Entire Unit

Leaping Over Landforms!
A 3rd Grade Social Studies Unit
By Amy Gelpi Spring 2014
Table of Contents
Section 1: Unit Planning (1) Unit Objective (2) Standards (3) Content Specific Chart (4) Daily Content Organizer (6)
Section 2: Instructions (7) Summary of Lesson Plans (8) Day 1 Lesson Plan (9) Day 2 Lesson Plan (18) Day 3 Lesson Plan (25) Day 4 Lesson Plan (31) Day 5 Lesson Plan (38)
Section 3: Assessment (44) Summary of Assessments (45) Assessment Matrix (46) Pre-Assessment with Answer Key List of Formative Assessments (48) Landform Riddles with Answer Key Google Docs Scenario Question Prompts Examples of student work Postcard examples of student work Anticipation Guide with Answer Key Summative Test with Answer Key Summative Assessment Model Rubric Examples of Student 3D Landform Models Summative Assessment Data Charts (49) Assessment Reflection (50)
Section 4: Students (51) Summary of Accommodations (52) Plan for Individual Learners (53) Multiple Intelligences Chart (55) Literary Strategies In Unit Chart (58) Differentiation Strategies for EL Students Chart (60)
Section 5: Technology (64) Summary of Technology (65) Evidence of Technology (66) Technology Implementation Chart (68)
Section 6: Cross Curricular Standards (69) Summary of Cross Curricular Standards (70) Cross Curricular Connections Chart (71)
Section 7: Culminating Activity (73) Instructions for teachers (74) Instructions sheet for students Landform Models Project Rubric
Section 8: Rationale (76) Summary of Unit Rationale (77) Philosophy of Education (78)
Section 9: Resources/Materials (79) Summary of resources and materials (80) Resources and Materials Chart (81) Additional Resources (83)
Section 10: References (85) List of unit references (86)
Unit Planning
Unit Objective
When given a set of landform riddles, writing prompts, 3D models, and a teacher-made summative test, the students will identify, describe, and construct the characteristics, formation, and lifestyles at ten of earths landforms.
ALEX Standards
Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains
identifying processes of Earth, including continental drift, erosion, natural hazards,

weather, and climate Language Arts 12.) Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause and effect. [R1.3.3]
Content Specification Chart

Skills Identify the names
and characteristics of a variety of landforms.
Concepts Characteristics of
landforms
Facts Landforms are

made of all materials, such as rock, sand, water, lava, and grass.
Vocabulary Mountain: Includes

steep sides and is the highest form of land.
Compare and
contrast various landforms
Match landform
names to landform definitions.
Similarities and
differences between natural and manmade landforms
The flattest part of

a valley is called the floor.
Mountain range: A
cluster of mountains formed together.
Describe the
different in lifestyles based on a landform setting.
The highest point

on a mountain is called a peak.
Valley: A low area

between mountains and hills.
Explain the three

processes of erosion: wind, water, and ice.
Landforms affect
lifestyles
Mount Everest is
the highest mountain in the world.
Process of erosion
Hill: A mound of
earth smaller than a mountain.
Apply knowledge
of landforms to create studentmade landforms.
Islands are formed

by dried lava.
Plateau: An area of
raised land with a flat surface.
Plains and valleys

are the best landforms for farming,.
Construct 3D
models of landforms.
Plain: Broad, flat

land where there are few trees.
Florida is an
example of a peninsula.
Island: A body of
land that is surrounded by water on all sides.
Hawaii is an
example of an island.
Canyon: A deep
valley with very steep sides.
Deserts are cold at

night and extremely hot during the day.
Peninsula: A body
of land surrounded by water on three sides.
Peninsulas are
always connected to mainland.
Desert: A very dry

area with little to no rain.
Erosion by water
is the fastest form of erosion.
Volcano: An
opening in earths crust that allows lava and rock to flow out.
Erosion by ice is
the slowest form of erosion.
Erosion: The
process by which the surface of the earth is worn away by wind, water, or ice.
Mountains are
formed by a process called plate tectonics.
Manmade
landforms were created to mark or remember a specific event or location.
Glacier: A frozen
river. Manmade landform: A landform created and built by human hands.
Daily Content Organizer
1.) Introduction to first five landform definition and characteristics.
Students discuss comparisons and contrasts in each landform setting.
4.) Students learn how landforms affect the lifestyles people have.
Complete page 1 of matching Landform Riddles.
3.) Students learn how landforms are formed through of the processes of erosion, wind, waner, ice, as well as plate tectonics.
Students participate in "Turn and Talk" of how people might affect landforms at the end of class.
2.) Introduction to final five landforms definitions and characteristics.
Teacher leaves students to predict how all 10 landforms were formed.
5.) Students learn about manmade landforms around the world and why they were built.
Instruction
Summary of the Lesson Plans

In each of the five lesson plans throughout the unit, multiple teaching and engagement strategies are interwoven so to create an actively engaging and meaningful learning experience for all learners. The lessons are geared toward meeting the needs of all learners, including ELL and gifted students. Extension activities such as writing songs to describe a processes of erosion and supportive tools such as a pre-written Landform Booklet helps to both challenge students and eliminate that which might hinder their learning. The unit begins with the first two days introducing students to the names, definitions, and characteristics of ten landforms. The content is presented using a Prezi filled with pictures, as well as a Landform Booklet. On the first day, students each receive their own Landform Booklet to maintain during the unit. In this booklet, students record notes, thoughts, and comparisons about the landforms they are learning. A Prezi is a fast-paced, very engaging tool for active students with eager minds, so this presentation tool seemed to be most appropriate. The majority of student vocabulary for the unit was also introduced using a Prezi. The third day, students are introduced to the processes by which landforms are created. Because the processes of erosion and plate tectonics are visual acts, the content is introduced through several video clips that students will watch. Day four, the concept of how landforms affect lifestyles is introduced. The teacher uses many real-world examples, such as dressing up students, to engage students in their learning for this day. Finally, day five is where students are introduced to how people affect landforms and what manmade landforms were created for. In addition to the presentation routes, there are also several reading strategies incorporated throughout the lesson, such as predicting, comparing and contrasting, grand discussions, and questioning. Nearly every day, students are engaged in some form of discussion about the content they are learning. When necessary, the teacher interjects higher-order thinking questions throughout the students practice. This is to bring the students learning experience deeper than surface level. Students must also compare and contrast various landforms using a Venn diagram, and they will also describe a landform lifestyle by creating a postcard. Each lesson has been purposefully planned to build upon one another day by day. Finally, when the final day of the unit arrives the students are given the opportunity to construct their own landform models using clay and sticky-note labels. The variety of teaching methods and ways to introduce content truly make this unit one that reaches all learners.
Design for Learning

