Social Studies Lesson

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Social Studies Lesson
By Nickie Ketcham and Patty Towns
Ed 417-01 October 23, 2001 Third Grade
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The United States Map At A Glance
Grade Three
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ObjectivesStudents will be able to

• Locate the United States on a globe.
• Piece together a map of the United States.
• Estimate the distance from Ohio to other states.
• Identify major geological formations and state
  parks.
• Decide, as a group, the most efficient route to
  travel between states.

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Materials Needed

• Inflatable globe
• Magazines
• Scissors
• Glue
• Large Construction Paper
• State templates

• U.S. floor map
• 8x10 U.S. maps
• Teacher addition of geological formations and
  state parks
• Notebook paper
• Pencils

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Web Sites
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Maps On Us A Map, Route and Yellow Pages
Service http//www.mapsonus.com/ Social Studies
Planet - The Social Studies Web Guide
http//www.socialstudiesplanet.com/  Fun Social
Studies http//www.funsocialstudies.com/ 50states.
com - States and Capitals http//www.50states.com/
Free Blank Outline Maps of the Countries and
Continents of the World http//geography.about.com
/library/blank/blxindex.htm
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Student Activities
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Student Activities

• Globe Trotters
• United States Collage
• Map Hop
• Major Stuff
• Rat Race

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Activity 1Globe Trotters

• Have students stand in a circle.
• Toss in an inflatable globe, making sure it
  flips.
• When students catch the globe, they must locate
  the United States.
• Continue until all students have had a turn.
• Note If you have more then one globe, make more
  than one circle to shorten time.

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Activity 2United States Collage

• Provide each student with a magazine, scissors,
  a pencil, glue and a piece of construction paper
• Each group should have set of state templates.
• Have the students find random pictures to cut out
  state shapes.
• Once all the states shapes are cut out, the
  students need to piece together a map of the
  United States.
• Glue the map to the construction paper and
  display!

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Activity 3Map Hop

• Gather students around floor map of the United
  States.
• Ask, Where is Ohio? and have one student stand
  there.
• Have students take turns leaping from Ohio to
  specific states. Make sure students count leaps.
• Ask follow up questions about the relationships
  of distances between states. (farther, closer,
  longer, etc.)

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Activity 4Major Stuff

• Give each student an 8x10 map of the United
  States.
• Have them label the state parks and geological
  formations we talk about in class on these maps.
• Make sure they keep these on hand for the next
  activity.

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Activity 5Rat Race

• Have students get in groups of four or five.
• Each group receives a secret state.
• Challenge each group to find their way back to
  Ohio, citing how they will travel, what states
  they will go through, and any geological
  formations or state parks they will pass on the
  way.
• Have them estimate the distance and length of
  time their travels will take.
• Groups will report their decisions to the class.

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Presentation Slides
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Globe Trotters
Please get into a circle at the front of the room.
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United States Collage

• Find pictures from the magazines at your table.
• Using the state stencils, trace the state onto
  the picture and cut it out. Do this for all 50
  states.
• After you have cut out the 50 states, glue them
  in the correct position to form the U.S. map on
  your construction paper.

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Map Hop Let's go OUTSIDE!
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Major StuffOn the maps in front of you label
these places

• Washington D.C.
• Disney World
• Alamo
• Mount Rushmore
• Death Valley
• New York City
• Dayton, Ohio

• Smokey Mountains
• Rocky Mountains
• Yellow Stone National Park
• Grand Canyon
• Great Salt Lake
• The five Great Lakes

YOU CAN USE ANY RESOURCES YOU NEED.
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RAT RACE

• Your group will be given a secret location in the
  United States.
• Your job is to find your way to Dayton, Ohio.
• You must identify all important places that you
  will pass along your way.
• You must also estimate the length of time and
  distance that your group will travel and what
  transportation you used.
• You can use all the resources needed. Hint You
  might want to take a look at Major Stuff.

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LA FIN
The end