Summer Agricultural Institute/Unit Plan/Lesson Plan
Robin Rumsey
Unit Plan: U.S. Regions
Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Northwest
Unit Instructional Goals: 5 Regions (3 week segments over an academic calendar year)
1)CCSS. ELA-Literacy. SL.4.1: Students engage effectively in range of collaborative discussions with diverse
partners on grade 4 topics/texts, building on others’ ideas, expressing their own clearly. 4.1a: Students come to
discussions prepared; 4.1b: Students follow agreed-upon rules for discussion; 4.1c: Students pose, respond,
comment to specific questions, contribute discussion, link to remarks of others; 4.1d: Students review key ideas
expressed, explain own ideas/understanding in light of the discussion. 2)CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1:
Students read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
3)CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2: Students determine central ideas/ themes of text, analyze their development;
summarize key supporting details/ ideas;4) CCSS.ELA Literacy.CCRA.R.3: Students analyze how and why
individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.5) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3:
Students explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what
happened and why, based on specific information in the text. 6)CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6: Students compare
contrast a firsthand/secondhand account of the same event/ topic; describe differences in focus and the information.
Lesson Instructional Goals: Compare/Contrast Midwest & Southwest Regions Agriculture
1.
2.
3.
4.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL4.1: Students engage in collaborative discussions w/diverse partners
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2: Students analyze text, summarize key details/ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3: Students explain events/ideas, what occurred and why based on text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6: Students compare/contrast topic; describe differences using text information
Understandings:
Essential Questions:
-Students will broaden their understanding of
democratic values and the fundamentals of good
citizenship within society through respectful and safe
discussions with their peers.
-Students will understand and assume responsibility
for their own actions, ideas and questions while
respecting opposing viewpoints.
-Students will deepen their understanding of the
Regions by considering individual differences and a
range of perspectives other than their own.
-Students will express and explain their ideas
through their understandings of the Social Sciences.
-Students will broaden their understanding of the
importance of Agriculture thru the Social Scientist’s
point of view.
-Students will understand the differences and
similarities of Agriculture within the Regions of the
U.S. using the points of view of Social Scientists.
-How do economists, geographers, historians and political
scientists shape our viewpoints while we read and discuss
the Regions of the U.S.? What do they do?
-Why are the differences and similarities of our Regions
important to consider? How do they shape our growth as
American citizens?
-How does diversity in culture, geography, history, and
politics affect our opinions on how and what food we
grow?
-How can multiple viewpoints within a Social Science
advance your understanding of important issues in your life
and the world around you?
-How is Agriculture viewed by each of the Social
Scientists as they study a Region? How are they alike, or
different? Is one more integrated than another?
-What role does Agriculture have in preparing for careers
in the Social Sciences?
-Which of the social scientist’s points of view do you have
a propensity to use when comparing and contrasting the
Regions’ agriculture? Why? How do they find answers to
their questions?
Knowledge
Skills
Summer Agricultural Institute/Unit Plan/Lesson Plan
-Students will be able to define orally, and in
writing, the four social sciences: geography, history,
economics and political science.
-Students will be able to compare and contrast the
five Regions of the U.S.: Northeast, Southeast,
Midwest, Southwest, and West using the Social
Sciences categorically. I.e., “A geographer would
state that the Southwest Region receives less rainfall
per year than the Midwest Region, they grow
different crops.”
-Students will be able to define and use key
identified vocabulary in written and verbal form.
-Students will be able to read and use a variety of
maps, graphs and charts to support their ideas.
-Students will be able to recognize multicultural
viewpoints in the classroom, school, community by
acknowledging differing opinions on events past and
present, near and far, from their homes.
Robin Rumsey
-Students will locate and label the five Regions of the U.S.
on a map, along with their respective states. (group work)
-Students will complete graphic organizers, using a variety
of text, maps and charts comparing and contrasting regions
of the U.S.
-Students will formulate questions for discussions, and
record additional information obtained through peer
discussions for future reference in their notebooks.
-Students apply facts, details and reference materials to
support their ideas and views during group discussions.
(All students use Discussion Guide/Starter, organizers)
-Students will utilize a discussion rules/starters and model
respectful group talk behaviors while considering multiple
viewpoints by their peers.
-Students will practice democracy by working respectfully
and collaboratively in small groups, independently.
(Projected Discussion Guide, tabletop copy, individual
copies in folders for reference))
Procedure: Compare/Contrast Lesson
1.