Day 1 Instructor: Ms. Gelpi Title: Learning About Landforms Grade: 3rd Area: Social Studies Date: March 3, 2014 Estimated Time: 60 min.
Standards Connection: CCRS Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains Objective: The students will match five landform pictures with a corresponding landform riddle with 100% accuracy. Kid-Friendly Objective: Today, you are going to learn what a landform is! You will also learn about five different types of landforms and some characteristics of each. Evaluation of Learning Objective: The teacher will evaluate the students learning using a matching landform riddle sheet. Students will be given a piece of paper with ten landform pictures and names in the left column. The students will only use the first five for the first days lesson. In the right column, there will be ten blank spaces for students to place a riddle that corresponds with the appropriate landform. The riddles contain feature clues of each landform that will aide students in identifying the correct landform. Students will be given a separate sheet of paper with five riddles that are to be cut out along dotted edges. Then, the students will glue the riddle to the corresponding landform on the page. Students must appropriately match 5 out of 5 riddles to be considered for mastery of this. Each correct riddle match is worth 2 points, making the first days riddle match-up worth 10 total points. Students must receive 10 of 10 points to demonstrate appropriate understanding of the content. Hook: To introduce the students to the topic of landforms, the teacher will play a game in which students must guess the missing letters to spell the word landform. She will begin by drawing
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a complete stick body with eyes, a nose, and mouth. She will tell students that she is thinking of a word that will unlock to them what they are learning about next. Thank you all for coming in so quietly. As you come in from P.E., please take a seat and fix your eyes up here. The teacher will have previously written eight blanks on the whiteboard and have it displayed when the students walk in. Today we are going to start class by playing a game. I have drawn up here a stick man and eight blanks. In these eight blanks, there are supposed to be letters that make up a word. This word will tell you what you are going to be learning about next in class. Butyou only have a certain number of guesses to create the word. Each time a wrong letter is guessed, I will erase one part of our stick man. I am going to begin calling on those of you who are seated quietly, raising your hand, and on task. This means your desk is cleared and your eyes are up here with us. The teacher will remind students of how they are to respond should the teacher need students attention immediately. This game can sometimes get a bit loud, so we need to go over our routine for when I need your immediate attention. When I say, Look at me, I want you to stop what you are doing and look at me. I will say this twice in case you did not hear me the first time. If you still do not stop talking and moving, I will clap a rhythm until everyone is clapping and on-task. Lets practice this. Turn to your partner and tell them what your favorite part of this day has been so far. The teacher will give students 7 seconds to answer this. Look at me. The teacher will perform the procedures needed based on the students response. If they continue talking, she will clap a rhythm. Very good. I believe we are ready to start now! Who would like to take the first guess? Please raise your hand. The teacher will call on several students who are exhibiting the expected behaviors. As the students guess letters, the teacher will either fill in the letters, or she will write the wrong letters to the side and erase a piece of the stick figure. Should students get too rowdy during this activity the teacher will perform necessary discipline procedures. The teacher will fill in an additional letter is students are having great difficulty guessing the word. Once the students do guess the word, the teacher will celebrate with students and show great excitement about this topic. This is intended to get the students excited about their upcoming learning. Yes! Landforms is the correct word! We will be learning about landforms for the next couple of days. Today, you are going to learn what a landform is. You will also learn about five different types of landforms and some characteristics of each. As we learn about landforms more each day, you will learn about how much they truly affect your way of living here, as well as peoples lives around the world. During the closing of our landform unit, you will construct your very own landforms! But for now, lets go ahead and get started with what we will be doing today. Please grab your pencil and a clipboard and come have a seat at the front of the room. The teacher will ask students to do this in order to create an environment more conducive to a grand discussion. Lesson Design I. Teaching:
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The teacher will start the lesson by giving students a base knowledge of what a landform is. To begin, who can tell me what a landform is? Or, what is an example of a landform? The teacher will call on students with their hand raised. A landform is a feature of the earths surface. Good! An example of a landform could be a mountain, a hill, or a canyon. Last week when we were studying rocks and minerals, you learned that a person who studies the minerals of the earth is called a geologist. Well, I want to introduce you to a similar term, and that is a geographer. A geographer is a scientist who studies and describes the earths surface. This week as we discover about landforms, you are going to take on the role of a geographer. Now, geographers exist all over the world. Their job is to research and examine different landforms of the earth. The reason they do this is so people around the world can know how landforms exist, how they are changing over time, and how this affects you. When they go to a place of study, they always take with them a notebook to record any important information they need. So if you are going to take on the role of a geographer, you will also need a notebook like they have. The teacher will pull out the box of student Landform Booklets. In a moment, each of you is going to get your very own Landform Booklet. You will decorate the front and write your name on it, and record important facts and details about landforms throughout our week together. When you get yours, please write your name on the front and do nothing else. The teacher will begin passing out the Landform Booklets. Once all students have a Landform Booklet, the teacher will introduce the Class Landform Booklet. I have gone ahead and made my own Landform Booklet. This is what each of yours will look like at the end of our weeks together. Today, we are going to create five different pages for five landforms we will be learning about. The teacher will open the Landform Booklet and show students what these pages will look like. She will use the ELMO projector to give students a closer look at this. On each page will be the name of the landform at the top, the definition of the landform underneath, and a few characteristics about the landform bulleted under that. Today as I show you some pictures and we discuss these landforms, you will be creating pages just like these in your notebook. You will look at the name of the landform at the top of your page, and then you will write the definition underneath. We will talk about different characteristics of the landforms as well, and you will bullet these underneath. For your review, please raise your hand and someone tell us what a characteristic is. The teacher will call on a student with their hand raised. I will walk you through step by step of how I want you to do this. As we take some notes today, you may do so in a marker or colored pen. Please take those out now. Now, as we go along it is important that you pay attention and write when I ask you to. Otherwise, you may get behind in our notes. However, if this happens do not panic. I have made the class a copy in case this does happen, or in case someone is absent. You will be able to check this out and use it to finish what you have missed. Now that we have gone over some housekeeping rules, lets get learning about our landforms. The teacher will pull up the Prezi titled Landforms. Please open your notebook to the first page. We are going to write our definition of a landform on this page. The teacher will get out her class copy to show the students. She will flip to the definition of a landform. Good, a
Leaping Over Landforms! landform is any feature of the earths surface. Please write this down two lines down from your title. The teacher will give students a few seconds to write this down. Flip to the next page in your notebook, because the first landform we are discussing is a Mountain. A mountain has steep sides and is the highest form of land. Write this definition two lines underneath the word mountain. The teacher will show students her example of doing this as a point of reference. The teacher will flip to the picture of a mountain. Now, lets talk about some of the characteristics of this mountain. First, I want you to turn to a partner and share with them what things you see. Think back to the properties we used to describe our rocks. What properties can you use to describe the mountain? Is this mountain high up above the ground, or is it pretty flat and low? Turn and talk to your neighbor about what else you see. I will call on you in just a few seconds to share the answer that your partner shared. Please keep your voices to a low whisper. The teacher will allow the students 20 seconds to share and will then bring them all back together. Look at me. Good, Student A what did your partner say about the mountain and the way it looks? The teacher will call on and listen to about 5 students answers. She will open discussion about the physical attributes of the mountain. I love your ideas! Take a look at the important bullet points I put in my landform book: Highest form of land, Spiky peak, Collects snow at its peak. What part do you think the peak of the mountain is? If snow collects on the peak, which part is it? The teacher will wait for students to answer. Yes, the peak of a mountain is the very tip-top of it. Go ahead and I would like you to list yours like I listed mine. The teacher will walk around to display her notebook for students as a reference. On all landforms, the teacher may also choose to add more characteristics if desired. After most students are finishing up, the teacher will flip to the picture of a mountain range. This is another picture of a mountain, and it is the highest mountain in the world. This is Mount Everest. It is 29, 305 feet high! People have climbed Mount Everest before, but they had to train for months to be able to climb this high. This is a picture of a bunch of mountains together all in a cluster; when more than one mountain is grouped together it is called a mountain range. The teacher will flip to the next landform, a valley. Flip your page to the next clean one. The next type of landform you will see this week is a valley! A valley is a low area of land between hills and mountains. Lets write that one in our notebooks. The teacher will give the students about a minute to do this. Then the teacher will flip to a picture of the valley. A valley is usually found between two mountains or hills, and it creates a V shape. Lets write that down: Creates a V shape. What else do you notice about a valley? The teacher will call on students to share their observations. Good! Lets make another bullet that says, low land, because the actual valley is the low land between. The teacher will flip to the second picture of a valley. This is another picture of a valley. What do you notice about this scene? The teacher will refer to the houses in the middle of the valley, and how valley floors, the bottom land of a valley, are great for farming because they have a lot of fertile soil. Another characteristic we can bullet is, very rich soil on the floor. The teacher will move on to the next landform. Flip your page! Pull out a green marker. We are going to take a look at a hill next. A hill is a raised area or mound of land. Write this down. I want you to turn to a
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different neighbor this time and share with them what features of this hill you see. Is this similar to any other landform we have talked about? The teacher will provide students a few minutes to discuss and compare. Look at me. Lets write down some characteristics that will help us identify a hill landform. First, unlike a mountain a hill has a round top. Next, hills are typically very grassy. They have a lot of places for small animals to come and eat grass there. What is one more characteristic of a hill that we could put? The teacher will write down a characteristic or two provided by the student. Wonderful job! We just have two more to go. Now, this next landform may be one that you are less familiar with. The teacher will flip to the plateau page. This word is plateau. Or as I like to call it sometimes, a flateau. Say that with me: Plateau. Good. A plateau is an area of raised land with a flat surface. Go ahead and write that down. Provide enough time for students to write this down. The reason I gave this a nickname of flateau is because a plateau is a large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding area. The teacher and students will spend a few minutes discussing the features of this landform. This landform is super amazing because it has so many different features! Look at the sides of these plateaus. They look very rough, not smooth. I also notice that this has a flat surface. We will write that down as well (flat surface). In a minute, you will learn about one more landform called a plain, which is a flat piece of land. Because plateaus also have flat land like a plain, it is called a high plain. Why do you think its called a high plain? The teacher will listen and then explain to students that it is because this plain is raised above the rest of the land around it. Lets write this down as an important fact. What else do you notice about the plateau? What does it look like its made of? The teacher will write down as a third bullet point, Made of rock. Very good! The teacher will flip to the final page. For our last landform of the day, we will look at what a plain is. Be careful that when you hear this word you do not spell it plane. That is the plane like you fly in the sky; this plain is part of the earths surface. The teacher will provide students time to do this. A plain is broad, flat land where there are few trees. Think back to a book we read not too long ago, Sarah, Plain and Tall. Based on that book, what does a plain look like? Turn to your neighbor and describe what a plain looks like. In a few seconds I will call on you to share what your partner has said. The teacher will walk around and monitor students discussion. She will add positive and specific praise throughout the students conversations. The teacher will also choose two people to call upon to share. Okay, please listen to Student B as he shares with us what a plain is. The student will explain his answer. Show me a thumbs up if you agree and a thumbs down if you disagree. The teacher will informally assess students. Okay, Student C, what did your partner have to say? The student will share. Lets take a look and see if your definition matches the pictures of real plains. The teacher will flip to the picture(s) on plains. Wow. Does this land look like what Student C described? What do you notice about this land, is it high up or low down? The students should respond with, low down. Yes. This land is flat, low ground. Plains are usually flat all the way across or almost flat. They are broad stretches of land that can reach for miles and miles. The teacher will point to a bullet point that says, broad stretch of flat land. The teacher will point to this as her first bullet on the Plains page.
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Do you see very many plants or tall trees here like in a valley? The teacher will show them one picture that has little to no trees or plant life aside from grass. She will also show them a picture of a plain in the desert. What about this one though? How does this compare to the one you just saw before? The students should address that one plain has green grass while the other is the same color as sand and does not have much plant life at all. The reason these look so different is because plains are dependent on their environment. This means that when there are plains in the country and where there is lots of water, the plain will be filled with many more things that are alive, such as animals and grass. However, some plains can be in deserts. These plains are much drier and less colorful. Lets write this fact down in our notebook: Plant life depends on the environment. These are a great start to characteristics of a plain. Next, the teacher will do a small group sorting activity with the students to summarize the landforms and one characteristic of these landforms. She will have the students put their notebooks in their desks and will put students in specific groups. Thank you all for sitting so patiently through our looking at landforms. Now, I need you to do two things. Number one-put away your clipboard and go sit down at your desk. Number two- listen to the directions I am about to give you. (The following activity may or may not be taken out) II. Practice: As the students are returning to their seats, the teacher will pass out laminated pieces of construction paper to each table group. On the construction, the teacher will have drawn a tchart with the headings High Up? and Low Down? prior to the start of the lesson. Each group will receive one t-chart and five mini post-it notes. One student will be asked to write the name of each landform on a post-it note. The students will have to place the correct landform under the appropriate heading, stating whether the landform is high up or low down. You will be split into groups of four at your table for this activity we are about to do. I am passing out a t-chart to each group as well as 5 post-it notes. The person whose desk I out the sticky notes on will be the designated writer for this activity. If you are the writer, you will write the name of each landform on each of the sticky notes I give you. You will write mountain on one sticky, valley on another, and so on. If you need to see how to spell these words, please use your notebooks. After the landforms have been written, you and your team members will work together to sort the landforms as high up or low down from the ground. The first team to finish will get to show their t-chart to the class and present your answers. You will raise your hands to let me know your team is finished. Do NOT call out. Does anyone have any questions? The teacher will answer any questions or clarify any uncertainty the students may have. Okay, you may begin! As the students are doing this, the teacher will walk around and observe the students working together. When the first team has finished, the teacher will still ask that they wait to share until all groups have finished. Team 1 was the first I saw to finish, so please turn your eyes and respect to them as they share their sort with you. The students will
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share their answers with the class. For any answers that are incorrect, the teacher will ask another group to share their answers and explain why they chose that answer. The entire purpose of this activity is to get students familiar with the characteristics of the landforms they have just learned. When they are through with this, the teacher will give students sets of Landform vocabularymatch cards. For this practice activity, students will match the name and definition of each landform to one another. They will lay the names on one side and the definitions on another. The students will have to use their memories to recall the correct definition to go with the appropriate landform name. Next, I have in this basket ten sets of vocabulary-match cards. These cards contain the names of the landform and their definitions; you must match the appropriate definition with the correct landform name. When I say go, please quietly walk to a partner. Go. When the students have paired up, the teacher will pass a set of vocabularymatch cards to each pair. Please find a space in the room for you and your partner to play in. When you are finished, please put your cards back in the bags and place them in this white basket and come see me. The teacher will walk around to monitor students during their game time. This will be another way she will informally assess the students. III. Assessment: To assess the students, the teacher will ask the students to complete an activity called, Landform Riddles. For this activity, students must glue the appropriate riddle to the correct landform. This assessment will carry over to tomorrows lesson as well. Please pause what you are doing and look at me. The teacher will wait until all students have stopped talking and are looking at her. As you finish, please come get a Landform Riddles page from me. This page has ten different landform pictures on it; however, you will only be using the first five pictures on the page today. I am also giving you a sheet of 5 riddles, one for each landform. You will work by yourself to match the riddle with the landform it is describing. I want you to cut and glue the riddle next to the correct landform paper. Does anyone have any questions? The teacher will answer any questions if necessary. The students will work on this until there are 7 minutes left in the class. At 7 minutes, the teacher will ask students to begin cleaning up their materials and personal space. Please stop what you are doing and look at me. If you are not already at your desk, please pick up and get to your desk. Make sure your personal space and the space you were in are cleaned up with no trash or pieces of paper lying around. Keep your landform riddles out on your desk and I will come by to collect them. IV. Closure: For the closure of this lesson, the teacher will ask three people to give three facts from toda ys lesson that they believe all people should walk away knowing. Before we leave, I would like a volunteer to raise their hand and tell us three important facts from todays lesson that you feel
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everyone should walk out of here knowing. The teacher will call on up to three students depending on the time left in class. Good, I think you chose wonderful and meaningful facts! Okay everyone, please quietly push your chair in and go line up at the door for P.E. Accommodations/Extension: For higher-end learners, the teacher will ask these students to choose two landforms learned about in class. Then, the teacher will provide students with two websites on which they can look up more information about their chosen landforms. Students will look up a famous example of each of these landforms. Then, using the information they found from the websites the students will write a newspaper article introducing tourists to one of the famous landforms. Struggling learners will receive support from the teacher on their Landform Riddles assessment. The teacher will read the riddles aloud to these students, and will underline the important clues found in each riddle. Then, the teacher will allow these students to refer back to the notes in their Landform Riddles book to complete the assessment piece. This will provide them with support in learning how to pick out what is most important when given a question. In addition, because the struggling students are hindered due to their independent reading comprehension, reading the riddles aloud will support the students comprehension needs.
Content and Resources: White board White board marker Laptop computer Landforms Prezi o http://prezi.com/_4xs46qe3ty/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share 18 Landform Booklets 2 completed Landform Booklets 1 class version of the Landform Booklet 5 pieces of laminated construction paper 25 post-it notes 10 sets of vocabulary cards 10 ziploc bags 20 Landform Riddles sheets Riddles (mountain, valley, hill, plateau, plain) Glue Scissors
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Data Analysis/Reflection: Student scores: 18/19 students scored 10 out of 10 points. 1/19 students scored 8 out of 10 points The teaching of this lesson went very well and actively engaged all students. Having the students guess what they would be learning about next was exciting and kept them engaged. One of the other most effective parts of this lesson was the landform Prezi that introduced the students content. The Prezi pictures were colorful, large, and they were not displayed for long amounts of time on the screen. In addition, the students felt responsible and part of their own learning by taking responsibility of their Landform Booklets. I absolutely loved that the entire teaching portion of this lesson was similar to a discussion of the content, making the content the true star of the day. Students were able to remain actively engaged and also take notes throughout the discussion. Finally, I believe it was of the students benefit that I modeled for them how to take notes, and I also modeled my thinking when looking at the pictures of landforms so that they could communicate their own thinking. One piece of this lesson I would like to change would be to include even more pictures in the Prezi. I believe it would have benefitted students to have a wide exposure to the look of each landform.
Landforms Riddles 1 What kind of landform is tallest of all You get this landform when oceans run With a spiky top where snow may fall? dry, Theyre broad, flat spaces stretching under the sky. A flat top and steep sides make this landform you know, the place with a nickname, also known as flateau. When the wind and the rain wear a mountain away, The mound that is left is this landform, they say. This landform is found at the bottom of mountains And very tall hills; its the low land between them.
Landform Riddles 2 What kind of landform has a vent at the top, Spews lava and steam and pieces of rock? Which type of landform stretches into the tides; Surrounded by water on three of its sides? This landform was made very sandy and dry, With little rainfall coming down from the sky. To get to this landform, a boat you may ride Since water surrounds it on every side. What kind of landform has very steep sides That were cut by a rivers erosion and time?
http://www.totally3rdgrade.com/Worksheets/Wor_Landforms.pdf
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Design for Learning

