. Students access their copy of the Handout: Academic Vocabulary from Day 1. Using what they have learned about the physical environment of the desert, mountains, wetlands, and plains, students add information to terms 6-9.
  1. Students return to the 3 Environments sketch drawings from Day 1. In the second section of the paper, they sketch the physical environment of the community they are researching, including indications of climate, landforms, and natural resources.
/ Materials:
  • Handout: Academic Vocabulary from Day 1
  • 3 Environments sketch drawings from Day 1

EXPLORE – Natural Hazards / Suggested Day 4 (cont’d)–20 minutes
  1. Use the textbook, maps, and other resources including online interactive maps and real-time satellite resources to provide information on natural hazards around the world.
  1. Facilitate a discussion where students relate information they may have about natural hazards from personal experience (perhaps hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, droughts, floods, etc.) and provide examples of how people in different communities adapt to the physical environment. Ask questions such as
  2. What patterns do you see regarding where natural hazards occur?
  3. Are there any characteristics of the physical environment that can help predict where natural hazards might occur?
/ Materials:
  • information on natural hazards

EXPLAIN – Natural Hazards / Suggested Day 4 (cont’d)–10 minutes
  1. Students draw a picture of at least one natural hazard and explain one characteristic of the physical environment that can help predict where in the world this natural hazard might occur.
  1. Students share their ideas with a partner.
  1. Teacher circulates to check understanding, probe with questions, and clarify or correct information where needed.
/ Materials:
  • drawing paper

EXPLORE –Local Community / Suggested Day 5–30 minutes
  1. Distribute another copy of the Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment to students, along with clipboards or other hard surface to write on.
  1. Lead students on a walk around the school.
  1. As they walk, students remember the categories of characteristics they have been studying and, on the handout,make note of the climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards of the local community.
  1. Return to the classroom, where students investigate data on climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards for the local community to complete the handout.
  1. Facilitate a discussion where students use academic vocabulary to describe the physical environment of the local community.
/ Materials:
  • clipboards or hard surface to write on
  • map, physical map of the local community
  • information on climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards for the local community
  • 3 Environments drawings created on Day 1
Attachments:
  • Handout: Characteristics of the Physical Environment (1 per student)

EXPLAIN – 3 Environments / Suggested Day 5 (cont’d)–20 minutes
  1. Students draw a picture of the physical environment of the local community in the bottom third of the 3 Environments sketch drawings begun on Day 1
  1. Students share their drawings of all three environments (from Columbus’s writings, the community studied, and the local community) with a partner. Discussion should include as many of the Academic Vocabulary terms as possible.
  1. Teacher circulates to check for understanding.
/ Materials:
  • 3 Environments sketch drawings from Day 1

ELABORATE– Summarize / Suggested Day 6–20 minutes
  1. Facilitate a discussion where students summarize characteristics of the various communities studied, make inferences about patterns and connections between the characteristics of the physical environments (latitude, climate, landforms, natural resources, and natural hazards) and then apply those patterns to communities in the desert, mountains, wetlands, and plains to draw conclusions.
  1. Show a physical map of the world. One at a time, name and show students the location of other communities around the world (in the desert, in the mountains, in wetlands, and in plains).
  1. Students use what they have learned to make predictions about the community’s physical environment and justify their statements.
  1. Continue the discussion to allow students an opportunity to use academic language to answer the guiding questions and support the Key Understanding.
  2. Different regions have different physical characteristics.
—How do physical environments differ?
—How do people in different communities adapt to the physical environment? / Materials:
  • physical map of the world with latitude marked

EVALUATION / Suggested Day 6, 7,8–80minutes
  • Compare physical characteristics of two places using a Venn diagram. Create and perform a “poem for two voices” that explains the similarities and differences shown on the Venn diagram. (3.4A, 3.4B; 3.17A, 3.17B; 3.18A, 3.18B)
1C; 3D.
  1. Again perform the poem “Mayflies” on p. 8 of Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices(or another poem for two voices) to remind students of what they will be creating.
  1. In partners, students choose two communities to compare. The communities should be two communities studied in this lesson; one can be the local community.
  1. Partners discuss the similarities and differences between the two communities.
  1. Students individually draw their own Venn diagram or use the Handout: Comparing Physical Characteristics of Communities to compare the Physical Characteristics of two communities.
  1. With a partner, students create and perform a “poem for two voices” that explains the similarities and differences between the two communities compared on their Venn diagram.
/ Materials:
  • poem “Mayflies” from Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Attachments:
  • Handout: Comparing Physical Characteristics of Communities(optional, 1 per student)
Instructional Note:
  • Allow one day (50 minutes) for presentation.
  • Technology may be used to produce the final result, perhaps even with illustrations or photographs.

©2012, TESCCC 04/17/13page 1 of 8