Geography & The Revolutionary War (using Google Earth)
Student Name: Elizabeth Ray Date Lesson Taught: April 1, 2015
Grade Level: 4/5 Topic of Lesson: Geography & the Revolutionary War
Lesson Duration: about 40 minutes Size of Group: 24 students
Social Studies GLCEs and/or CCSSs:
5 – U3.2.1 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each side during the American Revolution with
respect to military leadership, geography, types of resources, and incentives. (National Geography
Standard 4, p. 150, E)
5 – U2.3.1 Locate the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies on a map.
Intended Understanding(s): (What big ideas or concepts do you want students to understand as a result of this lesson?)
Students will understand that colonies were split up into 3 sections: New England, Middle, and Southern.
Students will understand that the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were important events leading up to the Revolutionary War.
Students will understand that the geography of the colonies affected both the British and Americans in different ways.
Essential Question(s): (What essential questions are you posing to guide the students’ inquiry?)
How did the Boston Massacre lead to the Revolutionary War?
What impact did the Boston Tea Party have at the time?
How was the geography an advantage to the Americans?
How was the geography a disadvantage to the British?
What Students Will Know: (What facts, information, or connections will students know as a result of this lesson?)
The students will know where the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies are located on a map.
Students will know the major cities that Paul Revere rode through on his Midnight Ride.
Students will know that the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party led to the Revolutionary War.
What Students Will Be Able To Do: (What skills will students demonstrate during this lesson?)
Students will be able to locate the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies on a map.
Students will be able to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each side during the Revolutionary War in respect of geography.
Formative Assessment: (How will you determine the effectiveness of the lesson?)
When finding the colonies on the map, I will ask the students to give me a thumbs-up if they have found everything (I will be walking around the room as well).
To check for understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each side, I will have the students write down what they learned on a 3 x 5 card at the end of the lesson.
Description of Lesson:
I started off by demonstrating what the students would be doing with Google Earth. We reviewed which states were part of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Then, we found the three sections on Google Earth and circled the correct areas. Next, we reviewed what happened at the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. We found both of these places on Google Earth and were able to see the Boston Tea Party Museum and the cobblestone circle for the Boston Massacre. Then, we talked about the importance of the Old North Church and found it one Google Earth. We also talked about Paul Revere’s Ride and found the cities that he passed through. We also talked about the advantages that the Americans had because they were fighting for their homes and were familiar with the terrain and the disadvantages the British had because it took so long for troops and supplies to come since they were far away from home and they were unfamiliar with the terrain.
Feedback from Cooperating Teacher (you may attach your CT’s comments or summarize them yourself) :
Self -Assessment/Reflection (what did you do well, what do you need to improve, what will you do differently):
I think that the whole lesson was planned very well, and I felt prepared to give it. I knew my information and was ready to demonstrate using Google Earth. I did a good job coming up with a lesson that engaged the students right away and kept their attention (they loved going to street view and seeing the actual sites that they were learning about). I also had really good job of keeping this lesson relevant to what they were learning in Social Studies. Again, classroom management is a little difficult when it is not my class. I don’t want the teacher thinking that she doesn’t maintain her class enough, but I also need to keep the class managed as I would like it to be. This is something that I just have to find a good balance with the cooperating teacher until I have my own class. The only problem I ran into with this lesson happened once the students got the mini laptops out to do everything themselves. Many of the laptops were running too slow to really see things well on Google Earth. We were having technical difficulties. Thankfully, all of the students were able to find at least three things on Google Earth on their own. They were all able to see it as I demonstrated it, and some looked on with their friends if theirs was going to slow. Next time, I would try to do this lesson in the computer lab with better computers so that the students don’t get so frustrated about theirs not working.
If you videotaped, what did you see, hear, and/or learn?
I did not have the opportunity to videotape this time.