California Regions

Grade 3Jenny Cordova

Imperial Teaching American HistoryJune 2011

Standard 3.1.1• Identify geographical features in their

local region (e.g. deserts, mountains, valleys, hills, coastal areas, oceans, lakes)

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_______________

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_________________.

VocabularyMy 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.)

VocabularyMy 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.)

VocabularyMy Picture Dictionary

Word: desertMeaning: a dry area where little rain falls and few

plants grow. Sketch:

Sentences:

● The desert is a region in California.● (Students write a sentence.)

VocabularyMy Picture Dictionary

Word: coast

Meaning: the land next to the ocean.

Sketch:

Sentences:● The coast is a region in California.● (Students write a sentence.)

VocabularyMy Picture Dictionary

Word: featuresMeaning: 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.)

VocabularyMy 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.)

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.

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

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

Map of CaliforniaI Do

Desert and Coast Compare and Contrast

Desert Coast

Same

We Do

CFU: Non-volunteers, Pair/Share, Venn Diagram Template

Guided PracticeQuestioning

• 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

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__________________ .

Bibliography

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

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.

• Rubric Regions Brochure.doc

• ITAH LessonDesign3rd grade J. Cordova.doc

California Regions Links