Lesson Plan on Migration

Teacher:  Melissa Urquhart       Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade Level: 4      Date:  3-21-2001

Sunshine Strand: People, Places and Environments 
Sunshine Standard 1: The student understands the world in spatial terms   

I.                   Content: I want my students to understand that when people or animals move from one place to another permanently or periodically, it is called a migration.  There is always a reason for migration.  

II.       Prerequisites:   The student should be able to use the cardinal directions on a map and identify general and specific locations on a map.  The general locations are bodies of water such as the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Panama, Bering Sea, North Sea, and the Norwegian Sea.  The specific locations are the Hawaiian Islands, coast of Argentina, Cape Verde Islands, North African coast, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, East Asia, Alaska, Canada, and South America. 

III.              Instructional Objective: Given written and oral directions of a Native American, European Viking, Right Whale or Humpback Whale migration route, the student will diagram all directions only in the sequence given, with arrows indicating direction of the movement pattern.      

IV.       Instructional Procedures:

Lesson Initiating Activity: I will begin class by directing everyone’s attention to a large map of the world.  I will then review the directions of the compass.  Next I will review the specific names of places the students will be identifying later.  I will do this by explaining and identifying these terms on the map.

I will save two words for the last part because they cannot be identified on the map.  These are migrate and route.  I will explain here that whales migrate on particular routes, just like we do.  Some migrations are permanent and some migration is periodical during the year.  Here I will describe examples for the class emphasizing the difference between a permanent and periodic migration.  Then I will take two or three examples from the class.  I will ask students how they came to Florida.  I will then illustrate these examples on the map using direction words.  Then I will tell them and show on the map how my father came to Canada from Scotland, and then to Florida.   

Core Activities: Here I will divide the class into five groups and each group will get one of the six migration routes, a globe on their cooperative tables and the piece of fruit each student was asked to bring to class.  I will take one of the migration routes and model to the students how I want them to complete the activity.  Each group will then have time to figure out their own route and draw it on their group map as well as on the student’s individual fruit globe.  These are the following six migration routes:

·        Native Americans migrated east from East Asia across the Bering Sea to Alaska and then south through Canada.

·        European Vikings migrated west from Norway, sailing through the North Sea to Iceland and then west again to Greenland.

·        The Humpback Whale migrates north from the coast of Argentina to the Gulf of Panama. 

·        The Humpback Whale migrates north from the Cape Verde Islands off the North African coast in the Atlantic Ocean to the Norwegian Sea.

·        The Right Whale migrates east from the Southern tip of South America to the Indian Ocean.

·        The Right Whale migrates south from the Bering Sea to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Closure Activities: When each group is finished, the students will show me the migration route they were assigned while describing it on the big class map.  The group will have to choose from four pictures one of European Vikings in boats, one of an Indian, the Humpback Whale, and the Right Whale, in order to show me the route while they describe it.  Then they will permanently draw the migration route on the map if it is correct.  I will begin this activity by sharing the migration route I had to model to the class.

ESOL considerations: Throughout the lesson the following techniques were implemented: cooperative groups, use of pictures, oral and written directions, modeling for each activity, use of manipulatives such as maps and fruit globes, labels for specific locations on the map we worked with, and real-life examples.            

V.       Materials and Equipment:

·        A piece of fruit for each student (preferably round, spherical and large enough to draw on like a grapefruit or an orange.)

·        Maps for cooperative groups to draw on

·        Globes for cooperative groups to look at and refer to

·        Big world map for entire class

·        Pens for everyone to draw their fruit globe

·        Viking, Indian, Humpback and Right Whale pictures

·        Vocabulary word labels for review  

VI.              Assessment/Evaluation: The student will be evaluated on completion of the migration diagram within their groups for the class map and on their individual fruit globe.  For example, if the student has the route, “The Right Whale migrates east from the Southern tip of South America to the Indian Ocean” the student will draw a line starting at the Southern tip of South America and only draw a line left, stopping in the Indian Ocean, including arrows pointing east to indicate the direction of travel.       

VII.     Follow-up Activities: For homework, I will assign the students to research other animals or groups of people that migrate permanently or periodically.  After a week of research the students will then prepare an essay to share with the class, describing where and why the migration took place and whether it was permanent or is periodic.  

VIII.        Self-Assessment:

·        Were the maps and materials clear enough for the students to use?

·        Did I have enough time to complete the activities?

·        Was there any confusion in relating real-life examples of trips to whale migration?

·        Did the groups I arranged work cooperatively together?

·        Did I effectively communicate the information the students needed to understand?

·        Were my directions for the activity clear to the students?  

Respond to Author
ADPRIMA Main Menu
Email

Navigate the ADPRIMA Site