|
|
A region
is defined as “an area that shares
common characteristics”. [HarcourtBrace, 2000] Regions
can be physical construction (land formations, climate) or human
traits (languages, religions, history, political boundaries). From
this definition Naperville District 203 has divided the umbrella
question for fourth grade social science exploration, what
defines a region, into four components.
|
Topics |
Guiding Questions |
Place
|
__What
are the unique human made and natural characteristics of the region?
__What
are the advantages or disadvantages for human habitation?
|
Location
|
__Where
is the region? |
Movement
|
__What
physical movement has helped form this region?
__How
has geography affected interaction between this region and other
regions?
|
Human
Interaction
with Environment
|
__How
have people past and present interacted with the environment?
__How
do people adapt to change and depend on this region?
|
Concluding
the Regions of the United States |
If
you have time, there are some fantastic culminating activities for
States & Regions.
I have summarized the best that I have tried and some that I have
not. In addition there are a multitude of games
that cover the postal codes, location, and capitals of the fifty states.
|
Site |
Activity
|
|
Don’t have a lot of time? The state float activity
is perfect. The students draw/chose a state, research, and create a state
float out of a shoebox. The float should be decorated with five to six
important ideas/sights. Here’s an example of what we’ve created. |
|
Research and then use the foldable outline to create
your state brochure. |
|
Just like it sounds. Students create an outline of
their state in cookie format and then decorate it to represent the different
land forms within. |
|
A great original idea that I recently discovered is
the idea of representing your state via postcards. This project can entail
as many postcards as you desire, but you may wish to supplement it with
other activities. Global
School has a whole unit available, but if you need some examples, check
out A
to Z Teacher Stuff. |
|
This culminating project allows the students to apply
their research in a different way. The class researched a state and then
decorated a truck using a graphics program. Their pictures represented
several things mentioned in their paragraph. |
Other Ideas
 |
I don’t claim to know or include everything in
this site. There are several well known Web sites and companies who put
together a few lessons and ideas of their own that I haven’t included
here. Feel free to check out: HarcourtBrace (companion
to text), Education
World, 42Explore.com,
Flat Stanley,
Scholastic, ProTeacher.com, |
Need Maps or Handouts? |
I have not included many, but here are a few maps,
worksheets, or other useful printouts labeled with format in parentheses.
Enchanted Learning
Maps (html), |
Crayola State
Coloring Pages
|
Students need an idea or just to reference ideas on
what characteristics define a certain state of the Union, Crayola has provided
the outline. |
|
"Congress has made the decision to move the nation’s
capital. There is a search in progress for the best location. Each state
will form a committee to persuade Congress to move the U.S. capital to
their state. You will be one of the members of the this committee. Congress
will be looking at the geographical, historical, and cultural advantages
of your state. May the best state to become the home of the nation’s
capital please step forward!" (copied from intro) |
|
"Americans often speak of their
country as one of several large regions. These regions are cultural units
rather than governmental
units -- formed by history and geography and shaped by the economics, literature
and folkways that all the parts of a region share. What makes one region
different from another? Report back to your embassy." (copied from
intro) |
|
"The United States is divided into
geographical regions. You will be planning a trip to visit one state
in each region of the U.S.
While in each state, you will want to explore some of the major attractions
and learn about the state, its people, and its culture. Your task is to
create a travel itinerary and budget which will help you organize and plan
your trip, and write a letter to your family convincing them to take the
trip which you have planned." (copied from intro) |
|
"The Travel and Tourism Commissioner
from your state has chosen you to do some research and create a [multimedia]
presentation
and a Travel Brochure to advertise your state and encourage travel and
tourism there." (copied from intro) Click here for an idea
on how to set up your brochure. |
|
"Your task is to compare and contrast
four different tribes which were indigenous to the United States: the Tlingit of
the Northwest Coast, the Hopi of the Southwest, the Iroquois of
the Northeast, and the
Lakota of the Western plains. Using the information
from your chart and other data from your research, you will prepare a multimedia
presentation." (copied from intro) |
|
"Your Governor (teacher) has appointed you to help
select the design for the quarter that will represent a state in the "50
States Quarters Program" that is being sponsored by the U. S. Mint.
What design will best represent your state?" (copied from intro) Click
here for an enlarged empty quarter (html). |
Random & Useful
Reference Links
|
State
Facts
|
Statistics
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
|
USA
Census Bureau
-Choose your state and find facts. Not enough? Go to the US Census site here.
|
|
|
|
USA
Newspapers
-Check the latest by connecting to your state's newspaper
|
Native
American Tribes
-Check out the five regions and the tribes (Lakota, Tlingit, Iroquois,
Dine, Muscogee) who lived there.
|
America's
Story
-Learn every angle about United States history from this Library of Congress
site
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NetState.com
-Facts, weather at capital, and images from quarters
|
US
Lakes.com
-Need statistics on any lake in the United States?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Key
to the City
-City information for nearly every city or town in the United States
|
Smithsonian
Kids
-All the great information from the Smithsonian Institute, but at a kids
level!
|
|
|
Info
USA
-Difficult to navigate, but it's the official site for US statistics
|
|
|
|
National
Atlas
-Official site for a huge digital database of geographic and historic
maps
|
|
Yahooligans.com
-In the familiar Yahoo index format, find links about your state.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
: 
: 