Day 2 Instructor: Ms. Gelpi Title: Learning About Landforms, Pt. 2 Grade: 3rd Area: Social Studies Date: March 4, 2014 Estimated Time: 60 min.
Standards Connection: CCRS Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains Objective: The students will match five landform pictures with a corresponding landform riddle with 100% accuracy. Kid-Friendly Objective: Today, you are going to learn about five more landforms that can be found around the world, and you will learn about what makes each of these landforms unique! Evaluation of Learning Objective: The teacher will evaluate the students learning using the remainder of the matching Landform Riddles sheet. Students will use the Landform Riddles sheet previously given to them, and they will complete the bottom portion of this. There will be 5 landform pictures and names in the left column that students will have not yet completed. In the right column, there will be five blank spaces for students to place the riddle that corresponds with the appropriate landform. These riddles contain feature clues of each landform that will aide students in identifying the correct landform. Students will be given a separate sheet of paper with the five riddles that are to be cut out along dotted edges. Then, the students will glue the riddle to the corresponding landform on the page. Students must appropriately match 5 out of 5 riddles to be considered for mastery of this. Each correct riddle match is worth 2 points, making the second days riddle match-up (last five) worth 10 total points. Students must receive 10 of 10 points to demonstrate appropriate understanding of the content.
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Hook: To begin the lesson, the teacher will ask students to take out their whiteboards. She will display a picture on the board, and the students will have to choose between two landform names. They will identify the correct landform name. This will give the students a review of yesterdays content in an engaging way. Good afternoon class! As you come in, please take a seat. When you are at your desk, I would like you to take out your whiteboards and markers. If you need an eraser, please go ahead and get it from the back of the room now. The teacher wait until students are settled and all whiteboard materials are out of students desks. Yesterday we began by learning about five landforms. Can someone raise their hand and tell me what these five were? If students are struggling to recall the names of the landforms, the teacher will ask other students to assist their peer and complete the answer. Yes! Yesterday you learned about a mountain, valley, hill, plateau, and plain. Very good! To help give us a quick review of these, I am going to show you a picture of one of these landforms on the board. I am going to give you two choices for what landform it could be. I want you to either write the number 1 if you think it is the first choice, or the number 2 for the second name. Is everyone ready? Lets begin. The teacher will display a printed picture of a valley. Write your number answer on your whiteboard. Is this a valley or a mountain? She will give students a few seconds between each picture to answer. On the count of three, raise your whiteboard answers in the air. 1-2-3! If you answered number 1 for valley, you are correct. What helped you know this is a valley? She will call on a student to explain their decision-making process. Wonderful. Erase your boards. The teacher will display a picture of a hill. Is this a plateau or a hill? Write 1 or 2. Check your neighbors board. If they put number 2 for hill, put a smiley face on their board! Why feature of this landform helped you to know it was a hill? The teacher will call on a student to answer. Very good! The rounded top should have given that one away. Erase your boards. The teacher will display a picture of a plateau. Choice 1 is a plateau, choice two is a plain. This one may be a little tricky because they both start with a p. Please write your answer on your boards. Raise your boards up. Ready? Go. The teacher will assess students answers and clarify accordingly. To help you remember between a plain and a peninsula, think back to Sarah, Plain and Tall. Remember they like to plant things on a flat plain? You can also thin, A plain is very plain. Not fancy. And a plateau can be thought of as a flateau. Erase your boards please. We have just two more. The teacher will display a picture of a mountain. Choice number one is a mountain, choice number two is a hill. Did your neighbor write number 1? If they did tell them, Awesomeeee. The students will repeat this to their peers. If they did not, tell them, Thats a mountain. And point your hands in the air like this The teacher will use her hands to make a pointed top for a mountain. Good. Erase your boards one last time. We have one more picture. The teacher will display a picture of a plain. Write number 1 for plain and number 2 for valley. Raise your boards up on 1-2-3! The teacher will informally asses the student answers. Wonderful! This is a plain. It looks very plain! Okay, please erase your boards and put them away. If you got an eraser please walk
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and go put it back. The teacher will wait until students have put away all of their materials. So yesterday you learned about five landforms that can be found in the earth and even in areas around here! Can someone think of one landform we talked about that is can be found right here where you live? The teacher will call on different students to share. Appropriate student answers would include those such as hills and plains. Yes, very good! Today, you are going to learn more about five more landforms that can be found around the world. As we learn today, I want you to be thinking of where you might have seen some of our newer landforms. Teaching Design: I. Teaching: The teacher will introduce the content to students through a Prezi presentation and the writing of a few notes in their Landform Booklets. Please take out your Landform Booklet and come grab a clipboard. Take your pencil and come have a seat on the floor in front of the board. The teacher will wait until nearly all students have done this. Today after we learn about five more landforms, I have a scavenger hunt for you to play. However, you will have to pay attention closely because the landforms you learn about today will also be part of your scavenger hunt. She will pull up the first page of the Prezi: Peninsula. The first landform we are talking about today is a peninsula. Say that with me, peninsula. Yes, a peninsula is a body of land that is surrounded by water on 3 of its sides. Write down this definition in your notebook. The teacher will flip to a picture of a peninsula. This is an example of a peninsula. Do you know what this place is? The appropriate response is Florida. This is a peninsula, and it is also a picture of the state Florida! Florida is an example of a peninsula. The teacher will walk to the states map to point to this for students to see. This will get students familiar with seeing this landform in the context they will most see it in, rather than isolated. Do you see how three of its sides have water completely surrounding it? One side does not though. The last side is connected to the rest of the land, which is also called the mainland. Lets look at another example. This is another peninsula, and it again has water on three of its four sides. The teacher will be sure to point to these to make sure students see what she is describing. So what are at least two characteristics that you think we need to know to help us identify a peninsula? If students raise their hands to share, the teacher will call on one or two. One that I put was, Has water on only 3 sides. Go ahead and make that bullet 1. The teacher will give students a few seconds to write this down. The next that is important to write down is that it is still connected to mainland. The teacher will wait until students write this down. Then, she will flip to the next landform, a canyon. Flip to the next page! Does anyone know what this landform is called? The teacher will give students time to answer. This is a canyon. Now, a canyon is a little different than most of the landforms we have looked at because it actually goes underground, or below the surface. Please write this down. Most landforms like mountains or hills are high up, like we learned yesterday. Do you think if we had canyon on
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our sort, it would go under the high up? or low down? category? Yes, the low down. So what are some characteristics that you notice about this landform? What is it made of, what are the colors you see? Does it look rough to walk on? Do you think this is a place people could live? The teacher will continue to ask higher-order thinking questions as the students conversations develops throughout the presentation. How many of you have been to canyon before? This is a picture of the Grand Canyon. Many people go here on vacation, but do you think they actually stay at the Grand Canyon? No, there is not enough green land and it is also a mile deep! It would be extremely difficult to climb up and down the walls of this landform. How do you think this landform came to be? This landform was created by river water rushing through a piece of land and eventually wearing it down so much that it created this form. We will talk more about this tomorrow. Do you think it took a little or a lot of time for this to be created? Yes, it took over millions of years! She will go through the bulleted list of characteristics with students. There are three bullet points we will write for this landform. The first is Created by rushing waters. The second is that canyons have very steep sides. Finally, we will write that it was formed over millions of years. The teacher will provide time for the students to write these down. Then, she will go to the next landform which is a desert. Flip the page. Look at these pictures, this is a desert. A desert is a very dry area. Turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor some features you notice about a desert. The teacher will give students some time to discuss. Look at me. What are some things you shared? She will call on several students to share their answers. Very good! You noticed that it is made of all sand, it is sort of lumpy, and it is extremely dry. It also looks like there is no life here. How do you think the temperature here feels? Hot? Deserts actually can get extremely hot during the day, but they can get to as low as negative 32 at night!!! Whoa. This is a picture of the Sahara desert, and it is one of the largest deserts in the world. However, it is not the largest. Did you know the largest desert in the world is actually in Antarctica? It is the Antarctic Desert! The teacher will flip to the picture of it. Deserts can be hot or cold! It does not depend so much on the temperature, it depends on how much rain a place does or does not get. So, what are some of the most important features of a desert that you think we will need to know? The teacher will let students brainstorm the list of bullet points. The teacher will be sure to have included though, Gets little to no rain and Can be hot or cold. The teacher will flip to the next landform, an island. Flip to your next page. This landform is pretty simple because most of you know what this is. This landform is an island. An island is a body of land that is completely surrounded by water. Go ahead and write that down. The teacher will give a few minutes for students to do this. There are several different islands around the world. One of them happens to be the state of Hawaii. The teacher will walk to a map to show this to students. The teacher will point to the islands of Hawaii. Islands are completely surrounded by water. The teacher will flip through several pictures of islands. A lot of islands look similar because they are completely surrounded by water. But something that is different about many islands is their surface. Some have jungles, others only have sand. It depends on where the island was formed. Some were formed by dried lava from a volcano, and others were formed
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by tons of sand over a period of time. We will just write down one bullet point under island: Sand, jungles, dried lava. The teacher will wait until students write this down. She will flip to the final landform, a volcano. Our final landform of the day is a volcano. The teacher will flip to the definition of the landform. A volcano is an opening in earths crust that allows lava and rock to flow out. Please write this down as I write the definition down in my Landform Booklet too. The teacher will give students enough time to write this down. We will just write bullets for this landform. Share with a partner some features you notice about this landform. What do you see? What makes this different than a mountain? The students will have a few moments to discuss this. The teacher will show students a few more pictures of volcanoes, some with lava and rocks coming out of the top. She will also point students attention to the vent at the top of the volcano. She will clarify that this is one major difference between a mountain and a volcano. There are two bullet points I would like you to have written down for a volcano: Vent at the top and Lava and rocks come out the top. Once you have finished, you may close your booklet and put down your markers. II. Practice: For the practice, the teacher will have students play a Landform Scavenger Hunt around the room. All across the room, the teacher will have previously taped 20 landform cards around the room. Each card has a number and a set of facts about a particular landform. Some of these landforms are ones that the students have been introduced to and other will be new to the students. Students will receive a sheet of paper containing 20 questions, one for every card number. In pairs, the students will walk around the room, find the 20 cards, and answer the question that corresponds with each card. The next thing we are going to do today is I am going to take you on a Landform Scavenger Hunt! I need you to listen carefully to my directions so that you will know what to do once I dismiss you from the carpet. I have placed 20 clue cards around the room. In a moment, I am going to hand each of you a piece of paper with 20 questions on it. Each question can be answered using the information on each card. You and a partner will work together to find these answers. Let me show you what this will look like. If I find card number 3, I need to look at question number 3. Then, after I have read the question, I will read the card number 3 to find my answer. Does that make sense? Just a few guidelines before we all get up. First, you may take your clipboards with you around the room. Second, there should be no more than 3 people at a card. If you spot a card and there are already 3 people at it, you will have to wait your turn and search for another one. Finally, I do not mind if you talk. However, please keep all voices to a soft whisper. Does anyone have any questions? Girls, you may get up and start. The girls will go around the room and start. Boys, now you may go ahead and get started. As the students finish their scavenger hunt, the teacher will have different pairs compare their answers with another groups answers. Once all pages have been checked, the teacher will allow students to begin work on their landform riddles.
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III. Assessment: The teacher will use the students riddle sheet as their formative assessment piece. Once students have completed the scavenger hunt, they will continue working on the riddle sheet for the remaining landforms they have learned. Look at me. The teacher will wait until all students have stopped what they are doing. You all have learned a lot about each of the landforms from yesterday and today. To finish up, I would like you to please complete the riddle match-up using what you know about each landform. These riddles use the characteristics of landforms to give you clues, so please use these and read the riddles carefully. When you finish, come see me. IV. Closure: The teacher will close the lesson by demonstrating the 3 Ws procedure with students. She will ask them: What did we learn? Why are we learning this? Now what-where are we doing next? Before we leave to P.E, lets talk about what you just did and learned today! Someone please raise your hand and tell us what we learned today? Give a brief summary, 1-3 sentences. The teacher will call on a student and they will share their answer. Good. Someone else, please tell us why we are learning this? What is the point of us learning about landforms and the features of each? A student will share their response. Wonderful answer! Finally, what do you think we will be learning about next? The teacher will call on a student or two to share their predictions. Hmm, we will have to see if your predictions are correct when we come back tomorrow! Thank you all for such a great class time. Please quietly push in your chairs and get in line. Accommodations/Extensions: Higher-end learners will have the option to create their own landform riddles for each of the five new landforms introduced, or to create their own file folder game about landforms and their characteristics. For struggling students, the teacher will provide support on their Landform Riddles assessment. The teacher will read the riddles aloud to these students, and will underline the important clues found in each riddle. Then, the teacher will allow these students to refer back to the notes they took to complete the assessment piece. This will provide them with support in learning how to pick out what is most important when given a question. In addition, because the struggling students are hindered due to their independent reading comprehension, reading the riddles aloud will support the students comprehension needs.
Leaping Over Landforms! Content and Resources: 1 printed picture of a mountain 1 printed picture of a valley 1 printed picture of a hill 1 printed picture of a plateau 1 printed picture of a plain Laptop computer White boards White board marker Landforms Prezi 2 o http://prezi.com/qvcty3njdgdd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=e x0share Class copy of the Landform Booklet 20 student copies of Landform Booklet 20 Landform Scavenger Hunt cards Tape Landform Scavenger Hunt student question sheets (20) Glue Scissors Riddles (peninsula, island, desert, canyon, volcano) sheet Data Analysis/Reflection: Student scores: 19/19 students scored 10 out of 10 points. Overall, this lesson was again very engaging and fun for the students. The things that kept them hooked were the few landforms they were not as familiar with. In addition, I made it fun for them to remember the landforms by giving them simple yet fun facts about each. The students also played Landform Match during this lesson, which was (for the most part) a blast. However, I quickly learned that printing these cards on plain white paper does not work; the cards were see-through! I tried my best to still encourage the students to use them, as they were a great way for them to review the content over the past two days. I was also pleased with the students interest and work with the landform riddles. These made the students think and truly recall the characteristics of the landform rather than use a picture to identify. Overall, I am very happy about the lesson.
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Design for Learning Day 3 Instructor: Ms. Gelpi Title: How Are Landforms Formed? Grade: 3rd Area: Social Studies Date: March 5, 2014 Estimated Time: 45-60 min.
Standards Connection: CCRS Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains Objective: When given four question prompts, the students will write about the processes of erosion that create various landforms. Kid-Friendly Objective: Today, we are going to learn about four different ways that landforms are formed in the earths surface! Evaluation of Learning Objective: Students will be evaluated based on their responses to four scenario questions. Each question will require the students to apply their knowledge of the erosion processes and plate tectonics to a situation. Students will be instructed to answer in complete sentences and using only 2-3 sentences. This assessment will be done online, so the teacher will check the students answers after they are sent to her via Google Docs. Her students answers will be evaluated based on accuracy. The teacher will use this as a formative assessment to see how much the students actually understood about the processes of erosion. Hook: To engage the students, the teacher will ask the students to take out their white boards and list the different ways they believe landforms are created. Good afternoon friends! When you come in, please take out your whiteboards and follow the instructions on the board. The teacher will have previously written, List different ways you believe landforms could have been created. You will have about 5 minutes to do this. You may share your list with the person
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next to you after you are finished. When the students seem to be finishing up, the teacher will ask a student from each table group to share their list. Student 1, would you please share with us what you have written down? Student 2etc. These are all very good guesses and thoughts! Today, we are going to learn about four different ways that landforms are formed in the earths surface! I am going to show you a few amazing videos, and then you are going to play a little game online as a class that will show you the effects of a process called erosion, and then you will have something to complete on Google Docs. This is what our time together will look like today! Lets go ahead and get started. Please erase and put away your whiteboards. You may come sit on the carpet if you would like, or you can stay at your desk while we watch a few videos. Lesson Design I. Teaching: Before class, the teacher will have pulled up the Discovery Education website that has the video, Erosion. This video gives detailed footage of erosion by wind, water, and ice. Having a visual like this is often a great way to support the content being presented by the teacher. In this case, the process of erosion is a much more visual act, so it will give students a better picture of the content that will be described. Throughout the video, the teacher will cue students to pay attention to specific information, such as how long each process takes, and she will also help students identify connections to previously learned material. The video I am about to show you is going to show you a process called erosion. Erosion is the process of how nearly all of the landforms in the earth were and are created. When erosion takes place, bits and pieces of earths land are broken away and carried away to a different place or part of the earth. Erosion can happen by wind, water, or ice. In this video, you will see what it looks like to have land shapes changed by wind, water, and ice. You will also see some specific landforms that we have talked about in class and some we have not discussed. I want you to notice the kinds of landforms and the places that are talked about in this video. You will hear the names of many states where certain landforms are located. Pay attention to these facts as you listen throughout the video. The teacher will start the video. At the end, she will ask the students several questions and will guide students in a conversation about erosion. Wasnt that neat?! Erosion is amazing, and whats even more amazing about this is how it is still happeningright this very minute. In the video the woman told us what the fastest form of erosion was and the slowest for was. Can you remind me what the fastest form of erosion is? Water. What is the slowest? Ice. Good. I would like to give you a chance to share in your own words what the process of erosion by wind is? Raise your hand to share with us. The teacher will call on a student and listen to their response. Good. What were some landforms that you saw from the video that were created by
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wind erosion? Mountains would be an appropriate response. Yes! Someone please raise your hand and share in your own words the process of erosion by water. Students will be called upon and will share their answers. Give me some examples of landforms that were caused by water erosion. Did you also know that caves on the sides of mountains can be created by water erosion? As waves crash into the sides of mountains, they wear away the rock while creating a big hole that turns out to be a cave. Do you think places like the Grand Canyon are livable? Why or why not? The teacher will let students share their thoughts and discuss the different reasons why/why not. The last way erosion occurs is by ice. What was the name of the landform that looks like a giant frozen river? A student will raise their hand to respond. A glacier, that is correct. Where are most glaciers found? Yes, in Alaska and other very cold regions of the earth. Please explain to us, Student R, how erosion occurs through glaciers. Very good answer. I love the details you used to support your answer! What about the ice expert they interviewed, what did you see him doing when he was out on the ice? Yes, he was recording what he found! That is exactly what I meant when I told you the first day that scientists use notebooks to record what they find. Good. Now, I want to ask you a question. Why do you think not many people live in these places? Turn and share your answer with your neighbor. The teacher is looking for students to share responses about not having the appropriate food, shelter, or resources to stay out there. Do you think people would have jobs like they do here if they lived in a desert? No, why not? The students should mention that there are not many buildings in large landforms such as that, so that is why most dramatic notices of erosion take place in the places mentioned. Good, this again goes back to what we talked about yesterday. Most landforms that do not have fertile soil or that have extreme temperatures are not the most popular places for people to live. Okay, there is also one more landform that I would like to show you a short video on. I want to show you how a mountain is formed over millions and millions of years. The teacher will pull up the video, 70 Million Years in Two Minutes. This video shows students how plate tectonics works, and it mimics the formation of the Himalayan mountain range over an extensive period of time. Mountains are formed in a different way. They are formed by something called plate tectonics. Say that with me: plate tectonics. Underneath the earths surface, there are large, flat pieces of rock and clay called plates. And these plates move together over time and sometimes, they run into each other. The teacher will demonstrate with her hands what this looks like. When they bump into each other, they push the land above them to form mountains. I want to show you what this looks like. This video shows the forming of the Himalayan mountains, the largest and tallest mountains in the world. The teacher will play the clip. Wasnt that incredible? Now, did that happen overnight or even over 100 years? Let students respond. No, this happened over a period of 70 million years! So as you can see, erosion and plate tectonics usually shape the land, but over a very long period of time.
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II. Practice: Next, the teacher will transition the class to their practice. On the board, the teacher will have an online game pulled up. She will direct the Promethean tablet pen to navigate on the screen, but she will have the students shout their answers. This game begins by providing students with a before and after picture of a landform that was created by a type of erosion. Students choose whether their think the landform was created by wind, water, or ice. Then, the students also have to choose the amount of time that they believe best fits with the process of erosion. There are about four different before and after picture examples for students to practice with. The teacher will take a poll of hands to determine the class answers, and she will click the correct answer on the board for her students. If you would now, please go back to your seats. We are going to play a game online in which you will choose what process of erosion was used to create a landform. When everyone is seated quietly at their desk, we will begin. The teacher will wait until all students are seated and showing attentiveness. For the first part, you are to choose the type of erosion that created this landform. Next, they want you to guess at how long it took to create this landform. I will chick on the answers that the majority of the class vote for. When its time to answer, I will take a poll of hands to choose an answer. So if you think wind, raise your hand. If you think water, raise your hand The teacher will play all four rounds of this until the game is over. III. Assessment: That was exciting! You all are experts on erosion! We are nearing the end of our time together, but so we have one last activity to do. Please look at me. It is very important that you hear the directions I am about to give you. That way, we can get to do what we need to do. I am going to call you by table groups, and you are going to each grab a computer from the cart. Once you have your computer, log on to Google Docs. When you are in Google Docs, there will be a page with four different mini questions on it that I want you to answer. The questions are real-world situations that have happened, and I want you to use your knowledge and smarts about erosion and how landforms are created to answer these questions. Group 1 please go ahead and get a computer. She will also call all groups to get computer until each child has one. Once all students are in Google Docs, the teacher will repeat the instructions. Once you are in Google Docs, please read each scenario carefully and write a 2-3 sentence answer. Do not make it much longer than this. When you are finished, please send your answers to me and raise your hand. As students are working on this, the teacher will gather the struggling learners and EL student to read aloud the questions prompts to them. The EL student will be placed at the back table with the teacher and will be asked to answer orally. Ten minutes before class ends, the teacher will stop the students and ask them to clean up. Look at me. Some of you may not be finished, but whatever you have done please send it to me anyways. When
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you have sent it, please shut down your computer and quietly walk to put it away. When everyone is back in the class, we will finish up! IV. Closure: To close the lesson, the teacher will have the students do a Think/Pair/Share as their ticket out the door. Students will share two things they learned today with a partner. The teacher will tell students that she will call on them to share what their partner said. Three pairs will share before students leave. To finish up our learning today, in a moment I am going to ask you to tell someone in the room two things you have learned. When I stop you, I will call on people to share the answer that their partner gave. It is important that we learn to be as good a listener as we are talkers. Does everyone understand? Go. The teacher will give one minute for the students to talk. As they do, the teacher will walk around to listen to and monitor students answers. She will call on specific students whose answers she feels best sum up todays learning. Look at me. Student B, what did your partner say were the two important things she learned today?... Student C, what did you partner say? Very great answers class! You all were such wonderful and hard-working students today, thank you! I will call you in groups to go line up for P.E. Accommodations/Extensions: For higher-end learners, the teacher will ask these students to write a poem or a song about what happens during the three different forms of erosion. If there is time at the end of class, the students may share their pieces of work! For struggling learners and EL students, the teacher will read aloud the question prompts and have the students respond orally. In addition, the teacher may ask the student to draw a before and after picture of what happens with each type of erosion if the teacher feels this would be more appropriate based on the language barrier and limited vocabulary of the student(s).
Content and Resources: White boards White board markers Laptop computer Discovery Education Erosion video 70 Million Years in Two Minutes video from YouTube Sciencenetlinks.com Erosion Game Google Doc containing four question prompts
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Data Analysis/Reflection: 14/19 students completed each question accurately 3/19 students completed 3 of 4 questions accurately 2/19 students completed 1 of 4 questions accurately
This lesson definitely did not go as planned! However, teaching it I was able to see how many of the lesson elements were realistic and how many of them were not. The only part of this lesson that was truly not as realistic as I had hoped was the assessment. Taking out the computers and having to put them back on the cart takes a large chunk of time and was honestly a bigger hassle than I intended for it to be. In addition, I believe it would have helped to give the students only 3 word problems and provided a copy of the problems at each students desk. Maybe next time I can do an example word problem with the students before they begin on their own. This lesson simply did not allow for it due to time constraints. However, the other elements of this lesson were amazing and probably me and the students favorite class day. The visual representations of erosion and plate tectonics captured students and also evoked great indepth discussion amongst them. In addition, the online game gave students information and visuals of different landforms that have been changed by the process of erosion. This provided students with another way to view erosion, and it also showed them different landforms that have been formed by erosion.
Erosion, Erosion, Everywhere

