Me On the Map

Length of lesson
30-40 minutes
Grade level
First grade
Social Studies Core Curriculum Objectives
Standard 3, Objective 1
Identify and use geographic terms and tools: Use a compass to locate cardinal directions.
b. Identify the equator and north and south poles.
c. Identify Utah on a variety of maps and on a globe.
d. Identify the United States on a variety of maps and on a globe.
Preparation
-Email parents in the class about places they've lived or visited near the north or south poles, ask them
to describe the places in two or three sentences and include a picture if possible.
-Print and hand out maps to label parts of the globe
-Book "Me on the Map"
-Large map
-Globe
Academic language/vocabulary
-Globe
-Map
-Equator
-North Pole
-South Pole
Time

Content

Management

10 minutes

Introduction

Students transition to rug silently

and sit with hula hoop bubble
around them.

Brief interactive read of picture book Me on the

Map.
10-15 minutes Content and activity

Students must raise hands to speak

at any time. Students who are
With full sized world map, ask students to identify called on may walk up to the front
places they recognize. Ask students to identify the to point while the rest of the class
United States as well as Utah. How do they know is silent. We will clap for students
which state is Utah? What does it look like? How who participate.
do they identify the United States? Review the
compass rose as well: on a map, which way is
north? Which way is south? Etc.

Introduce the content objective (Today we will

learn to find the north pole, south pole, and
equator on the globe. We will also learn how to
find Utah on the globe.).
Bring globe out and talk about how a globe is the
same as a map, but round just like the earth is
(Ms. Okabe has talked about this a little bit with
them already). Introduce the concept of poles, and
ask students which they think is the north pole and
which is the south. Also introduce the equator and
ask several students to come up to the globe to
identify each of these three things.
5-10 minutes

Closure

3-5 minutes

Evaluation

Again, students are listening

silently unless called upon to
Using emails and photos previously gathered from answer.
parents/teachers, I will point out six different spots
on the globe that are unique because of their
position near one of the poles or the equator and
tell a couple of facts about each. For instance, I
will show a picture of me in Tanzania and point to
where it is on the globe, while describing how
warm it is all year long. With a picture of a city in
northern Europe, I will point to its location and
describe how chilly it is all year and how dark it
often is. At the end, I will ask the students to tell
me a few sentences that describe what Utah is
like, and observe how close it is to the poles or the
equator.

Immediately following the picture and globe

activity, I will ask students to share with their
partner something that they learned about living
somewhere different on the globe. I will monitor
discussion for relevance and misconceptions,
paying special attention to quieter students and
Momoko, our ELL.
Students will also fill out a small map, labeling
the compass rose and the equator and north and
south poles using a word bank.

I will pick partners to share with

during the partner discussion. I
will ask Ms. Okabe ahead of time
who would be the best partner for
Momoko, and ask him or her to sit
next to her on the rug.
When returning to their tables to
fill out the map, the students will
move silently and be in their seats
by the count of ten.

Adaptations
Momoko, a Japanese-speaking ELL, will be okay when it comes to listening to the read-aloud as her
listening comprehension is pretty good. During the interactive read-aloud as well as the other activities,
I will ask her questions that she can answer by pointing, which I know that she will have more
confidence about. The written evaluation at the end should also work well for her, since I saw her do
well in a word bank activities during some literacy centers that I observed in Ms. Okabes class. I will
also allow her to be my partner for the partner discussion at the end if she seems too shy to respond to
her own partner.
Austin, a student who struggles to keep still, will be encouraged to raise his hand when answering
questions, but I will call on him often to make sure he gets the attention and interaction that he
responds so well to. Ill be sure to email his parents with a request for a description of a place on the
globe.

Integration
Listening and writing are important parts of this lesson. I will be checking their listening
comprehension throughout the read-aloud, and will also be able to evaluate their listening
comprehension during the partner discussion. The students will practice writing their new vocabulary
words as well, even though they will be copying them from the word bank. This will simple be another
way of getting them familiar with the words by ear and in print.