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Kelsey Criswell

Lesson Plan Outline


University of Richmond
Lesson Plan Outline
Introduction
• Lesson topic: Geography, Relative Location using a map
• Length of Lesson (estimated): 45 minutes
• VA Standards of Learning K.4 a, b: The student will use simple maps
and globes to a) develop an awareness that a map is a drawing of a
place to show where things are located and that a globe is a round
model of the Earth; b) describe places referenced in stories and real-
life situations.

Cognitive Objectives
• The students will describe the location of animals using positional words
on a simple map.
• The students will follow the pattern of the story to create a simple map.

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation


• As the Crow Flies, by Gail Hartman
• Chart Paper
• Markers
• Crayons
• Construction Paper
• Pencils

Teaching and Learning Sequence


Introduction/Anticipatory Set
• Before transitioning to the carpet, announce to the children that we are
going to form a line that will take us on a path to where our lesson will
begin. This is where you will be introducing to the children the
transitional words they will see in the book: around, past and to. Have
the students’ line up behind you and announce, “Boys and girls, we are
going to walk around the table, past the bookcase, and to the carpet.
Let’s begin. Walk the students around the table and past the bookcase
and to the carpet. When you get to the carpet have the children be
seated. Ask for a volunteer to describe the “path” that the class took to
get to the carpet. Explain that around means to curve along an object,
past means to go by something, and to means to arrive at a location.
• Present the book, As the Crow Flies, by Gail Hartman and explain to
the students that they will see the path that animals take on the way to
their favorite place just like the path that we just took through the
classroom to get to the carpet.
• Explain that the book will show that a map is a drawing that shows us
where things are located.
• Discuss how the earth may look to a bird as it flies in the air, explaining
that this is called a “bird’s eye view.”
• Read the book, As the Crow Flies, by Gail Hartman.
Lesson Development
• Using the blank chart paper, ask the students to help you re-create the
path that each animal took. Model this for the students by writing on
the chart paper, “eagle  mountains (draw mountains)  stream
(draw stream)  meadow (draw meadow)  tall tree (draw tree). The
teacher will call on students to recall different paths the other animals
took throughout the book. The teacher may have to assist students or
flip through the pages in the story and show the students to help them
remember the exact path the animals took. The teacher will select two
or three students to come to the chart and trace the path that their
favorite animal in the book took.
• Re-introduce the positional words that were presented in the book
such as around, past, and to.
• Brainstorm a list of animals and their movement that the students could
use to make a story map modeling the pattern from the book. On the
chart the teacher will model an example by writing, kangaroo – hop.
The teacher will then call on students to give their choice of an animal
for their map and how it moves. The teacher will list these animals and
their movements on the chart paper for the class to refer to during
independent practice.
• Students will go to their desks to create a story map of an animal they
select. They can come up with their own animal, use an animal from
the book, or use one of the animals that we created as a group and
listed on the chart paper. The model sentence will be printed at the top
of each paper. “The _______ Map: As the________ ________ around
_________, past _________, to _________.” will be printed at the top
of each paper. The teacher will circulate the classroom, observe and
assist as needed. The teacher will write their sentence as the child
dictates, using the model from the book, “The (animal’s) Map: As the
(animal) (moves) around _________, past _________, to _________.”
Advanced students may complete the sentence on their own. After the
teacher has filled in the sentence for the students, the students will
draw illustrations using crayons on their construction paper.
Closure
• When the students are finished the teacher will then show the students the
story map that she made and demonstrate how to share the map with a
partner.
• The students will then be given a chance to share their maps. Ask the
students to stand up and hold their map. The teacher will then play music.
Tell the students to walk around the room until the music stops. Then they
are to find a partner and share their map. This will be repeated two more
times.
• Return to the carpet and review the terms around, past and to, that were
introduced in the book.
• Display student pages in a class book to be kept in the classroom library.

Homework
Practice using the terminology by drawing a map of you going around, past and
to a favorite place at your house.

Assessment
Formative – Teacher will observe the students while they are creating their
maps as well as monitor them while sharing their maps with their friends.

Summative – Ask the students to explain what they have drawn using
verbal prompts to make sure that they understand that what they drew is a
map.

References
Hartman, G, & Stevenson, H. (1993). As the crow flies: a first book of maps.
Aladdin.
W., Kara. (2009, November 1). Teaching geography with children’s literature: as
the crow flies: a first book of maps [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://blog.richmond.edu/openwidelookinside/archives/1939

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