Regions of the United States of America

Introduction

Instructed by: Miss Jasmine Tisby at Bethune Academy in AISD

A region is an area with common features of a place that sets it apart from another area.   The fourth grade students at Bethune Elementary will be learning about the five regions of the United States and the important landmarks and features of each state.   The five regions of the United States are:  The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest,( were a mix of the Southwest and the Midwest) the West, and the Southwest.   After completing this lesson, students will be able to identify all states included in each region as well as each state's capital.  Students will also learn about the physical features important to each region, for example:  The White Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Mississippi River, etc., as well as any industries that are important to that region.  Each student will become an expert on a particular state and will present information to their classmates about their states.

Task

Task

Technology TEK:

(3) Research and information fluency. The student acquires and evaluates digital content. The student is expectedto:

(A)  use various search strategies such as keyword(s); the Boolean identifiers and, or, and not; and other strategies appropriate to specific search engines;

(B)  collect and organize information from a variety of formats, including text, audio, video, and graphics;

(C)  validate and evaluate the relevance and appropriateness of information; and

(D)  acquire information appropriate to specific tasks.

Textbooks are a helpful resource when exploring topics and gathering facts, however, the internet has a great deal of information and tools to help us explore further.  In this Web Quest, students will go beyond their textbooks using Chrome Books or iPads to find ways to gather information about our great nation, the United States of America.  

Students will be responsible for researching the fifty states of the US, and will be taking a virtual field trip to one state and creating an online poster using Glogster to share the knowledge they have learned about their state.  

In groups of two or three, students will watch a video about the fifty states of the United States and their capitals. This will also give them a quick overview of something important to each state as well as where the states are located on a map.  

U.S. States and Capitals

Once they have watched the video, students will play some online games to practice their map skills and see if they can locate where in the United States each state is located.  

Puzzle Collage of the Fifty U.S. States: United States Collage

  • The shape of each state will help students determine where to put the picture of the state on the map.
  • Each state has 3 pictures to choose from.  These options include photos or drawings of things that are important to the state.  For example: one option for California is a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once students have completed the collage of the U.S.States, they can move on to the next task of playing the game Conquer the States by clicking on the following link: Conquer the States 

  • This game gives the player the name of the state, and the player has to move the mouse to click on the puzzle piece on the map that corresponds to the state.

Other games and resources:

Map Puzzle

State Capitals Game

States and Capital online flashcards

State Facts for Students

United States Regions (National Geographic)

Based on some of the information students have learned from exploring the above games and content, students will be asked to take a virtual field trip to a location in the United States (states will be assigned).  They will gather information on important industries, national monuments, natural resources, or whatever is important in their state and will create a glog (multimedia interactive poster) on Glogster (online posters) to showcase what they have found.  This glog can include photos, video, text, or whatever is needed to showcase the important information they have found when researching their state.  

Process

Students will each be assigned a state by their teacher.  They will gather information on their state using the internet.  In the process, students should try to learn about where each state is located on a map, as well as some important information about each state.  Some helpful sites have been provided below, but students are welcome to explore other sites in order to fully explore their states.  

Students will be creating a virtual field trip to the state that was assigned to them and will be bringing the information they have gathered to life on an online poster using the site www.glogster.com.  Using your GAFE account, please save any website pages or photographs that you would like to use in your poster to a google doc.  This can then be used as a reference page when creating your glog.  It should also be turned in to your teacher when your assignment is complete so you can give credit to where you found your important information.  

Evaluation

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Title Title can be read from 6 ft. away and is quite creative. Title can be read from 6 ft. away and describes content well. Title can be read from 4 ft. away and describes the content well. The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well.
Attractiveness The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Content - Accuracy At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. 5-6 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. 3-4 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. Less than 3 accurate facts are displayed on the poster.
Required Elements The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information. All required elements are included on the poster. All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster. Several required elements were missing.
Graphics - Relevance All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation. Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation. 
Conclusion

Now that you have created a virtual field trip to your state, what have you discovered about your state?  Is this a state you would like to visit?  Why?  

What have you learned from some of the other presentations?  Did you hear about a state you would like to visit?

On an index card, please answer these questions and turn it in to your teacher.

Credits
Teacher Page

Miss Tisby is a student teacher at Bethune Academy. She is a senior at Sam Houston State University. Her major is Interdisciplinary Studies and she hopes to get certified in special education as well. After graduation she plans on teaching at the school that she is doing her student teaching at. The principal has offered her a job as a 3rd grade ELA/SS teacher upon graduation.

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