1. Jamie was taking a trip with his family to the Grand Canyon. His grandfather
was looking at a book filled with pictures and facts about this landform when a question popped into his mind: I wonder how the Grand Canyon was formed? Its
SO big. Jamie had been learning about landforms in his 3rd grade class and was
excited to answer his grandfathers question. Jamie said
2.
A new family just moved to Vestavia Hills! They moved from a place that had
no hills and only flat ground. They are interested in this new landform, and they want to know all they can about the hills of Vestavia. As their new neighbor, explain to them how these hills were probably formed.
3. Brr! Imagine you are on the Disney Cruise in Alaska. Up ahead, you see the huge
Tracey Arm glacier. This glacier is as big as a small city! Describe how the glacier was formed and how long it probably took for this glacier to form.
4. You and a friend are looking through the National Geographic magazine at the
school book fair. On page 9, there is a story with pictures about famous mountain ranges in the world. One of the featured mountain ranges is the Himalayas. You learned about these mountains in Mrs. Fords class earlier that day and want to explain to your friend how these mountains were formed. What would you say?
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Design for Learning

Day 4 Instructor: Ms. Gelpi Title: Landforms and Life! Grade:3rd Area: Social Studies Date: March 6, 2014 Estimated Time: 60 min.
Standards Connection: CCRS Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains Objective: The students will demonstrate knowledge of different landforms by creating a postcard from various landforms and will use four details to describe the lifestyle at their chosen landform. Kid-Friendly Objective: You will create a postcard from a landform of your choosing, and you will describe the lifestyle from this landform in your writing. Evaluation of Learning Objective: Students will create a postcard of a landform of their choosing, and they will send it to a recipient of their choice. The postcard will be written as though the student is vacationing at the landform. On the front, students will draw a scene from their chosen landform that will accurately depict the lifestyle and settings of the appropriate landform. It must depict accurate details of the life and/or landform of choice, and the drawing must be neat. On the back, the students will address the postcard, and they will also write a letter describing their time at their chosen landform. Students must provide at least 4 written details about life at this landform in their letter. Students will be graded for accuracy and will receive one point for each detail provided, as well as six points for an accurate drawing. This will make the total possible points to be earned 10. Hook: To begin the lesson, the teacher will bring in a bag of several clothing items. She will choose three volunteers that have exhibited exemplary behavior the entire day. The teacher will bring these three students into the hallway and dress them in different attire. One student will have a
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scarf, hat, and jacket. The second student will have on a cowboy hat and a pair of overalls over their clothing, and the third student will have on a pair of flip flops, sunglasses, and a beach towel. Good afternoon friends! I need Student A, B, and C to please meet with me in the hallway for a moment. The teacher will have a writing prompt for the other students to complete while the teacher talks with the volunteers in the hall. For the rest of you, I would like you to take out your Landform Booklets. I have a question for you, and I would like you to write your answer on the last blank page of your Landform Booklet. The teacher will uncover a question on the whiteboard that states: If you were a builder and you wanted to build a new house, which landform would you choose to build on and why? Please answer this quietly as I speak to these students for a moment. The teacher will bring volunteers out in the hall and get them dressed. She will explain to them that they are going to pretend to be travelers who have just arrived, and they are each from three different landforms. Their peers are going to work together to try and explain what landform each person needs to live at (using their clothing as hint) and explain why those landforms would be appropriate. Okay students, freeze in your writing. It is okay if you have not finished yet. I have some visitors that I want to bring in to see you for a minute. The volunteers will walk in. These are my three friends that I just picked up from the airport. They have come from all over the world to be here! They are moving to the United States, but the problem is they are tired and jetlagged from all of their travel. They need your help. I want you to work together as a class to come up with the best place for each of them to live. Talk amongst one another and come up with a decision. When you have made your decisions, please have one person tell me the classs choices. Keep your voices to a low whisper, and go. The teacher will allow students to have a minute or so to discuss where and why these three travelers need to live. Look at me. Class, what is your final decision for where these travelers need to live? The students will share their answers. They should give the answers, Mountains, Island, and Plain. If they do not, the teacher will have the students deliberate again until they get the appropriate answer. I must say that I agree with you! Thank you, travel guides! I am going to bring these people to their proper locations, and while I do please finish what you were working on. The teacher will walk the volunteers out of the room to undress and will then come back in. What did you think of our guests? Thank you and great job for getting them where they needed to go. Okay if you will, please stop where you are at and lets talk a moment about what you wrote. The question I had for you was, If you were a builder and you wanted to build a new house, which landform would you choose to build on and why? I want someone to please raise their hand and share with us what you wrote down. The student will share their answer, and the teacher will call on 1 to 2 more students to share their answers as well. She will lead the class into a brief discussion based on students answers. A plain would be one of the best places to build a house because of its flat land that is easy to travel on. It also is a great place for growing food. Good! The reason I had you answer this question is because today we will be learning about how landforms affect the way people live. This is not something you may think of very often, because you might have always lived near the same kind of landform. However, there are so many ways that
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landforms change peoples lives. For todays class, we will be discovering ways that landforms do change or affect every persons life. Then, at your table groups you will come up with specific details about life in a mountain, peninsula, and a plain. At the end of class, you will create a postcard that describes your lifestyle from a new landform! Lesson Design I. Teaching: The teacher will start the day by creating a short list of ways that landforms affect the lifestyles people have. She will make this bulleted list on the whiteboard. Please close your notebooks and lets begin. Imagine all of the different landforms we have talked about. We discussed a little yesterday about why some landforms were and were not livable, so lets use that information to start a list of ways landforms can affect peoples lives. Raise your hand if you have an idea you would like to add. The teacher will call on any student who is raising their hand and has ideas. If a student tells of an answer that is not appropriate, the teacher will politely tell the student that is incorrect. One way I can think of that landforms affect people is by the types of activities people do. The teacher will write, Activities people do as the first bullet. People who live in the mountains love to snowboard and ski all the time. Do we do a lot of that here in Alabama? No. What are some other activity examples you can think of that are different between two landforms? The teacher will give students time to share. Good. Okay, another way landforms affect people is the jobs people get. The teacher will write, Jobs people get as the second bullet point. Think about the people who live on a peninsula or an island, anywhere near water. Those people are much more likely to get jobs working in the seas or make money catching fish on big boats. Something else that can be found in cities near water are ports. What is a port? If a student knows or has a guess, the teacher will allow them to share. A port is like a big dock where ships from all the world come and park their boats. Then, at the port these big boats trade their fish or materials with the people who live near the water. It becomes a business. Do you think that people near plains could find jobs at ports? Probably not so easily. But what kinds of jobs could people living on plains have? Yes, they could easily be farmers! They could trade or sell their food that way. Can you think of other jobs people living on a plain could have? The teacher will open for any other discussion. Okay, we also know that clothing is obviously affected by where we live; we saw that with the activity at the beginning of class. The teacher will write clothing as the third bullet point. How do you think a winter in Alaska is different from a winter here or in a hotter place? How do you think it is the same? Turn and tell your neighbor. The teacher will give a few seconds for them to speak. Good. Look at me. Student K, what did you and your partner say about how an Alaskan winter would be the same as our winter here? The student will share. Wonderful answer. I can think of one more way that landforms affect people. Hint: we talked about this at the very beginning of class. The teacher will write, The natural
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resources affect where people live and build houses. What are natural resources? If students have anything to share, they can. Natural resources are natural helpful things that come straight from the ground, like oil, fertile soil, coal, or things of this nature. Why would having good resources affect where people live? A student will respond. Yes! If a landform produces or has great natural resources, such as a valley with great fertile soil at its floor, people will want to build there so they have access to the resources! Now, why would people not want to live near certain landforms? Take a few seconds to truly think about itWhy would people not want to live in a desert, or a canyon, or maybe even the mountains? The teacher will count to five in her head before calling on a student to answer. Student J, why would people not want to live near a specific landform? The student will share, and the teacher will call on several others to share their answers. You all have amazing answers, great job. Okay, I am going to leave this up here in case you need to look at it for what I am going to ask you to do next. In a moment, I am going to pass out a piece of construction paper to each of you. When you get it, I want you to fold it into four squares. The teacher will model this for her students. II. Practice: For the practice portion of this lesson, students will label their four squares with the names of three landforms of choice, and the last one will be labeled Home. In groups, the students will bullet at least four descriptions of life at each landform. They may use background knowledge or nationalgeographic.com to do further research about their topic. Once you have folded your papers, please look at me. The next thing you are going to do is label each of your squares with a landform of your choice. You may use some of the landforms we discussed today, or you may choose any other ones we have talked about. You will choose three. The teacher will display her example under the ELMO. For example, I am going to label mine with the landforms, Mountains, Desert, Peninsula, and the last one I am going to put Home. And so will you. Your last box will be labeled Home. Please take a moment to do this. When you are finished, flip your paper over to let me know you are done. The teacher will wait until all students have finished labeling their papers. Next, what I am going to tell you is absolutely important, so please listen closely. You are going to use the computers to look up more information about your landforms of choice. You will have about 5 minutes to look up each, and when those minutes are up I will tell you so you can look up your next landforms. You are going to be looking for information that will help you understand the lifestyle of each place. For example, if I read on nationalgeographic.com that in the desert the nights are cold but the days are super hot, I will want to write that down because that is something unique to the desert! That lets me know, Man, if I ever lived there I would have to make sure to pack something that will still keep me warm! I want you to have at least 4 bullets under each heading. Now, I am going to write on the board the website you will use if you are going to look on the computer for some more information. And if you already feel that you have enough information, you do not need to get on the website. But be sure that you have at least
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4 facts that tell you more about what it would be like to live at your landforms. Does anyone have any questions? The teacher will clarify anything that was not clear to the students, and she will write www.nationalgeographic.com on the board. Very well, you may begin! The teacher will walk around the room monitoring students as they complete their research. She will be sure to keep students time monitored, and after about 15-20 minutes she will call time. Please stop what you are doing and look at me. Take your research materials and please put them away. Then come have a seat at your desk with your paper. The teacher will wait to provide further instructions until all students are seated at their desks. As they are picking up, the teacher will pass out index cards for the students. III. Assessment: For the assessment, the students are going to create a post card from their landform of choice. They will write this postcard to a family member, and will describe for them the life at __________ (landform of choice). Students must use at least 4 key details describing the lifestyle near their landform. Now, you have each completed a good amount of research for many different landforms. What you are going to do next is create a postcard to a family member describing to them your lifestyle in a certain landform. A postcard is a front and back card that is usually sent from special places. They always have a picture on the front and a letter with the address on the back. Here is an example of one that I have from Spain. The teacher will walk around the classroom and show students the postcard. You will choose one landform from your paper, besides Home, and you will draw a picture scene of your landform on the blank white side. Then, you will write a letter to a family member using 4 key details that you wrote down to describe the life at your landform. We may not have time to finish this, and if not you will finish this up for homework. Do not worry about putting the address yet, just be sure to write the letter. To refresh your memory of how to write a letter, please look up at the Letters poster on the wall. Every letter starts with a greeting: Dear Mr. Bob It includes a few sentences with capital letters and punctuation at the end. Last, it is signed: Love, your name. You may use your coloring pencils and markers to make the picture on the back, but please be aware of how hard you color. You d not want the marker bleeding through to the other side. Does anyone have questions? The teacher will clarify any instructions and answer any questions if necessary. You may get started. IV. Closure: To close the lesson, the teacher will ask students a question that will cause them to refer back to what they learned today as well as guide them into the next days lesson. Okay friends, please stop what you are doing and put away all of your materials. Place your postcard in your purple folder so that you can finish them tomorrow. The teacher will wait until all students are finished cleaning up. Before we go, you are going to Turn and Talk to your neighbor about a
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question I am about to ask you. Today, you learned that landforms affect the way people live. They affect how they dress, what they do, and the jobs they have. But I want you to talk with your neighbor about this question: How might people affect landforms? I will give you exactly one minute. Ready? Go. When one minute has passed, the teacher will call time and line students up for P.E. Thank you for discussing. You will have the opportunity to share your answers tomorrow in class! As for now, it is time for P.E. Accommodations/Extensions: For higher-end learners, students will record themselves giving a short speech about If mountains didnt exist on the iPad. The students must demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of mountains and how they affect the earth and all living creatures to make an appropriate speech. For the struggling learners, the teacher will provide pictured scenes from a mountain, plain, island, and home for the student to look at while writing down the different characteristics of each scene in his/her graphic organizer. This will limit the overwhelming feat of researching on a computer and spending a longer amount of time looking through books sorting for important information. In addition, the teacher may provide support during the students postcard writing.
Content and Resources: Scarf Hat Jacket farmer's hat overalls flip flops sunglasses white board whiteboard marker ELMO projector computers laptop computers 20 pieces of construction paper 25 index cards colored pencils markers pencils postcard examples online
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Data Analysis/Reflection: 19/19 students received 10 total points.
Today during our time together, Mrs. Clay came to observe my teaching of this lesson. Due to bad weather, the students had indoor recess and did not pick up from this until 1:30. Because of this time constraint, there were several pieces to this lesson plan that were not executed. However, I was pleased with myself as I chose the most important parts to teach the students. The students LOVED the engagement to this lesson! It was amazing to watch them work together as a team and participate in the learning. I kept the teaching discussion moving and paced which I believe helped to keep the students attention. At the time we were finished with our discussion, I realized that there would only be enough time for the students to complete a short list describing one of their landforms and begin work on their postcards. I felt excited but also a little nervous as I chose to be flexible and tweak my plan along the way.
Postcard Examples
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Design for Learning

