Title:

Climate Comparisons of the 50 States

Introduction:
Imagine that you could live anywhere on Earth. Would you choose to live
near the ocean or near mountains? Would you rather live in a region where
winters are long and snowy or where most days are sunny and warm? No
matter how you answer these questions, you can find all these different
places in the same country. The United States is a large country made up
of 50 states. You may know what the land and climate are like in one state,
but you may wonder how they differ in other parts of the country.

In this lesson the learner will input the average high and low temperatures
of each season for each of the 50 states. The states are divided into four
sections (four spreadsheets): western; midwestern; southern; and
northeastern.

Content Areas and Grade Level of Students:

The content area for this lesson is Social Studies. It is designed for fifth
grade students but could be modified for different grade levels.

Objectives:
• The learner will understand average temperatures for each of the 50
states.
• The learner will understand average temperatures for each region of the
United States.
• The learner will understand how climate influenced where and how early
settlers lived.
• The learner will understand how using a spreadsheet helps to organize,
calculate and classify large amounts of information.

Standards Addressed:
California Social Studies Content Standards
5.1 Describe how geography and climate influenced the way various
nations lived and adjusted to the natural environment, including locations of
villages, the distinct structures that they built, and how they obtained food,
clothing, tools, and utensils.
 5.8.4 Discuss the experiences of settlers on the overland trails to the West
(e.g., location of the routes; purpose of the journeys; the influence of the
terrain, rivers, vegetation, and climate; life in the territories at the end of
these trails).

Relative Advantage:

The relative advantage of using technology tools for this assignment are:

• increased motivation;
• using a spreadsheet requires less labor to calculate averages allowing
students to focus on content standards; and
• using web-based databases saves time allowing students to focus on
content standards.

Time Line:
This assignment will take eight, 60-minute lessons to complete.

Materials:
Student Guidelines
Spreadsheet Templates
Computer

Grouping Strategies:
There are 16 laptops available for this assignment. Students will work with
their “shoulder partner” to complete this assignment.

Learning Activities:
• Students will acquire necessary data from stateguidesusa.com to
complete the spreadsheets.

• Students will complete spreadsheets along with three graphs per region.

• Students will compare spreadsheets to determine which states and

regions have the highest average temperatures and which states and
regions have the lowest average temperatures.
• Students will synthesize the data and create a presentation using the
following as a guideline:

After reviewing the data, choose the state in which you would want to live.
Explain why you chose this state; what your house would be made out of;
what your clothing would look like and what would it be made out of. Also
include what your primary diet would consist of. You may choose to be a
Native American or a settler.

Students will be given a choice of the following presentation methods:

• Power Point
• Pixie
• Voice Thread
• ToonDoo
• Video Interview
• Podcast

Assessment
Students will be assessed on the accuracy of the spreadsheet data.
Students will be assessed on their presentation.

Adaptations for Learners with Special Needs:

Students will have a choice of presentation methods to accommodate any
required learning modifications.

References:
Doering, A. H., & Roblyer, M. D. (2010). Integrating Educational Technology
into Teaching (5th ed.), United States of America: Pearson Education Inc.

Harcourt School Publishers ebook

stateguidesusa.com