Download Regions in California Grade 3 Jenny Cordova Imperial Teaching

California Regions
Grade 3
Jenny Cordova
Imperial Teaching American History
June 2011
Standard 3.1.1
• Identify geographical features in their
local region (e.g. deserts, mountains,
valleys, hills, coastal areas, oceans,
lakes)
Lesson Objective
• Students will describe two regions in
California and create a brochure with
key facts.
CFU:
•What are we going to do today? p/s
Today we will _______________
•What are we going to describe? p/s
We will describe____________
•What does describe mean? p/s
Describe means_______________
Activate (or provide) Prior Knowledge:
“What are the land and water like in your area?”
1. The desert is hot and dry.
A.
B.
2. The coast is near the ocean.
Which picture matches sentence #1?
Which picture matches sentence #2?
CFU: What do the underlined words mean in sentence #1? What does
the underlined word mean in sentence #2?
Sentence Frame: _________means_________________.
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: geography
Meaning: the study of people, places,
and the earth.
Sketch:
Sentences:
● I think about land, I think about geography.
● (Students write a sentence.)
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: region
Meaning: an area that shares one or
more features.
Sketch:
Sentences:
●The desert is a region in California.
● (Students write a sentence.)
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: desert
Meaning: a dry area where little rain falls and few
plants grow.
Sketch:
Sentences:
● The
desert is a region in California.
● (Students write a sentence.)
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: coast
Meaning: the land next to the ocean.
Sketch:
Sentences:
● The coast is a region in California.
● (Students write a sentence.)
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: features
Meaning: what something looks like or
it’s appearance .
Sketch:
Sentences:
● The features of a desert region are flat and low
areas .
●(Students write a sentence.)
Vocabulary
My Picture Dictionary
Word: natural resources
Meaning: anything found in nature that is
useful to people.
Sketch:
Sentences:
● A natural resource found along the coast is fish.
●(Students write a sentence.)
Importance
• A region is an area that shares one or
more features.
It is important to describe a region because:
1. We live in a region in California.
2. We use the natural resources found in a region.
California Regions: Coast
I Do
• A coast is the land next to the ocean.
• The Pacific Ocean is along the coast of
California.
• Warm beaches and sunny climate are two
natural resources in California.
• The Oroville Dam 700 feet high was built to
block water and make a large lake. This water
was used to make electricity, water crops, and
drinking water.
• Fish and salt are natural resources found in the
Pacific Ocean.
California Regions: Desert
• A desert is a dry area where little rain falls and
few plants grow.
• California deserts cover 25,000 miles. The
names of the two desert zones are Mojave and
Colorado.
• Two National Parks: Death Valley and Joshua
Tree
• Largest state park: Anza-Borrego
• The hottest place in the country is Death Valley,
California.
I Do
Map of California
I Do
Desert and Coast
We Do
Compare and Contrast
Desert
Coast
Same
CFU: Non-volunteers, Pair/Share, Venn Diagram Template
Guided Practice
Questioning
•
•
•
•
What are two major land regions in California?
How would you describe the desert region?
How would you describe the coastal region?
Along what ocean is the California coast?
• How are the desert and coast alike? How are
they different?
• What are some of the natural resources
we get from the ocean? Desert?
CFU: Non-Volunteers, Pair/Share, White Boards
Closure
• In your own words, what are regions?
Regions are____________________________.
• What did you learn today about two
regions in California? Why is that
important to you? (pair-share)
Today, I learned about________________________.
It is important to me because__________________ .
Bibliography
• History-Social Science Communities
Teacher’s Edition,2007, Houghton Mifflin,
Sacramento, Ca. pp. 36-38.
Assessment Travel Brochure
● Students will create a brochure to explain the key facts
about a California region.
● The Travel Brochure will be developed cooperatively in
small groups or with a partner.
● A Brochure Rubric will be used to assess student’s
learning.
● The Travel Brochure must include a title cover, sections,
organization of ideas and content, correct spelling and
sentence structure, and be attractive and appealing to
the reader.
● Students must use pictures, maps, drawings and/or any
other sources of information to explain their region.
California Regions Links
• Rubric Regions Brochure.doc
• ITAH LessonDesign3rd grade J.
Cordova.doc