Day 5 Instructor: Ms. Gelpi Title: More on Manmade Landforms Grade: 3rd Area: Social Studies Date: March 7, 2014 Estimated Time: 60 min.
Standards Connection: CCRS Social Studies 2.) Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on the Earth. Examples: -landforms- mountains, hills, plateaus; -bodies of water-oceans, rivers, lakes; -soil-silt, clay, sand; -vegetation-tropical, desert, plains Objective: To demonstrate knowledge of manmade landforms, the students will identify the true and false statements about manmade landforms on an anticipatory guide. Kid-Friendly Objective: In todays lesson you are going to see different examples of manmade landforms, and you will learn the difference between natural and manmade landforms and why they were created. Evaluation of Learning Objective: The teacher will assess students mastery of the objective through an anticipatory guide. Prior to the hook of the lesson, the students will receive an anticipatory guide to test their knowledge about manmade landforms. There will be five statements on the anticipatory guide, and they are: Manmade landforms are created by natural processes like erosion. Manmade landforms are created to mark or remember a special place on the earth. A bridge is an example of a manmade landform. Valleys are manmade landforms. Manmade landforms are the same as natural landforms. In addition to these statements, there will be two columns on either side of the statements labeled Agree or Disagree. In these columns, students will place a checkmark in the Agree or Disagree box next to each statement. At the end of class, the teacher will provide time for the students to complete their anticipatory guides. The students will be asked to do this independently so that the teacher will get an accurate picture of the students learning after the lesson. The teacher will check to see what, if any, questions were answered incorrectly and will re-teach that information the following day.
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Hook: To engage the students in this lesson, the teacher will ask the students to take out their whiteboards. She will have students brainstorm a list of as many examples of manmade landforms they can think of. Good afternoon class! Come in and sit quietly. As you sit down please take out your whiteboards and markers. The teacher will wait until all the students have done this and are showing attentiveness. To get started today, I am going to give you exactly 30 seconds to list as many manmade landforms on your board as you can think of. If you do not know what a manmade landform is, it will help you to break apart the first word. On your marks, get set, go. The teacher will call time when 30 seconds is up. Stop! Please put your markers down. I would love to hear some of your ideas and Im sure your classmates would too. Student C, what have you written down on your board? The teacher will call on several students to share their brainstorming ideas. Very good brainstorming students! Yesterday, we learned about how the setting of a landform can affect the ways in which people live. What are some of those ways? The teacher will quickly call on a student or two for review. Absolutely, great. Today, we are going to talk about something a little different than normal landforms. We are going to learn about manmade landforms. In todays lesson you are going to see different examples of manmade landforms, and you will learn the difference between natural and manmade landforms, and why they were created. As a class, you will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a manmade landform to a natural landform. Then, at the end of class you will complete something that I will pass out to you shortly! For now, please erase your whiteboards and put your materials up. Lesson Design I. Teaching: The teacher will begin the class by giving the students an anticipatory guide just to assess their knowledge before the lesson. I want to begin todays lesson by seeing what you already know about manmade landforms. What I am passing out right now is something called an anticipatory guide. On this, you will see five statements in the middle of this chart. On both sides of the chart, there are boxes that are labeled Agree and Disagree. When I say go, you will read to yourself the five statements. You will place a checkmark in the Agree box if you agree with the statement, and you will place a checkmark under the Disagree category if you disagree with the statement. Im going to give you about five minutes to fill this out. Does everyone understand? The teacher will answer or clarify anything that needs answering. Please do this independently, and flip your paper over when you are done. We will get started; ready? Go. The teacher will call time when five minutes is up. Please slide your anticipatory guides in the top right corner of your des. We will come back to them at the end of class.
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Next, she will show the students a Prezi of various manmade landforms around the world. Lets begin by taking a look at some famous manmade landforms around the world. First, you need to know what manmade means. The term manmade means, created by human hands or effort. So, a manmade landform is a landform that was created by the hard work of people, not the natural movements of the earth. She will pause between parts of the presentation to ask her students deep inquiry questions such as, What real landform does this manmade landform look like? What materials do you think is this manmade landform made of? Why do you think people wanted or needed to build these landforms? Think about the natural environment they are in. Manmade landforms are often build or kept standing so that humans can remember special events that took place in a certain area. An example of this is the Great Wall of China. Back when this was build, it was originally built to keep people groups divided. However, when these people groups chose to not be separated or hateful anymore, part of the wall was torn down. The wall is kept us as a memory of the events that took place back in that time. I want to show you a few other examples of manmade landforms that have been built by humans all around the earth. The teacher will then provide students with exposure to examples and non-examples of manmade landforms in the form of picture on a Prezi. The examples she will use for students include: The Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Mt. Denali, Golden Gate Bridge, the wetland plains of Florida, and the Chichen Itza. Now that you have seen some examples of manmade landforms, I want to see if you have been paying attention and if you have a grasp for what manmade landforms are. We are going to look at new more example pictures and I want you to tell me if the landform is natural or manmade. If you think it is natural, give me a thumbs up. If you think it is manmade, you will give me a thumbs down. The teacher will begin and take a poll of the students. When they choose which category the landform goes in, the teacher will ask the student(s) to explain why the landform is/is not manmade. What showed you that this was/was not a manmade landform? This is a manmade landform. But, what parts of it are the same as a natural landform? What is different? This will prepare them to compare and contrast a manmade and natural landform for their practice. Very good! II. Practice: For students practice, the teacher will pair students together to complete their practice activity. The teacher will have up a large Venn diagram displayed on the cabinet of the room. She will have labeled the Venn diagram with a mountain and a pyramid before putting it up in the class. Then, the students will work in pairs to place one fact under each section of the Venn diagram using Post-It notes. By the end of the activity, the class will have a large Venn diagram that compares and contrasts a manmade and natural landform. For our next activity, I want you all to pair yourselves up in partners. I will give you 20 seconds to find a partner and sit together. Ready? Go. Once the students have paired up, the teacher will give each pair three Post-It notes
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as she gives directions. As you can see, I have up here a large Venn diagram comparing and contrasting a mountain and a pyramid. This is our class Venn diagram, and you all are going to fill it out! I am coming around to give each pair of you three sticky notes. Please write you and your partners names in the corner of each sticky note. You and your partner will write one fact on each sticky note that you will place under each section of the Venn diagram. For example, you will write one thing describing a mountain, and you will put it under that section. Then, you will write something that both of these have in common and you will place it under the middle section. Finally, you will write one more that describes only the pyramid and you will place it under that section. Now, it is okay if your group puts the same thing as another group. For right now, you all will work together to complete this activity. Are there any questions? The teacher will answer any questions if necessary. You may begin. When you and your group have finished, please sit with another group to listen to their ideas until everyone else has finished up. Students will be given a maximum time limit of 6 minutes to complete the Venn diagram. Once they have completed it, the teacher will facilitate the students in going over it. Now that everyone has finished, lets see what you as a class have come up with! The teacher will call out the names on specific sticky notes to share their answers. When they have finished, the teacher will ask students to get out their anticipatory guides to complete them. III. Assessment: We are going to finish up your anticipatory guides as the last activity we do today. Please take that back out and place it and it only on your desk. The teacher will wait until the students have cleared their desks and have their anticipatory guides on their desks. I want girls to please grab a clipboard and go sit somewhere around the room to finish yours. Boys, you may sit or stand at your chair to complete yours. This movement will get the students up and moving so they are not sitting the entire time. What I want you to do is to fill out your answers again now that you have learned more about manmade landforms, and I need you to do this independently. You will place a checkmark in either of the boxes on the right side. I am giving you five minutes to complete this. Does anyone have any questions? The teacher will clarify anything that needs explanation and will then walk around the classroom to monitor students work. When students finish, the teacher will pick up the students work. The teacher will call time when five minutes have passed and will then go over the answers to the anticipatory guide. We are going to go over the answers now, so please check yours to see how your answers have changed. Did you agree or disagree with the first one? You should have disagreed. For the second one, you should have agreed. The third one was correct, so your checkmark should be under Agree. What about the fourth one? Yes, disagree. Finally, the last one is one that should have a checkmark under Disagree. How did you do? Thumbs up if you got them all right, thumb to the middle if you got some right, thumb down if you got none right. The teacher will also use this as a formative assessment before looking over
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students anticipatory guides on her own time. Please bring me your papers and return back to your seats. IV. Closure: As a closure to this lesson, the teacher will give students 1 minute to Think/Pair/Share the main points they learned from todays lesson. When 30 seconds is up, the teacher will tell the other student to share. When the other 30 seconds is up, the teacher will call on several pairs of students to share. Please find a talking buddy sitting next to you. Make one of you Student A and the other Student B. Students will choose this among themselves. For 30 seconds, Student A is going to tell Student B everything they have learned in todays lesson so far. I will call time when the 30 seconds is up. Then, it will be Student Bs turn to share what they learned for 30 seconds. On your mark, get set, go! The teacher will call time when it is done, and she will call on the students to share. She will clarify the main points of the days lesson, then line the students up for P.E. Wonderful job summing up todays lesson. Yes, manmade landforms are landforms build by humans to remember or mark a certain place on the globe. They are different from natural landforms in that they are not formed by natural earth. Some examples of manmade landforms include bridges, monuments, and pyramids. Very good! I will call you by table groups to line up for P.E. Accommodations/Extensions: For higher-end learners, the teacher will ask them to create a t-chart with the headings Advantages/Disadvantages in which the students will have to provide 4 advantages and 4 disadvantages of having manmade landforms. The students may present these to the class or small group at the end of class. For struggling students, the teacher will provide these students with a t-chart of the pictures as basic names of manmade vs. natural landforms. The students may refer to this throughout the Prezi presentation and also when working on their practice activity.
Content and Resource Whiteboards Whiteboard markers Anticipatory guide (19) "Manmade or Natural?" Prezi Pencils Markers Post-It notes (35) Large Venn diagram on butcher paper
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Data analysis/Reflection: All students got answers on the anticipatory guide correct.
This lesson definitely turned out different than I had thought. To begin, I was a mess because several nights prior to teaching I could not find the Prezi I planned on using in my lesson. So, I attempted to improvise and I began searching for other ways to introduce the students to manmade landforms. I came across a book titled Bens Dream that involved a boy who traveled to various manmade landforms all over the word in his sleep. I was going to read this book to the students, show them the pictures in the book, and then discuss with them the 10 landforms mentioned in this book. However, at the last minute I found the Prezi I needed and was good to go! I had less time today than usual to teach, so I had to come up with a way to get the most important pieces of the content presented to the students. I presented the content using a Prezi that was filled with facts and pictures, and this seemed to go over well with the students. We kept a fast pace and the students stayed actively engaged the entire time. At the end, we created a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting a manmade landform and a natural one. For their assessment, I still had the students complete the anticipatory guide. I was surprised that most students actually did not know very much about manmade landforms at first. However, at the end of the lesson the students chose the correct answers and truly grasped the important concepts about manmade landforms.
Manmade Landforms Anticipatory Guide

