EDUC 2315 Practice Lesson Plan

Direct/Explicit Instruction

Topic of Lesson: Time Zones

Grade Level: 9-10
Content Area: Social Studies, Geography

Explain what you will say and do during the "I DO" portion of your lesson. This
includes teacher modeling:
Teacher will play the music video, 'Five O'Clock Somewhere' and read aloud
the book Around the World Right Now.
I will then introduce the concept of local sun time and standard time, building
on previous knowledge of longitude and latitude as well as the shape of
Earth (using a globe to reinforce modeling). By sharing a flat map of the 24
standard time zones all of which are based on central meridians spaced 15
degrees apart (equates to 1 hour time difference), I will facilitate a
discussion about the peculiarities the students can observe about the division
of the zones. Vocabulary should include Prime Meridian, International Date
Line, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and Universal Time Coordinated
(UTC) and Zulu time. To ensure students understand time differences, I will
first demonstrate figuring distances by counting out time zone differences
through the visual of the map. Then I will demonstrate how to figure the
differences between locations mathematically, explaining that from the
Prime Meridian, same longitudinal directions get subtracted from one
another to find the longitudinal degree difference between locations (ºE-ºE,
ºW-ºW) and different longitudinal directions get added together (ºE+ºW).
Those totals then get divided by 15 degrees to result in the time difference
 between two cities, and because one location will be further away from the
Prime Meridian, the students will know which city will be later or earlier
than the other.

Explain what you will say and do with students during the "WE DO" portion of
your lesson:
“WE DO” will be two fold. I will ask my students to form groups of 2-4 of their
choosing. They will then work on provided time zone maps, visually working to
determine time zone differences between cites. They will then work on
mathematically discerning time differences between three cities of their choosing,
two of which must be one direction from the Prime Meridian and one from the
opposite. I will make rounds to every group, answering questions and offering
suggestions and helpful hints. When we reconvene as a class, each group will share
their equations and results through the document camera or on the white board,
vocalizing the thought process as they solve.

Explain what you will say and ask students to do for the "YOU DO" portion of
your lesson:
I will then demonstrate how to apply that to travel time equations, working a flight
problem out on the white board where the flight from __city time zone takes x
hours total duration, so what time in __destination city should you land?
On their own time, students will complete a worksheet that builds from the in-class
work by solving time difference between predetermined cities. Also included on
the worksheet, they will then build on that concept by solving problems of travel.
They should determine for their trip what is the time difference between where
they live and their destination, as well as average flight time between locations in
order to determine a possible local arrival time for their trip by the afore
demonstrated technique.