1. California Regions Grade 3 Jenny Cordova Imperial Teaching American History June 2011

2. Standard 3.1.1 Identify geographical features in their local region (e.g. deserts, mountains, valleys, hills, coastal areas, oceans, lakes)

3. Lesson Objective Students will describe two regions in California and create a brochure with key facts. CFU: What are we going to do today? p/s Today we will _______________ What are we going to describe? p/s We will describe____________ What does describe mean? p/s Describe means_______________

4. Activate (or provide) Prior Knowledge: “What are the land and water like in your area?” 1.The desert is hot and dry. A. B. 2. The coast is near the ocean. Which picture matches sentence #1? Which picture matches sentence #2? CFU: What do the underlined words mean in sentence #1? What does the underlined word mean in sentence #2? Sentence Frame: _________means_________________.

5. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: geography Meaning: the study of people, places, and the earth. Sketch: Sentences: ● I think about land, I think about geography. ● (Students write a sentence.)

6. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: region Meaning: an area that shares one or more features. Sketch: Sentences: ●The desert is a region in California. ● (Students write a sentence.)

7. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: desert Meaning: a dry area where little rain falls and few plants grow. Sketch: Sentences: ● The desert is a region in California. ● (Students write a sentence.)

8. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: coast Meaning: the land next to the ocean. Sketch: Sentences: ● The coast is a region in California. ● (Students write a sentence.)

9. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: features Meaning: what something looks like or it’s appearance. Sketch: Sentences: ● The features of a desert region are flat and low areas. ● (Students write a sentence.)

10. Vocabulary My Picture Dictionary Word: natural resources Meaning: anything found in nature that is useful to people. Sketch: Sentences: ● A natural resource found along the coast is fish. ● (Students write a sentence.)

11. Importance A region is an area that shares one or more features. It is important to describe a region because: 1. We live in a region in California. 2. We use the natural resources found in a region.

12. California Regions: Coast A coast is the land next to the ocean. The Pacific Ocean is along the coast of California. Warm beaches and sunny climate are two natural resources in California. The Oroville Dam 700 feet high was built to block water and make a large lake. This water was used to make electricity, water crops, and drinking water. Fish and salt are natural resources found in the Pacific Ocean. I Do

13. California Regions: Desert A desert is a dry area where little rain falls and few plants grow. California deserts cover 25,000 miles. The names of the two desert zones are Mojave and Colorado. Two National Parks: Death Valley and Joshua Tree Largest state park: Anza-Borrego The hottest place in the country is Death Valley, California. I Do

14. Map of California I Do

15. Desert and Coast Compare and Contrast Desert Coast Same We Do CFU: Non-volunteers, Pair/Share, Venn Diagram Template

16. Guided Practice Questioning What are two major land regions in California? How would you describe the desert region? How would you describe the coastal region? Along what ocean is the California coast? How are the desert and coast alike? How are they different? What are some of the natural resources we get from the ocean? Desert? CFU: Non-Volunteers, Pair/Share, White Boards

17. Closure In your own words, what are regions? Regions are____________________________. What did you learn today about two regions in California? Why is that important to you? (pair-share) Today, I learned about________________________. It is important to me because__________________.

18. Bibliography History-Social Science Communities Teacher’s Edition,2007, Houghton Mifflin, Sacramento, Ca. pp. 36-38.

19. Assessment Travel Brochure ● Students will create a brochure to explain the key facts about a California region. ● The Travel Brochure will be developed cooperatively in small groups or with a partner. ● A Brochure Rubric will be used to assess student’s learning. ● The Travel Brochure must include a title cover, sections, organization of ideas and content, correct spelling and sentence structure, and be attractive and appealing to the reader. ● Students must use pictures, maps, drawings and/or any other sources of information to explain their region.

20. Rubric Regions Brochure.doc ITAH LessonDesign3rd grade J. Cordova.docITAH LessonDesign3rd grade J. Cordova.doc California Regions Links