Angie Wenger
Grade Levels : 5th or 6th
Course: Social Studies and Geography

Purpose:
To teach the children the location, the state flower, bird, song, tree, and capitol, etc. of a New England State.

Connection to the National Geography Standards:
No. 1 Knows and understands how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process and report information from a spatial
perspective. Students will locate were states are located in the U.S. They will be able to identify whether it's location in relation to Texas.
No. 4 Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places. Students will learn why people talk with different accents and dialects. They will understand how climate effects weathering in these states.
No. 6 Knows and understands how the culture and experience people's perceptions of places and experience. Students will see how people react to the New England culture.
No. 9 & No. 12 Knows and understands the characteristics, distribution, and migrations of human population and knows and understands the process, patterns, and function of human settlements. Students will understand why people settled where they did and how they exported their goods.
No. 14 Knows and understands how the earth's physical and human systems are connected and interact. Students will underhand why state trees and flowers grow so well due to soil and climate.
No. 17 & No. 18 Knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the past andhow to apply geography to interpret the present and the future. Students will understand the history, past and present, and what may happen in the near future in the state.

Objectives:
Students will demonstrate their ability:
1. To look up information on a topic on a web site.
2. To identify the state.
3. To name the capital of a particular state.
4. To identify the states flower, tree, bird, and song.

Overview of Presentation:
This lesson is to teach the children where certain states are located and what the look like. This also teaches the children of how to look for information on the web site. Assign the children states and allow them to find the characteristics
of each stay. Characteristics being the state flower, bird, tree, and song. Allow each student to give a presentation of the state that they choose. Have a larger map of the United States posted so that the children may place their state in the proper location. In addition, give them a worksheet which allows them to fill in the states name and capital.

Procedures:
Day One:
Sponge Activate:
Be playing different types of American Music. For example, "Proud to be an American". Have the students pick up the blank United States map at the front of the room when they walk in. Have them fill in as many states as they can and their capitals.
Opening:
Explain to the students that we are going to learn the 50 states and their capitals and some of the states characteristics. The first states we would be learning is the New England States. Let them know that there will be a test over each section
of the U.S. that we will cover.
Guided Practice:
Watch the video "50 States/50 Capitals."After watching video use the classroom computer to show them some of information available on a web site and how they can reach that information. Allow the children to choose what state they want to do and let them know that you will be presenting two of the states and where and how you want you them to present their information.

Day Two:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students get their journals and explain why they chose the state they chose.
Guided Practice:
Hand out the worksheet for their particular state and give instructions for completing it.
Independent Practice:
Having demonstrated a web site in the classroom on Day One, take the children to the school computer lab and allow them to use the computers and get the information they
need from the following web site: Color Landform Atlas of the United States.
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html
Let the children find the information they need to complete their worksheet and see if they can get the music they need from the Library when they go the next time.

Day Three:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students prepare their three ring binders so that they can add the states daily and the information they are given.
Guided Practice:
Give your presentation over two of the states that you have chosen and explain how you got your information and play the music while giving your presentation. However, play the music softly as a background sound.
Independent Practice:
If time permits allow the students to go to the lab and work on their presentation and find the information they need.

Day Four:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students get their journals and write about the states that were presented yesterday and have them write whether they would or would not like to live their.
Independent Practice:
The students who chose Maine and New Hampshire give their presentation. Make sure the students put their handout of those states in their notebook because they will need this information for the test.

Day Five:
Sponge Activity:
Hand out the worksheet that the students fill in on what is the major league baseball, basketball, and football teams name and whether or not they have received any high titles. Example, Super Bowl Champs.
Independent Practice:
The students presenting Vermont and New York. Have students in the class who have any questions or want to know about anything about the states write them down and hand them in so that the student presenting can answer them.

Day Six:
Sponge Activity:
Hand out the worksheet were the students fill in the famous people who came from certain states.
Independent Practice:
Have the students who are presenting Massachusetts and Delaware do so.
Day Seven:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students get the puzzles of the United States and put them together.
Independent Practice:
The students assigned Rhode Island and Maryland present their information.

Day Eight:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students make up silly stories to describe their states and its nickname.
Independent Practice:
Have students who chose Virginia and West Virginia present their information.

Day Nine:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students get their journals and write about what they disliked and liked about the sponge activities so far.
Opening:
Hand out the study guide and help the students fill in the states and their capitals and their characteristics.
Independent Practice:
The students who chose Pennsylvania and Kentucky give their presentation

Day Ten:
Sponge Activity:
Have the students bring food which is known for their states and set the food up. For example, Ohio is known for its Buckeyes.
Opening:
Sample the food that was brought in to experience some of the different types of food and styles of food that are available. While doing this have the different songs from the different states be playing in the back ground. On this day you may want to teach class towards the end of the day.
Independent Practice:
The student who was assigned Connecticut give his/her presentation.

Evaluation:
Give the quiz over the New England States.

Closure:
Give a test over all of the 50 States.

Materials:
Web site addresses
CD-ROM to generate state maps
Overhead projector
Classroom computer connected to the Internet with an LCD panel screen
School computer lab connected to the Internet
Worksheets
Large map of the United States
Cassette player
Social studies books
3-ring binder
TV
Video tape
VCR

Appendix:
Maps of all New England states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and the outline maps of states so the children can fill in the information. This information can be found on the New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1993.

Extensions:
Life Science - You could have the children bring in seeds from either the states tree or flower and plant it for science class to teach them what the item may look like and how items grow.
English - You could incorporate English by showing the students the different ways that people in the certain areas pronounce words and what the represent.
Music - This would be a good subject to teach along with this topic because of all of the different state songs.

Bibliography:
Color Landform Atlas of the United States.
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html
Gross, Herbert H. "People and Their Regional Environment." World Geography.
Herda, D.J. The Northern States. Environmental America. The Millbrook Press, 1991.
MapQuest. http://www.mapquest.com/
National Geographic. "New England." Our Fifty States. The National Geographic Society, 1991.
The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1993
Viereck, Phillip. "The People Who Lived There." The New Land.The John Day Company: New York; 1967.
Visions of Adventure. "50 States/ 50 Capitals." (the North Eastern United States). Volume 2A. Video Marketing U.S.A., Inc., 1991.

Internet Worksheet:
Name: ______________________________________
State: _________________________
URL:  ___________________________________________________
1. In what city is the state capitol located? _____________________
2. Where was the first capitol located? ________________________
3. Where is the present capitol located:in the state? _________________
4. What is the state tree? __________________________
5. What is the state flower? ___________________________
6. Why do the state tree and flower not grow well in Texas?
______________________________________________________
7. What is the state bird? ________________
Does it live there year-around? _________________________
8. What is the state song? ______________________________
What is the meaning behind the state song? _________________
_________________________________________________________
9. What are some state unique foods and how were they influence?
_____________________________________________________
10. Briefly describe the state flag (Colors and Emblems):
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

Created April 25, 1997.

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