2.
Students have read both their Leveled Readers: Midwest and Southwest Regions of the U.S.
Students have practiced and used Purposeful Talk as a standard behavior in Guided Reading discussions
and are familiar with the checklist and the protocol for discussions
3. Students complete a KWL for Agriculture Careers and for Agriculture Products/Businesses in both the
Midwest and Southwest
4. Students familiarize themselves with maps for average rainfall, geographic features, and population
density
5. Students read the Careers Ag Mag, Technology Ag Mag, Horticulture Ag Mag during Guided Reading
rotations, recording new vocabulary, and questions for discussion.
6. Students use the VENN diagram, in their discussion groups to begin listing agriculture products in
the Midwest and Southwest Regions, looking for what is the “same” and what is “different”, then
discussing why (rainfall, geography, culture, economics, politics, etc.)
7. Students use the “Four-Square” graphic organizer to list career opportunities through Agriculture
studies that would align with one or all of the Social Sciences
8. Students complete discussion questions in their groups, and write their ideas on each classroom
poster. (Midwest Agriculture, Southwest Agriculture, Economist, Geographer, Historian, Political
Scientist)
9. Whole group summative discussion of the reading and group work. What can we conclude from our
work as a class about the two regions, and about the role of agriculture in our studies?
10. Students review the KWL completed in the beginning of the lesson. What can we add to the
“Learned” column? Are there discrepancies in the “Know” column? Did we answer all of the “What
we want to know” column?
Assessment
Formative
Summative
Pre/Post assessment KWL, Guided Reading
discussions groups, Vocabulary Cards, Quizzes,
completed Region Maps, individual participation
observations, group interaction observations,
exit slips, graphic organizer completion, weekly
notebook reviews
Individual Regions tests: Big Ideas, Social Studies Skills,
“Show You Know” (Higher order thinking skills to
writing prompts), final notebook review, selfassessment participation assessment, group interaction
participation assessment, final Unit Exam
Writing: Persuasion/Opinion Narrative and Feature
Article
Summer Agricultural Institute/Unit Plan/Lesson Plan
Robin Rumsey
Differentiated Learning Activities/Materials
Texts: The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller, ISBN13-978-0-8050-6831-3
Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas (ISBN-13: 978-1590784600)
Country Kid, City Kid by Julie Cummins (ISBN13: 9780805064674)
The City Kid & The Suburb Kid by Deb Pilutti (ISBN13: 9781402740022)
How Did That Get in My Lunch Box? The Story of Food by Chris Butterworth (ISBN13: 9780763650056)
There’s a Map on My Lap by Tish Rabe (ISBN13: 9780375810992)
Hungry Planet: What The World Eats by Peter Menzel & Faith D’Aluisio (ISBN-13: 978-0984074426)
What the World Eats by Peter Menzel & Faith D’Aluisio (ISBN-13: 978-1582462462)
Farm Facts, “Modern Technology Make the American Farmer More Productive”(p. 21).
Farm Facts, “American Farmers Feed the World” (p. 6).
Farm Facts “America the Bountiful” poster
ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM RESOURCES: www.agintheclassroom.org
The Careers Ag Mag, Technology Ag Mag, Horticulture Ag Mag
PRC2 Reading (Partner Reading for Comprehension): Students paired with fluency partner for
text reading and note taking prior to group discussion.
Leveled texts for each of the five regions: DRA 28-50 (Developmental Reading Assessment 3 rd-5th grades)
DRA 28/30, DRA 34, and DRA 38/40.
Graphic Organizers for: Social Sciences (Economist, Political Scientists, Geographer, Historian), Compare
and Contrast bubbles for two region comparisons:
Vocabulary Charts: Post vocab/definitions, add words to word wall. All students
Interactive Student Notebooks: Allows for writing, drawing, mapping, enrichment reading on select
topics, recording of vocabulary words and definitions, note taking:
Sounds of Social Studies CD: Engaging CD for all students to hear the sounds of a city, history stories,
music, speech, dramatizations, etc., furthering their experience
Transparencies and Placards: Visual support that includes maps, photographs and illustrations to
support whole group, small group and independent work. All students
Interactive Desk Map: two-sided map to keep in their folders to help students improve their geographic
knowledge and skills. All students
Learn TCI (Teachers’ Curriculum Institute): www.learntci.com, access to text, videos, visuals, literature.