Katie

Gipe, Section 3, Page 1

Second Grade Unit Plan

Geography
Katie Gipe
SST 309-03
Winter, 2016

Katie Gipe, Section 3, Page 2

Table of Contents
Overview/Rationale/Introduction...Page 3
Unit GLCEs and Vocabulary......Page 4
Lesson 1(KUDs/Assessment ideas/Sequence of instruction).....Page 5
Lesson 2 (KUDs/Assessment ideas/Sequence of instruction)..Page 12
Vocabulary Lesson.Page 15
Lesson 3 (KUDs/Assessment ideas/Sequence of instruction)..Page 21
Lesson 4 (KUDs/Assessment ideas/Sequence of instruction)..Page 25
References........Page 28

Katie Gipe, Section 3, Page 3

Overview: In this unit students will be learning about the landscape of their community. They will
initially do so by learning how to read a map to describe their local community. After understanding
how to read maps, they will be making their own map of their communitys landscape, including both
human and natural characteristics. Students will then look at how people in the community interact
with the landscape, focusing on the land use in the community. Students will also describe how people,
goods, and ideas move through the various landscapes in their community.
Rationale: The information presented in this unit is important for students to be able to better
understand the community in which they live. Through these lessons they will be able to better
navigate through their own community as well as having a better understanding of maps for when they
need to be able to navigate through an unfamiliar area. Students also learn about how land in their
community is used and what humans part in that land use is. Giving students this seed of knowledge
of how humans impact their community will provide a great foundational knowledge for students as
they progress through school and learn about how humans impact the world on a global scale. This
unit also introduces students to how things are transported, including people, goods, and ideas. Its
especially important that students have this knowledge of how ideas move because if we want what
they think to be heard, they must know how to make it heard.
Introduction: To best understand the material in this unit, lessons revolve around the Gradual Release
Model so the teacher often models the material first and then offers some guided practice with the
students before letting the students do assignments on their own. I also used a variety of techniques
within the instruction, such as the 10x10 strategy and flow thinking maps, as well as creative follow up
activities in order to better engage the students such as foldables and maps.

Katie Gipe, Section 3, Page 4

2. List of GLCEs in Unit:

2 G1.02 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the local community by applying the
concepts including relative location and using distance, direction, symbols, and the key or
legend.
2 G1.01 - Construct maps of the local community that contains symbols, labels, and legends
denoting human and natural characteristics of place.
2 G4.01 Describe land use in the community (e.g., where people live, where services are
provided, where products are made)
2 G4.02 Describe the means people create for moving people, goods, and ideas within the
local community.
3. Vocabulary list:

Location
Relative location
Blocks
Distance
Direction
Compass rose
Legend
Map
Symbols
Labels
Legends
Human characteristics
Natural characteristics
Neighborhoods
Services
Products
Land use
Transportation
Technology
Community
Goods
Communication