Agree Disagree Manmade landforms are created by natural processes like erosion. Agree Disagree
Manmade landforms are created to mark or remember a special place on the earth.
A bridge is a manmade landform.
Valleys are manmade landforms.
Manmade landforms are the same as natural made landforms.
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Assessment
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Summary of Assessments
The assessment component of this unit is compiled of many different tools that each measure a unique and important skill students need in order to master the standards throughout the unit. Students are assessed using matching games, higher-order questioning, created materials, sorting activities, comparative and contrasting activities, choosing most important facts, application to real-world situations, 3D constructed models, and a teacher-made summative test at the end of the unit. Each of the tools was integrated into the unit so to provide the teacher will constant feedback of where her students were in regards to understanding the material. One formative assessment tool that is interwoven throughout each of the unit lesson plans is the questioning strategy. For this strategy, the teacher facilitates a discussion with students about landforms using questioning to get the students thinking and talking. Each scripted question is intentional and is based on the order of Blooms taxonomy, meaning that questions begin at the knowledge level and gradually increase to the analysis level. By listening to student answers, the teacher is able to gage where students are struggling as well as what they have already mastered as far as content. Another characteristic of the assessment tools used in this unit includes connecting the students classroom learning to real-world examples. Many of the formative assessments done at the end of class, as well as a portion of the summative assessment, are designed to connect students thinking to the world they are a part of. Doing so helps to aide students in making connection in and out of the classroom. Finally, several assessments performed in the unit are a compilation of individual, partner, small and whole group work. One purpose of this unit is to create a healthy learning environment in which all students are able to collaborate. By creating assessment tools that encourage this type of behavior, students are learning to join together and appreciate as well as grow from the knowledge their peers have to offer.
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Assessment Matrix
Day Lesson Objective Formative Assessment(s) Students will complete
the first five match-ups on Landform Riddles sheet. Students must match the name/picture of a landform to the riddle it corresponds to.
Summative Assessment
# 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11
Day 1
The students will match five landform pictures with a corresponding landform riddle with 100% accuracy.
Students will choose the

three most important facts from the day and share with the class.
Students will complete

the remainder of the Landform Riddles sheet. Students will match the name/picture of a landform with the riddle that best describes that landform.
# 4, 5, 6, 7, 11
Day 2
Students will orally

present the 3 Ws: What did you learn, Why are you learning it, and Where is the learning going next?
Students play the Day 3

When given four question prompts, the students will write about the processes of erosion that create various landforms. Sciencelinks.net Erosion game to assess their comprehension from the teaching.
# 8, 9, 10
On Google Docs,
students use question prompts to explain the processes of wind, water, and ice erosion,
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as well as plate tectonics.
Students will create a

The students will demonstrate knowledge of different landforms by creating a postcard from various landforms and will use four details to describe the lifestyle at their chosen landform. vacation postcard from a chosen landform. Students must include a letter with at least four details that describe the lifestyle at their landform. They must also draw a scene or picture of this landform on the back.
# 2, 12,
Day 4
Anticipatory guide before/after the lesson

To demonstrate knowledge of manmade landforms, the students will identify the true and false statements about manmade landforms on an anticipatory guide.
#1, 12
Day 5
Class Venn diagram comparing and contrasting a manmade and natural landform Thumb Up/Middle/Down to asses students personal understanding
Pre-Assessment Name: __________________
Mark whether the sentence is true or false by writing true or false. If it is false, please change the underlined word to make the statement true.
1. Landforms are features of the earths surface. ___________________
2. Erosion is done by wind only. _____________________________
3. A peninsula is surrounded by water on all sides. _________________
4. Name two activities you can do at the mountains.
5. Name one example of a natural landform. Name one example of a manmade landform.
Pre-Assessment Answer Key Name: ____________________
Mark whether the sentence is true or false by writing true or false. If it is false, please change the underlined word to make the statement true.
1. Landforms are features of the earths surface. _true_______
2. Erosion is done by wind only. False; water and ice______________
3. A peninsula is surrounded by water on all sides. False; 3__________
4. Name two activities you can do at the mountains. Hike, camp, ski, etc. 5. Name one example of a natural landform. Name one example of a manmade landform. Mountain, hill, valley, plain, etc. Bridge, Mt. Rushmore, pyramids, etc.
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Formative Assessments
Day 1: Landform Riddles sheet Day 2: Landform Riddles sheet, page 2 Day 3: Google Docs question stems Day 4: Postcards Day 5: Anticipatory Guide, Class Venn diagram (no picture available)
Landforms Riddles 1 What kind of landform is tallest of all You get this landform when oceans run With a spiky top where snow may fall? dry, Theyre broad, flat spaces stretching under the sky. A flat top and steep sides make this landform you know, the place with a nickname, also known as flateau. When the wind and the rain wear a mountain away, The mound that is left is this landform, they say. This landform is found at the bottom of mountains And very tall hills; its the low land between them.
Landform Riddles 2 What kind of landform has a vent at the top, Spews lava and steam and pieces of rock? Which type of landform stretches into the tides; Surrounded by water on three of its sides? This landform was made very sandy and dry, With little rainfall coming down from the sky. To get to this landform, a boat you may ride Since water surrounds it on every side. What kind of landform has very steep sides That were cut by a rivers erosion and time?
http://www.totally3rdgrade.com/Worksheets/Wor_Landforms.pdf
Student Work/Answer Key
Erosion, Erosion, Everywhere

1. Jamie was taking a trip with his family to the Grand Canyon. His grandfather
was looking at a book filled with pictures and facts about this landform when a question popped into his mind: I wonder how the Grand Canyon was formed? Its
SO big. Jamie had been learning about landforms in his 3rd grade class and was
excited to answer his grandfathers question. Jamie said
2.
A new family just moved to Vestavia Hills! They moved from a place that had
no hills and only flat ground. They are interested in this new landform, and they want to know all they can about the hills of Vestavia. As their new neighbor, explain to them how these hills were probably formed.
3. Brr! Imagine you are on the Disney Cruise in Alaska. Up ahead, you see the huge
Tracey Arm glacier. This glacier is as big as a small city! Describe how the glacier was formed and how long it probably took for this glacier to form.
4. You and a friend are looking through the National Geographic magazine at the
school book fair. On page 9, there is a story with pictures about famous mountain ranges in the world. One of the featured mountain ranges is the Himalayas. You learned about these mountains in Mrs. Fords class earlier that day and want to explain to your friend how these mountains were formed. What would you say?
Student Work
Student Work
Student Work
Student Work
Manmade Landforms Anticipatory Guide

Manmade Landforms Anticipatory Guide Answer Key

X X X X X
Landforms Test This is your chance to show me all that you know about landforms! I am so proud of you. You have worked hard this week! Love, Ms. G True or False?
In the blank, write true if the sentence is true, write false if it is not.
1. A bridge is a manmade landform. ________
2. People living on islands enjoy activities like skiing and snowboarding. ________ 3. Most people build houses on plains because of their flat land. ________
Match the Word
Draw a line connecting the landform name to the correct definition.

4. A large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding area. 5. A body of land that is surrounded by water on 3 of its sides. 6. A deep valley with very steep sides. Peninsula Canyon Plateau
Which Doesnt Fit?
Circle the fact that does NOT fit with this landform.
7. A valley Creates a V shape Has a vent at the top Has fertile soil on its floor
Keep going!
Write the correct form of erosion that formed each of these landforms:
8. _______________
9. ____________
10. _________________
Compare/Contrast
Compare and contrast a valley and a plain. Label your Venn diagram, and fill in two bullet points under each category.
11.
Last Question 12. You are taking your family on the vacation of a lifetime! Since you are now an expert geographer, you will choose two landforms that your family will visit on vacation. Then, you will describe your familys vacation. Include at least 4 details about each vacation spot! (You may use the back if you wish).
Landforms Test Answer Key (40 total pts.)

This is your chance to show me all that you know about landforms! I am so proud of you. You have worked hard this week! Love, Ms. G
True or False? (2 pts. each)
In the blank, write true if the sentence is true, write false if it is not.
1. A bridge is a manmade landform. __true___
2. People living on islands enjoy activities like skiing and snowboarding. __false___ 3. Most people build houses on plains because of their flat land. ___true__
Match the Word (2 pts. each)
Draw a line connecting the landform name to the correct definition.

4. A large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding area. 5. A body of land that is surrounded by water on 3 of its sides. 6. A deep valley with very steep sides. Peninsula Canyon Plateau
Which Doesnt Fit? (2 pts.)
Circle the fact that does NOT fit with this landform.
7. A valley Creates a V shape Has a vent at the top Has fertile soil on its floor
Keep going!
(2 pts. each) Write the correct form of erosion that formed each of these landforms:
8. ___wind__________
9. ______ice_____
10. ____water_______
Compare/Contrast (8 total points)
Compare and contrast a valley and a plain. Label your Venn diagram, and fill in two bullet points under each category.
11.
(10 pts) Last Question 12. You are taking your family on the vacation of a lifetime! Since you are now an expert geographer, you will choose two landforms that your family will visit on vacation. Then, you will describe your familys vacation. Include at least 4 details about each vacation spot! (You may use the back if you wish). Answers will vary.
In addition to the summative test, students constructed 3D landform models as a means of assessment. Students landform models were graded using a rubric. Below is the rubric as well as several examples of the students final work.
Name: __________________________________ Landform Models Project Rubric
Area Assessed Landform Models
Landform Labels
5 The Model is a very realistic portrayal of the landforms assigned. All objects on model are built to scale. Design is creative and well- built. Student went above and beyond when designing the model. Each of the seven landforms is labeled correctly. Students also added additional landforms that are labeled accurately. All spelling is correct.
4 The Model is a realistic portrayal of the landforms assigned. Most objects on model are built to scale. Student put effort into the design.
3 The Model somewhat represents landforms assigned. Some objects on model are built to scale. Some effort was put into the design of the models.
2 The model does not represent landforms assigned. The model is not built to scale. Little to no effort put into the design of landform.
Six of the seven landform models are labeled correctly. All spelling is correct.
Four of the seven landform models are labeled correctly. Most of the spelling is correct.
Three or less of the seven landform models is labeled correctly. There are major spelling errors and handwriting is illegible.
Overall Assessment of Landform Model Project
Total Points Earned:
________/10
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Summative Assessment Data
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Assessment Reflection
The summative assessment piece for this unit was, overall, valid and reliable. It tested students on their knowledge, application, and use of the information learned throughout the week. There were various styles of questions on the summative test, and I believe this helped to provide a more thorough picture of students learning. However, upon looking at the students tests, I noticed that many of them lost a large portion of points due to incomplete written answers. The final short answer question on this test required students to write about two different landforms, and many students only wrote about one. Although I went over directions with the students, I feel that it would benefit the students more if I gave even more explicit directions and possible models for them to look at. Another change I would like to make to the summative test is to add more factual questions as well as shared thinking responses. I felt the test was too short and could have brought students thinking even deeper. Therefore, when I consider the minor mistakes students made on this test, it causes me to believe that the majority of student test scores do not accurately portray the students knowledge on landforms. In addition to the summative test, I wanted to provide students with another way to take everything they had learned about landforms and compile it into one final project. Although created 3D landform models was the culminating activity portion of this unit, I felt that it was an appropriate measuring tool of the students knowledge on landforms. That is why I chose to count it as part of the students overall assessment data. The rubric I used to grade each students landform model measured characteristics I felt were necessary for students to know so that they could identify landforms both in a picture and real life. Overall, the student scores for this assignment were very accurate of their performance and knowledge of landforms. The students also enjoyed working on this assignment so much that I had to tell them there was no more room for any more landforms! This project was not only engaging for the students, but they truly did apply their knowledge about each landform to construct them. Those scores that are lower than average were from students who were playing around too much, and therefore I believe the test data is very accurate to student performance.
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Students
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Summary of Accommodations
The various accommodations made in this unit are intended to meet the needs to all learners and to provide them a fair opportunity to participate in active learning each day. The unit addresses the various backgrounds that students come from, and it is written to provide each child with one of the most essential tools of learning: background knowledge. While all students may not come from the same background, they can receive a foundation of information through classroom materials such as vocabulary cards, books, or internet resources. Students who are able to connect on some degree to the content being presented will naturally be more engaged. Through a constant flow of questions, connections, and inferences, students are taught in this unit how to connect their learning to the world they live in. It is also important that higher-level learners in the classroom do not get overlooked to such a degree that they become bored with the material. In this unit, higher-level learners are given choices of larger in-class assignments to work on after they have completed the basic requirements for each lesson. Each lesson also contains higher-level thinking questions that are designed to be geared toward these higher-level students during group discussions. These students serve as models for their peers, and it is amazing how much peers can learn from one another. Similar to higher-level learners, the struggling learner is also a vital part of the classroom and is therefore addressed in each of the units lesson plans. These learners need internal motivation and encouragement to press toward learning, and the designed accommodations of these lessons will aide in giving this to a child. The lessons contain specific accommodations from the teacher that are designed to target the students area of hindrance and omit it. For example, many struggling students may have difficulty in reading grade-level text. By making accommodations as simple as reading directions to a student, the child is then able to perform the task being required of them without the additional pressure of learning how to read. Although these students are lower, One final component of the accommodations in this unit is purposeful grouping. There is a lot of group work and partner work interwoven in this unit, and it is critical to know how to group students for these activities. EL students should be paired/grouped with the average performing students so that they have a model to refer to when completing work. Struggling learners should also be grouped average learners, but also with other struggling learners. The rationale behind this is to give the students a group they feel safe in and one they will grow in. Finally, higher-end learners should be paired with other higher-end learners; the purpose of this is so these students can continue to make challenging discoveries with one another. Overall, students should be questioning, challenging, and learning from one another in group and partner work.
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Plan for Individual Learners

