Social Studies
Objective: I can name the five regions of the United States and find my own region.
Standards: D2.Geo.2.3-5, D2.Geo.10.3-5
Builds on: Needs Week 10: where the mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans of our country are. One-minute check: ask which ocean is on the east coast (Atlantic) and which is on the west (Pacific).
- mesa – a hill with a flat top and steep sides
- Warm-Up (5 min) — Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Name the two big mountain ranges and tell where each one is." (Rocky Mountains, West. Appalachian Mountains, East.) Then say: "Fifty states are a lot to remember. How could we sort them into a few groups?" Accept ideas such as weather or location.
- Mini-Lesson (10–15 min) — Say: "A region is an area where places share features, like land, climate or the work people do. Geographers often sort the states into five regions." Point to each on the map. Northeast: the Atlantic coast, cold winters and big, old cities. Southeast: warm weather, beaches and a long growing season. Midwest: wide plains, farms and the Great Lakes. Southwest: deserts and mesas. Say: "A mesa is a hill with a flat top and steep sides." West: high mountains, the Pacific coast, Alaska and Hawaii. Say: "Different books draw the lines a little differently. That is fine." Ask: "Which region has deserts and mesas?" (Southwest) "Which region has the Great Lakes and many farms?" (Midwest) "Why might two books show different regions?" (Regions are a way of sorting, and people draw the lines differently.) If stuck, say: "Find the state on the map. What ocean, lake or country is near it?"
- Activity / Source Work (15–20 min) — Region coloring. 1) Your child picks one colored pencil for each region and draws a key. 2) Color the states from this list. Northeast: Maine down to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Southeast: Delaware and Maryland south to Florida, then west to Arkansas and Louisiana. Kentucky and West Virginia belong here too. Midwest: Ohio west to North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, with Missouri. Southwest: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. West: the other eleven states, counting Alaska and Hawaii. 3) Count the states in each color. Expect 9, 14, 12, 4 and 11. That makes 50. 4) Your child puts the sticky note on your state and names its region. 5) Ask for evidence from the map: "Which two regions touch the Atlantic Ocean?" (Northeast and Southeast) "Which region has the most Great Lakes shoreline?" (Midwest)
- Notebook Entry (10 min) — Your child draws a chart with three columns: Region, One state, One feature. Fill five rows. Sample row: Southwest, Arizona, deserts and mesas. Then finish the frame: "I live in the ___ region. One feature of my region is ___." Look for a feature that fits your region's land or climate.
- Exit Ticket (5 min) — Read each question aloud. Your child answers and points to the colored map as proof. Praise every answer backed by the map.
Watch for: Thinking the Midwest is in the West because of its name, or putting Texas in the Southeast.
Try: Say: "Long ago, people in the East called this land the Middle West." Your child touches the Great Lakes, then names the region around them.
- What is a region?
- Which region are Texas and Arizona in?
- Name one state in the Midwest and one feature of that region.
Answers: 1) An area where places share features, such as land, climate or the work people do. 2) The Southwest. 3) Answers vary. Look for a Midwest state, such as Iowa or Ohio, and plains, farms or the Great Lakes.