Grade Level 2
Lesson Title: Our Continent – Our Place
Suggested Time Period: 4 days
Framework/Standards Connection and Geography Theme/Standards:
2.2 Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative location of
people, places, and environments by:
2. labeling a simple map from memory of the North American continent,
including the countries, oceans, Great Lakes, major rivers, mountain ranges;
identifying the essential map elements of title, legend, directional indicator,
scale, and date
Geography Theme:
Place
Focus Question(s):
1. What are the geographic features and countries on the North American continent?
Outcomes:
Students will label a map of the North American continent with specified geographic
features and countries.
Primary Sources/Literature:
outline map of North America
Activities:
1. Ask the students to imagine specific places: Hawaii, Alaska, Arizona,
Switzerland. Ask them “What is this place like?” Have students share what
comes to mind when they visualize these places. Ask them to name and describe
some special places that they have visited. Through discussion help the students
determine that no two places are exactly alike. Each place has its own distinctive
characteristics. Tell the students they are going to learn about the special place
they live, North America. Review the continents, if needed.
2. Give each student two blank outline maps of North America (Appendix 1), one
for physical features and one with the country outlines (Appendix 2). Have each
student copy the features onto his/her own map. The students draw the features
after the teacher has modeled how and where on an overhead map. It is better to
have the students draw, locate and label the places themselves because the
processes of writing and looking several times at the shapes and positions makes
the map more likely to go into long term memory. The legend can be constructed
along with the labeling. The following features are recommended to locate:
Water Features
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay, Gulf of Mexico,
Caribbean Sea, Colorado River, St. Lawrence River, Mississippi River, Missouri
River, Ohio River, The Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron,
Lake Erie, Lake Ontario.
Mountain Features
Sierra Nevada, Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madre
Other Physical Features
Islands: Greenland, Cuba
Island chains: Caribbean Islands
Peninsulas: Baja California, Alaska, Florida
The Great Plains
Isthmus: Panama
3. On a blank outline map of North America which shows country boundaries, have
students locate and label: United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Central
America: Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Panama.
4. Place the two teacher model overhead maps of the physical features and country
outlines on top of each other on the overhead. Point out how the Rocky
Mountain
chain extends north-south all the way from Alaska and northern
Canada, through the Mexican Sierra Madre ranges, to the volcanic backbone of
Central America. Tell how the people who live in these Mexican and Central
American mountains experience earthquakes similar to those we have in
California.
Independent Work:
Students may make a salt-flour map of North America showing its primary physical
features.
Assessment:
Students label from memory a blank map of North America, including the countries,
oceans, Great Lakes, major rivers, mountain ranges. Students create on the map the
essential map elements of a title, legend, compass rose, and date.
Bibliography:
Renfrew, Dr. Melanie and Dr. Priscilla Porter, Standard 2: Expanding Map Skills
From Neighborhood to the World. Carson, Calif. 1998