Day Higher-End Learners
The teacher will ask these students to choose two landforms learned about in class. Then, the teacher will provide students with two websites on which they can look up more information about their chosen landforms. Students will look up a famous example of each of these landforms. Then, using the information they found from the websites the students will write a newspaper article introducing tourists to one of the famous landforms.
Struggling Learners
Students will receive a Landform Booklet that has already been filled in by the teacher so that students will concentrate during the Prezi more on content rather than note-taking. During the practice, students will be paired in a grouped with averageperforming students. For the assessment, the teacher will underline the key characteristics in each riddle for the student. Then, she will also give these students two landforms to choose between when matching it with a riddle.
Day1
Day2
The students will have the option to create their own landform riddles for each of the five new landforms introduced, or to create their own file folder game about landforms and their characteristics.
Students will receive a Landform Booklet that has already been filled in by the teacher so that students will concentrate during the Prezi more on content rather than note-taking. The teacher will intentionally ask several knowledge-based questions to these students during the Prezi to solidify their retention of the content The teacher will underline important words/phrases in the landforms riddles and will allow these students to use their Landform Booklet as a reference material during the matching activity.
Day 3
The teacher will ask these students to write a poem or a song about what happens during the three different processes of erosion. Students will have the option to write these or
During the practice portion of this lesson, the teacher will intentionally ask knowledge-level questions specifically to those students who are struggling,
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record themselves reading/singing on the iPad. If there is time at the end of class, the students may share their pieces of work!
The teacher will read the students question prompts out loud to them. Then, the teacher will allow the students to explain the processes of erosion orally to her instead of typing out their answers.
Day 4
Students will record themselves giving a short speech about If mountains didnt exist on the iPad. The students must demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of mountains and how they affect the earth and all living creatures in order to make an appropriate and effective speech.
The teacher will provide pictured scenes from a mountain, plain, island, and home for the student to look at while writing down the different characteristics of each scene in his/her graphic organizer. This will limit the overwhelming feat of researching on a computer and spending a longer amount of time looking through books sorting for important information. In addition, the teacher may provide support during the students postcard writing.
Day 5
Students will create a t-chart with the headings Advantages/Disadvantages in which they will have to provide 4 advantages and 4 disadvantages of having manmade landforms. The students may present these to the class or small group at the end of class.
The teacher will provide these students with a t-chart of the pictures as basic names of manmade vs. natural landforms. The students may refer to this throughout the Prezi presentation and also when working on their practice activity.
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Multiple Intelligences Chart Day 1

Turn and Talk Verbal/ Linguistic Writing characteristics in Landform Booklet
Day 2
Turn and Talk Writing characteristics in Landform Booklet
Day 3
Turn and Talk Written responses to scenario prompts on Google Docs
Day 4
Landform Booklet writing prompt Postcard letter writing
Day 5
Turn and Talk Designing list of manmade landforms Think/Pair/ Share Students discuss how humans play a significant role in affecting the earths surface through the creation of manmade landforms
Existential
Work in cooperative small groups to sort landforms Interpersonal
Work together in cooperative groups during Landform Scavenger Hunt
Work in pairs to play Landform Vocabulary Participate in Match class-wide grand Participate in discussions class-wide about landform grand characteristics discussions about landform characteristics
Students work together to determine answers for their online Erosion game
Turn and Talk
Turn and Talk Think/Pair/ Share
Think/Pair/ Share
Worked in small groups to complete a graphic organizer on lifestyles in various landforms
Turn and Talk
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Intrapersonal
Students reflect upon which landform they would want to build a house at
Naturalist
Comparing and contrasting landform characteristics
Students sat on the floor Students used arms to act out the shape of landforms
Students sat on the floor Students used arms to act out the shape of landforms Students walked around the room for Landform Scavenger Hunt
Bodily/ Kinesthetic
Students take out and put up whiteboards for jotting down notes
Students stood to examine and congregate about what landform to send their peers in costume to
Students got up and worked in groups to create large Venn diagram Students sat on the floor for Prezi
Musical/ Rhythmic
Video of plate tectonics is played to the rhythm and sound of music. Erosion game involving before/after pictures Videos
Visual/ Spatial
Prezi involving pictures and fast-paced graphics of landform examples
Prezi involving pictures and fast-paced graphics of landform examples
Sort students to different landforms based on clothing
Prezi involving real-world examples of manmade vs. natural landforms
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showing processes of erosion Video showing process of plate tectonics in slow motion
Create postcard
Logical/ Mathematical
Discussion involving measureable facts about landforms (height of Mt. Everest)
Discussion involving measureable facts about landforms (depth of Grand Canyon, time it takes a volcano to form)
Discussion about the processes of erosion Length of time each process of erosion takes
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Literacy Strategies in the Unit
Day
Making predictions Questioning Visualizing Grand discussions Compare and Contrast Vocabulary knowledge Summarizing Turn and Talk Questioning Visualizing Grand discussions Compare and Contrast Vocabulary knowledge Making predictions Turn and Talk Vocabulary knowledge Questioning Summarizing Group discussions Think/Pair/Share Turn and Talk Brainstorming Journaling Making inferences Questioning Application Think/Pair/Share Turn and Talk Brainstorming Anticipatory Guide Vocabulary knowledge Questioning Application Think/Pair/Share
Strategy
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
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Turn and Talk Compare and Contrast
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Differentiation Chart for EL Students
Lesson Title
Objective
Presentation of the Content

Students write down definitions and characteristics from Prezi in Landform Booklet
Practice activity
Students play Landform Vocabulary Match-Up in pairs
Assessment
Learning About Landforms
Students complete page one of Landform Riddles sheet
Give EL student Landform Booklet that has been filled in prior to lesson; prior to lesson, show EL student Brain Pop movie on landforms for background knowledge; discuss specific landforms that we be taught in class
EL student will be paired with a middle performance student for the activity; the EL student will orally explain the picture and point to the clues in the definition that helped them make this match
The teacher will read a riddle aloud to the student. She will give the student two landforms choices to match with the riddle she reads. The teacher will do this for all five landform riddles.
Learning About Landforms, Pt. 2
Students write down definitions and characteristics from Prezi in Landform Booklet
Students complete a Landforms Scavenger Hunt with interactive questions, and then share their answers. On the students interactive question paper, the teacher will
Students will complete page 2 of the Landform Riddles sheet
EL student will continue to observe the pictures on the
The teacher will read a riddle aloud to the student. She will
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Prezi while following along in his/her completed Landform Booklet; Prior to the lesson, the teacher will have the student look through a book about the Grand Canyon and another story about Hawaii How Are Landforms Formed?
highlight the 10 questions that mention the 10 landforms discussed in yesterday and todays lesson; EL student will also be paired with a student partner to assist him during this activity
give the student two landforms choices to match with the riddle she reads. The teacher will do this for all five landform riddles.
When given four question prompts, the students will write about the processes of erosion that create various landforms.
National Erosion online Geographic game from Processes of Sciencelinks.net Erosion video, 70 Million Years in Two Minutes
Students answer four scenario prompts on Google Docs in which they explain the process of erosion as well as plate tectonics
Give EL students sheet of paper with main vocabulary words on it; student will watch a shorter version of the Erosion video prior to class and will discuss what he/she saw with the teacher.
The teacher will intentionally ask knowledge-level questions such as, What landforms this? to the EL student. This will give them a chance to contribute to the class discussion and also stay engaged as the game goes on. Students brainstorm characteristics of
The teacher will read the scenario question prompts to student aloud; have the student answer orally
Landforms and Life!
The students will
demonstrate knowledge of
Class list of how landforms affect people, students
Students create postcards with a drawing and
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different landforms by creating a postcard from various landforms and will use four details to describe the lifestyle at their chosen landform.
compare and contrast jobs, clothing, and activities of four different landform settings via discussion
a lifestyle in the mountains, plains, islands, and home
letter representing their life experience in one of the three landform settings
Teacher will provide the student with four labeled picture scenes: mountain, island, plain, home; student will look to these during class discussion as reference
EL student will only make 2 bullet points under each labeled category, provide the student with picture cards with scenes from each of the landforms
The student will only be required to write two details about his/her landform in the postcard letter; teacher will give student a postcard template to refer to when addressing and writing the postcard
More on Manmade Landforms
To demonstrate knowledge of manmade landforms, the students will identify the true and false statements about manmade landforms on an anticipatory guide.
Students will complete anticipatory guide; watch Prezi presentation, compare and contrast manmade and natural landforms
Students work in pairs to add bullet points under a large class Venn diagram that is comparing and contrasting a manmade and natural landform
Complete anticipatory guide
Prior to the start of class, the teacher will introduce the student to the
EL student will only be required to come up with one of the pairs bullet points for
The student will be expected to correctly answer 3 of the 5 questions
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definition of manmade landform through discussion; during the lesson, the student will have a list of pictures of both manmade and natural landforms
the Venn diagram
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Technology
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Summary of Technology
Much of this unit is introduced through the form of technology. Technology integration into lessons can either enhance or bore students, and the intent of this unit is to actively engage students and bring to life the content through the use of technology. In the first two lessons of this unit, students are presented with the material through an original Prezi designed to keep students actively engaged and wanting to learn more. Quick transitions, few basic words, and colorful pictures all enhance the material for students by giving them real examples to reference during class discussion. Students are also able to write down notes that are based on the lively settings being shown to them on the screen rather than a cartoon picture of a landform. On day three, students are introduced to the processes of erosion as well as plate tectonics through two credible videos. Because these processes are active, showing the students actual videos of these processes brings to life the content for students; it makes the material jump off the screen. This is not something that can be done through lecture or even through very detailed pictures. In seeing these processes, students are naturally motivated to discover more about the amazing material they just watched. Another way in which students are motivated through the use of technology in this lesson is through working with pieces of technology the students are familiar with. Many schools today use Google Docs, and by giving students an assignment on this technology tool they feel a sense of ownership for what they are working on. Day five introduces students to the content through another Prezi about manmade landforms. A Prezi was the best choice when presenting this content because many pictures could be put together in one presentation. Also, the students were able to compare and contrast manmade and natural landforms using the pictures and transitions throughout the Prezi. This technology tool enhanced students overall learning in this way. Finally, to ensure that all learners have technology access, the pieces of technology used in this unit are only required in and during class time. For struggling or EL learners, there are shorter video clips that will be used when teaching the content for a day. These shorter videos will give students the most basic content and starting point in learning new material. Overall, all technology integration in this unit was very intentional and designed to enhance and support student learning and understand of the content each day.
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Evidence of Technology
http://prezi.com/_-4xs46qe3ty/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
http://prezi.com/qvcty3njdgdd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
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http://sciencenetlinks.com/media/filer/2011/10/07/forces.swf
http://prezi.com/3rbh6nwgbyxv/natural-and-man-made-landmarks-in-united-states-canada-and-mexico/
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Technology Implementation Chart Day Day 1 Technology Tool

ELMO projector Landforms Prezi ELMO projector Landforms, Pt. 2 Prezi Discovery Education Erosion video 70 Million Years in Two Minutes plate tectonics video Laptops Google Docs
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
ELMO projector Nationalgeographic.com ELMO projector Manmade Landforms Prezi
Day 5
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Cross Curricular Standards
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Summary of Cross Curricular Plans

The content from this unit can be integrated naturally across all other subject areas of the third grade. In third grade, students are transitioning into more challenging content and are required to think more abstractly about certain material. For example, students are not simply learning about landforms; they are required to learn about how these landforms affect the lives, communities, and countries around the world. Similarly, these abstract thinking concepts are also found in the content areas of mathematics, science, and language arts. With content from this unit, students can engage in other cross curricular activities in these content areas. In the field of mathematics, students in the third grade are learning how to read and draw bar graphs of information. An activity that would correspond to the content of this unit would be to have students research the number of mountains in five different states. With these numbers, students will create a bar graph that includes accurate information as well as all parts of a bar graph. This information will also let students know which states of the United States are more or less mountainous. Likewise, students can research the types of plants that survive in each of the ten landforms discussed in class. This science activity will require students to discover why certain plants survive in specific landform regions. After the students have researched these landforms and the plants that survive in each, students will create a Plant booklet. This plant booklet will include a landform on each page, as well as the plant most apt to survive in its region. Students must also include facts about this plant and why it is able to survive in its given location. Finally, as part of the language arts content students can read the story, Dog-of-the-Sea Waves, This is a story about a family living in Hawaii. Across the pages of this story, the author added text illustrations that are designed to inform readers about the state of Hawaii. Students will receive a t-chart with page numbers on one side and a spot to write next to these. They will look up the text illustration for the given page number, and they will write one fact about Hawaii that they learned based on the text illustration. Doing so will help students make strong cross curricular connections, and it will also cause them to think deeper about the literature they come in contact with.
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Cross Curricular Connection Chart

Subject Standard
18.) Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and twostep "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. [3-MD3]
Objective
The students will draw a bar graph of the number of mountains Alabama, New Mexico, Tennessee, Alaska, and Colorado have.
Activity
Assessment/ Evaluation
Student assessment will be based on the accuracy of students bar graphs. The students drawings must include all necessary data, labeling, and keys for a bar graph. The information recorded on the bar graph must also be accurate.
Mathematics
Students will each receive a computer. In their math notebooks, students will use worldatlas.com to search for the number of mountains in the states of Alabama, New Mexico, Tennessee, Alaska, and Colorado. They will record their findings in a drawn bar graph.
10.) Determine habitat conditions that support plant growth and survival.
The students will create a Plant booklet of the survived plant life of ten different landforms.
Science
Students will research the types of plans that survive in each of the ten landforms. The students will also research why certain plants are able to survive in some settings but not others. Then, the students will create a booklet of the plants that can be found at each of the landforms.
Students will be assessed on the information given in their Plant booklets. In order to receive full credit, students must include the name of the landform, the plant, and facts about why this plant is able to survive in its given setting.
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7.) Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create Language Arts mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting). [RL.3.7]
When given ten text illustrations from Dog-of-theSea Waves, the students will write ten accurate facts about the island landform based on the text illustrations with 80% accuracy.
The students will read the story, Dog-of-the Sea Waves. Then, they will be given a t-chart with page numbers on one side and a space for them to write on the other side. Students must describe the illustration from the page number, and on the other side students will write down a fact they learned about the island landform based on the text illustration.
Students will be assessed using the information from their DogOf-The-Sea Waves chart. Students must provide accurate facts about the landform in the story for 8/10 illustrations.
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Culminating Activity
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Making Landform Models!

