Organizing the Internet

The grade which I chose to plan a week-long unit of my choice for was the third grade. I chose the third grade because I have had experience in a third grade classroom, and it is the grade which I hope to teach when I graduate. I decided that my choice for a unit would be one on Michigan Geography. My integrated major is Social Studies with a concentration in Geography, so this really allowed me to have an opportunity to work in a unit which I really enjoy learning about and that I would love to teach in my classroom.

When looking on the Michigan GLCE's website, I actually found five that went nicely together and that my unit addresses. Each would be addressed on a different day and are as follows:

1. 3 – G2.0.1 Use a variety of visual materials and data sources to describe ways in which Michigan can be divided into regions.
2. 3 – G1.0.2 Use thematic maps to identify and describe the physical and human characteristics of Michigan.
3. 3 – G5.0.1 Locate natural resources in Michigan and explain the consequences of their use.
   
4. 3 – G5.0.2 Describe how people adapt to, use, and modify the natural resources of Michigan. (H)
   
5. 3 – G4.0.1 Describe major kinds of economic activity in Michigan today, such as agriculture (e.g., corn, cherries, dairy), manufacturing (e.g., automobiles, wood products), services and tourism, research and development (e.g., Automation Alley, life sciences corridor, university communities), and explain the factors influencing the location of these economic activities. (E)

Two METS that this unit address are:

1. use Web search engines and built-in search functions of other various resources to locate information
2. use a variety of media and formats to create and edit products (e.g., presentations, newsletters, brochures, web pages) to communicate information and ideas to various audiences

Since my whole unit is on the geography of Michigan, the tag that I chose was "geography." You can find all of the websites at my del.icio.us account.
Since I have a total of five different GLCE's which I would like to incorporate into the unit, I would address one GLC per day. Therefore, on Day 1 of the unit, the lesson would focus on using Web search engines and data sources which I have found to find ways that Michigan can be divided into different regions. I would first ask the students if they knew of any ways that one region of Michigan was different from another. I would then show the students a Wikipedia website which talks gives a list of the different regions of the United States. From there, you can click on the state of Michigan, and it divides the state into smaller and smaller regions, based on things such as peninsula, geological, soil, and vegetation differences; amount of urban or rural areas; minority populations; and agriculture.
On Day 2 of the unit, I would focus on using thematic maps to show the human and physical characteristics of Michigan, incorporating the regions which were created by the students the day before. I would begin by showing them a website about The Great Lakes to allow them to learn about the physical characteristics of the landscape and how it was created. I would then use the Michigan Maps website, which includes a link to a population density thematic map (along with other maps the students might find useful) to show students where people are located in Michigan.Finally, I would use the Map Maker website to have students determine the various ethnicities of people in the state of Michigan and where they are located. This will give the students an opportunity to make their own thematic map and to fulfill the MET of using media to create products.
On Day 3 of the unit, I would focus on natural resources of Michigan. The Mitten of Plenty website will be used to show the commodities of Michigan and where they can be found. It also provides information about each individual commodities. Students can then incorporate what they learned on Day 2 about the location of people in Michigan, to come up with ideas about how people have come to use these resources and the consequences that their use might bring.
On Day 4, I will divide the class into groups. Each group will be given a different region of Michigan. They will then be required to come up with a brief Powerpoint presentation which includes the region, a map of the region, a resource of the region and various demographic information. The Wildernet website will be given to them to use for their presentation, along with the Wikipedia website from Day 1. Students will be required to explain how people adapt to, use and modify Michigan's resources.
On the final day of the unit, Day 5, the focus will be on the economic activities of Michigan. The Netstate website will be used to help students find out information about the agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, etc. of Michigan. This provides a good wrap up to the unit, because it incorporates all of the information which the students have learned throughout the week to explain why the economic activities of Michigan are the way they are, based on natural resources, regions and people. Presentations which were created on Day 4 will be shown at the end.