As a culminating activity for the unit, the students will construct their very own 3D landform models. By constructing models of at least seven different landforms, the teacher is able to assess students understanding of the shape, color, and other characteristics of each landform. The students will make this model on the eighth and final day of the unit; days 6-7 are dedicated to review and a summative test. The teacher is responsible for bringing all necessary materials for this project. These materials will include: Brown modeling clay White modeling clay Red modeling clay Sturdy paper plates Paper towels Blue and Green markers 2 packs of Post-It mini labels
*In addition to these, the teacher should bring his/her own model landforms plate! The students love to see this and it will give them a great basis for how to start theirs.* When the students arrive to class, the teacher should already have a paper plate sitting upside down on each students desk. She will ask the students to write their names at the bottoms of the plates so they do not get theirs confused with another. Then, the teacher will display the following directions sheet on the board before passing a copy out to the students.
Its timeto make landforms!

Things I will give you: White clay Brown clay Blue and green marker Paper towel Seven Post-It labels How to get started: Color half of your paper plate completely blue (no white showing!) Color the other half of your plate completely green (still no white showing!) Choose seven landforms we have learned about this week. Write one landform name on each Post-It label. Set those aside. Begin molding your landforms using the white and brown clay. Stick them on your paper plate in appropriate places. Label your landforms using the Post-Its you made. Give your space a name, or create more landforms if you finish early!
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Once each student has a directions sheet, the teacher will pass out the blue and green markers first. This way, students can begin coloring as they wait. Next, the teacher will pass out a paper towel to each student. She will use this to put the small lumps of clay on.
Then, the teacher will pass out about one handful of white and one handful of brown clay to each student. If students begin asking directional questions, the teacher should refer the students back to their directions sheet. She will also ask the students to keep the noise level to a low whisper for management purposes.
When students have completed their models, they should place them in a safe area to be held in the classroom until it is time to dismiss. As students finish up, the teacher will grade the students models using the following rubric.
Name: __________________________________
Landform Models Project Rubric
Area Assessed
Landform Models
Landform Labels
5 The Model is a very realistic portrayal of the landforms assigned. All objects on model are built to scale. Design is creative and well- built. Student went above and beyond when designing the model. Each of the seven landforms is labeled correctly. Students also added additional landforms that are labeled accurately. All spelling is correct.
4 The Model is a realistic portrayal of the landforms assigned. Most objects on model are built to scale. Student put effort into the design.
3 The Model somewhat represents landform assigned. Some objects on model are built to scale. Some effort was put into the design of the model.
2 The model does not represent landforms assigned. The model is not built to scale. Little to no effort put into the design of landform.
Six of the seven landform models are labeled correctly. All spelling is correct.
Four of the seven landform models are labeled correctly. Most of the spelling is correct.
Three or less of the seven landform models is labeled correctly. There are major spelling errors and handwriting is illegible.
Overall Assessment of Landform Model Project
Total Points Earned:
________/10
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Rationale
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Summary of Unit Rationale

The topic, instructional strategies, assessments, and resources chosen for this unit were selected with the purpose of providing students with the best educational practices and learning experiences possible. In the spring, third grade students are preparing to discover more about rocks, the earth, and landforms. Therefore, this lesson topic was chosen at an appropriate time in the school year. Several of the instruction strategies in this unit are taken from the expertise of Dr. Robert Marzano. Many of his instructional strategies, such as note-taking, summarizing, comparing and contrasting, and questioning, can be found interwoven throughout the unit. Each strategy was also chosen with intention to direct students on all levels toward higher-level thinking. Every set of questions in this unit stems from Blooms taxonomy, and increases up the taxonomy as students get more familiar with the landforms content. One of the greatest intentions behind this unit is to connect students learning to the world they are a part of in a deeper way. Therefore, there is a great emphasis on building and using students background knowledge as an integral part of their learning experience with landforms. The assessment pieces of this unit were also chosen with great intention and thought. Often times, students are not given the opportunity to display their knowledge of specific content due to the type of assessment(s) they are given. In this unit, the assessment tools vary and have been chosen with the intent to assess all styles of learners. The assessments include tools such as summarizing a days lesson, creating postcards, typed responses, matching and sorting activities, and constructed models. Finally, the resources that are a part of this unit were chosen to aide in presenting the content to students in a way that would support their achievement and growth. The use of technology is a current and engaging way for students to learn new material, and many experiences with the content cannot be experienced outside of technology. However, every graphic organizer and paper material given to students held purpose and direct relation to what the students were learning. Giving the students a mixture of resources helped to keep the unit alive and the students actively engaged the entire time. Overall, the rationale for this unit was created with great intention and consideration to the needs of the students this unit was created for. Every accommodation or extension was put to ensure that all students learning needs be met, and that every child have the support they need to continue to learn.
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Philosophy of Education
I believe the purpose of education is to help prepare and challenge students to become effective, responsible members of society. Education is the solid foundation that must be laid for success to occur in an individuals life, no matter their place in the world. As an educator, it is my responsibility to both guide and encourage students toward higher learning and personal growth in all areas of life. Because every child has the ability to learn, students are expected to form new discoveries and take their established roles within the classroom and society as a whole. In order to gain a fuller knowledge about people groups around the world, students of diverse cultures, backgrounds, and socio-economic classes are cherished in the classroom. Each of these students is encouraged to learn about the history of their culture, as well as other cultures, so that they may better understand their role in making history today. Students are prompted to embrace their individual differences rather than be conformed to one way of life or learning. Each students contribution to learning is essential for creating an open and unified community of learners. Great classroom management is necessary for maintaining this type of learning atmosphere. A well-structured environment with predictability in routine enables students to comfortably share in class discussions or groups, helping to mature each students education and add unto the overall learning experience going on in the class. It is important that all students are treated with equality and that their individual lack does not go unnoticed. Consistent assessments of students are beneficial for providing me with feedback for my students cognitive development as well as my effectiveness as a teacher. It is my duty as a teacher to make adjustments wherever necessary so that no student will be overlooked or left behind. Doing activities such as group projects, class discussions, and individualized research encourages student interaction in the classroom. My goal as a teacher is to teach my students how to think cognitively, apply what they have learned inside the classroom to the world around them, and to cultivate confidence in who they are as learners. I believe that being a teacher goes further than the influence one is given inside of the classroom; to be a teacher is to be a teacher everywhere. It is my desire to be an example of a true teacher to students, parents, and the communities around me, taking ownership of my mistakes and praising others for their successes. To me, this is who the ideal teacher is. I will make every effort to make my classroom environment as similar to the real world as possible. I want my students feel confident in themselves that they have been prepared and educated to interact with the world around them and the ability to achieve their goals, no matter what the cost.
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Resources/ Materials
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Summary of Resources and Materials

The materials and resources that can be found in this unit are supportive of all students learning achievement. These materials and resources were chosen because they are believed to give students the most full and rich experience with their content as possible. Through technology, writing activities, and art, each student is able to view the landforms content from a different perspective each time they see it. The unit technology consists of several mediums of technology: online games, research websites, documenting sites, presentations, and videos. The presentations were given in the form of a Prezi because these tools are designed to keep audiences engaged in what they are watching. To third grade students, this is entirely necessary to consider when speaking with them for 20-30 minutes at a time. The inclusion of pictures and brief words also aids in keeping students actively engaged and, ultimately, enhancing their learning. The videos chosen for this unit are supportive of the content and bring the content to life as students watch the creation of landforms happen before their eyes. In addition to the technology, providing students with graphic organizers and note-taking devices is also useful when presenting or discussing content. The addition of a teachers copy of these items gives students a reference at which they can look when creating their own organizers. Students are able to use the simplicity of these organizers to develop a solid foundation of landform material that they can build upon in more complex activities that the unit entails. Finally, the practice, assessment, and culminating activities of this unit allow students to practice and apply their knowledge of landforms in a unique and creative way. Students who are able to add creativity to their learning are more likely to take ownership of their product and final learning outcome. The materials and resources from this unit support and encourage students to do just that. Below is a chart displaying all of the resources and materials used throughout this unit.
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Day
Day 1

Resources and Materials

White board White board marker Laptop computer Landforms Prezi http://prezi.com/_-4xs46qe3ty/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 18 Landform Booklets 2 completed Landform Booklets 1 class version of the Landform Booklet 5 pieces of laminated construction paper 25 post-it notes 10 sets of vocabulary cards 10 ziploc bags White basket 20 Landform Riddles sheets Riddles (mountain, valley, hill, plateau, plain) Glue Scissors 1 printed picture of a mountain 1 printed picture of a valley 1 printed picture of a hill 1 printed picture of a plateau 1 printed picture of a plain Laptop computer White boards White board marker Landforms Prezi 2 http://prezi.com/qvcty3njdgdd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy Class copy of the Landform Booklet 20 student copies of Landform Booklet 20 Landform Scavenger Hunt cards Tape Landform Scavenger Hunt student question sheets (20) Glue Scissors Riddles (peninsula, island, desert, canyon, volcano) sheet White boards White board markers Laptop computer Discovery Education Erosion video 70 Million Years in Two Minutes video from YouTube Sciencenetlinks.com Erosion Game Google Doc containing four question prompts Scarf Hat Jacket
Day 2
Day 3

Day 4
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Day 5
farmer's hat overalls flip flops sunglasses white board whiteboard marker ELMO projector computers laptop computers 20 pieces of construction paper 25 index cards colored pencils markers pencils postcard examples Whiteboards Whiteboard markers Anticipatory guide (19) "Natural and Manmade Landforms Prezi http://prezi.com/3rbh6nwgbyxv/natural-and-man-made-landmarks-inunited-states-canada-and-mexico/ Pencils Markers Post-It notes (35) Large Venn diagram on butcher paper
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Additional Resources
More information on erosion o http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/erosion/?ar_a=1 U.S. erosion o https://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es12 05/es1205page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization Additional landform information o http://worldlandforms.com/ Landform games o http://archive.fossweb.com/modules3-6/Landforms/index.html More advanced information on landforms o http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154151/ Landform activity o http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/types_of_land_2/ Park Ranger activity o http://www.nps.gov/brca/forkids/landformskids.htm Landforms Song o http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/rocks-mineralslandforms/landforms.htm BrainPOP Jr o http://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/bp-jr-topic/landforms/ Landform WebQuest o http://www.jason.org/digital_library/9575/landform-detectives Landform map o http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/typesofland/typesofland.html Extra Review o https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:nOetGFufhtcJ:www1.bellevuepubl icschools.org/curriculum/k6web/secondgrade/landforms/landforms%2520quiz/La
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ndform%2520Quiz%2520Activity.pdf+landforms&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid= ADGEESgghkPrCKPt18WjSl7y8nwBh3JRcWwzCB2rZahQ78R6srF8KLXiWcz9sTMrAg8Et8oUC4iar4VCa5FD5hqiMi6M3nLkj2 ZdtpsEPGvb9KOtIz7Zk3AaT0w4gpfXH0urkQZ4V5l&sig=AHIEtbRgoEhhjXhk QrJ4OwFQHyiTaIzpng
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References
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References
(2004). Houghton mifflin social studies: Communities. Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company. Abbott, S. (2011, July 13). Natural and manmade landmarks in the united states, cananda, and mexico. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/3rbh6nwgbyxv/natural-and-man-madelandmarks-in-united-states-canada-and-mexico/ Exploring earth: Visualization. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es1205/es120 5page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization Illustrated glossary: Landforms and bodies of water. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/landforms/glossary.shtml Landforms . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://archive.fossweb.com/modules36/Landforms/index.html Landforms . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/brca/forkids/landformskids.htm Landform archives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/bp-jrtopic/landforms/ Landform detectives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jason.org/digital_library/9575/landformdetectives Landforms of the world. (2013). Retrieved from worldlandforms.com Landforms review. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:nOetGFufhtcJ:www1.bellevuepublicschoo ls.org/curriculum/k6web/secondgrade/landforms/landforms%20quiz/Landform%20Quiz %20Activity.pdf landforms&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgghkPrCKPt18WjSl7y8nwBh3JRcW wzCB2rZahQ78R6srF8KLXiWcz9sTMrAg8Et8oUC4iar4VCa5FD5hqiMi6M3nLkj2ZdtpsEP Gvb9KOtIz7Zk3AaT0w4gpfXH0urkQZ4V5l&sig=AHIEtbRgoEhhjXhkQrJ4OwFQHyi TaIzpng
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Mountains: Highest point on earth. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/mountainsarticle/ Pidwirny, M. (2006, October 12). Landform development. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154151/ Plains. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/plainmr.htm Plateau. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/plateaurh.htm Rutledge, K. (n.d.). Erosion. Retrieved from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/erosion/?ar_a=1 Shape it up! an earth changing erosion activity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/shapeitup_final.swf Study jams! landforms. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/rocks-mineralslandforms/landforms.htm Types of land. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/types_of_land_2/ Types of landforms. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-4_u-460_t-1243_c4746/vic/science/-from-the-earth-s-core-to-the-crust-/the-creation-of-landforms/types-oflandforms

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Leaping Over Landforms!

A 3rd Grade Social Studies Unit

By Amy Gelpi Spring 2014

Section 10: References (85) List of unit references (86)

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

identifying processes of Earth, including continental drift, erosion, natural hazards,

Leaping Over Landforms!

Content Specification Chart

Facts Landforms are

Vocabulary Mountain: Includes

The flattest part of

The highest point

Valley: A low area

Explain the three

Islands are formed

Plains and valleys

Plain: Broad, flat

Deserts are cold at

Leaping Over Landforms!

Desert: A very dry

Leaping Over Landforms!

Daily Content Organizer

1.) Introduction to first five landform definition and characteristics.

Students discuss comparisons and contrasts in each landform setting.

Complete page 1 of matching Landform Riddles.

2.) Introduction to final five landforms definitions and characteristics.

Teacher leaves students to predict how all 10 landforms were formed.

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Summary of the Lesson Plans

Leaping Over Landforms!

Design for Learning

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Design for Learning

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Erosion, Erosion, Everywhere

Leaping Over Landforms!

Design for Learning

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!

Leaping Over Landforms!