Teacher:

Content
Area/Topic:
Grade Level:
Lesson Title:

Lesson Plan Template

Sarah Townsend
Social Studies
5
Identifying the 50 States

Write a brief, yet concise, description of what occurs in this lesson (50
words).
What will students learn during the lesson?
In this lesson, the students will learn to identify the 50 states in the U.S. The students will do
this by working in groups that are working a jigsaw puzzle, doing a SMART board activity, and
a mapping activity. It is important for students to understand elements of geography and the
states that make up the country that they live in.

Lesson
Overview

Common
Core/State
Standard

Go to the state standards website:

http://www.tn.gov/education/standards/index.shtml
Reference State, Common Core, ACT College Readiness Standards
and/or State Competencies. Select the grade content/level appropriate
standards that are being met in this lesson. Copy and paste here:

Content Standard: 3.0

Level 3
5.3.spi.6. locate the 50 states using a map with each state outlined.
Go to the NEW NETSS standards http://cnets.iste.org/and select grade
National
level (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) appropriate standards/profiles that are being
Education
met in this lesson. Copy and paste here.
Technology
Standards for
Students
(NETSS) met
in this lesson
Grades 3-5 (ages 8-11):
2. Use digital-imaging technology to modify or create works of art for use in a
digital
presentation. (1, 2, 6)
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Clear, Specific, and Measurable NOT ACTIVITIES. Student-friendly.
Instructional
The objective for this lesson [learning outcome] should identify
Objectives

the A, B, C & D.

Given the students will learn about the states in the centers, they will list 40
out of 50 states at the close of the lesson on paper with lines numbered 1-50.
Given a map of the United States after working in the centers, the students
will label 35 out of 50 states correctly on the map.

What prior knowledge will the students have to have to be able to do

Prior
Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

Knowledge

this lesson? You might look at the year before Common Core/State
Standards to see what they were suppose to learn before doing the
state standard you chose.

Students will need basic prior knowledge in map skills. They

will also need to know how to work well in groups. Students
will need some prior knowledge on how to do activities on
the SMART board.

Need or
Purpose

Why do students need to learn this lesson?

It is important for students to be able to name and locate the 50

states located in the U.S. This is important because as citizens of
the U.S. they should know about their country. Knowing where
states are located is important in travel as well.
Teacher
Preparation

Explain what the teacher has to do to get ready for the lesson including
activities such as gather materials, bookmark websites, create research
guides, schedule labs, gather parent permission for fieldtrips, etc

Copy lyrics to Fifty Nifty

Have YouTube video ready for Fifty Nifty

Have students grouped

Prepare Centers jigsaw puzzle, state identification cards, mapping it out

Prepare and test the SMART board state identification game

Explain what the students do in this lesson that puts them in an active
Active
learning situation.
Participation
The students will travel to centers in groups of four. They will quiz each other
with the flash cards, collaborate on the puzzle, and take turns at the SMART
board locating states by their borders.

Formative
Assessment

The criteria should directly align with the instructional objectives and
standards. How will you monitor student progress? Also describe your
plan for providing feedback to your students during the lesson?

While the students work at each center, I will monitor to make sure they are
on the right track and help any groups who appear to be struggling. After
completing each center, the students will be asked to list as many states as
they can. I will look at these lists compared to the ones they created with a
partner at the beginning of the lesson to see if they were able to list more
after they completed all of the centers.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

Materials

List all materials and include how each will be used during the lesson.
Must align with the Instructional Objective

SMART board TTW use Notebook software to create a game for students to
play in an interactive lesson on the SMART board. Students will match the
name of the state with the state on a map of the U.S. with the states outlined.
The students can use the eraser to reveal the correct answers.
Jigsaw puzzle for the puzzle center
Deck of state cards flashcards with outlines of states for the state
identification center
Blank maps of the United States The students will use the blank maps to
trace the shapes of states on to help them learn the shapes and locations of
the states.
Copy of lyrics to Fifty Nifty
Paper
Pencils
Instructional Procedures
An Essential Question encourages students to put forth more effort
Essential
when faced with complex, open-ended, challenging, meaningful and
Question
authentic questions.

Why is it important to be able to locate each state that make up the

United States of America?
Lesson set

Motivator/Hook - How will you open the lesson to motivate the

students? How will you relate this lesson to previous learning & to real
life experiences, to explain the importance of the learning to the
students? (student involvement required)

To open the lesson, the students will work with a partner to list as many
states as they can. I will hand out copies of the lyrics to Fifty Thrifty and
play the song from YouTube. The first time the students will just listen and
watch. The second and third times the song plays the students should use
their lyrics to sing along.
List the instructional procedures step-by-step, in sequential order as
Techniques &
they occur in the lesson. What will you do? What will the students do?
Activities
How will you keep learners engaged? Within the procedures a variety
of classroom teaching strategies (methods) are identified.
Student centered activities are included as well as guided
practice of the learning is included.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

1. I will begin by telling the kids Today we will be working on locating the
50 states. Students should focus on being able to name the states
and where they are located on the map.
2. The students will get with a partner and together they will write down
as many states as they can in five minutes, then each group will share
how many they got with the class. (Think-Pair-Share)
3. I will pass out the lyrics to Fifty Nifty and play the song 3 times.
Once for them to watch and listen, the next two times for them to sing
along. (Gardener musical)
4. After the song, the students will be divided into groups of 4 or 5 that I
chose beforehand. The students will have 15 minutes in each center to
complete the designated tasks. (cooperative learning Vygotsky)
5. Go over each station - good guided practice showing them what they
will be doing at each station so they know when they get to the station
what to do, also where each station is located in the room and what is
expected of students. When there is 2 minutes left I will ring a bell to
signal that the groups should begin cleaning up the center they are at.
After the time is up I will ring the bell again and the students will go to
the next center.
SMART Board Activity I will create a lesson using the Notebook
software and have it ready to go on the SMART board. The lesson
will consist of a map of the United States with only the outlines of
each state. Students will take turns (within their group) placing
the names of different states to its corresponding place on the
map. To see the correct answers the students will press play to
reveal prerecorded answers by the teacher. (Gardener Bodily
Kinesthetic)
Put it together center This center will have a 100 piece jigsaw
puzzle. The puzzle will have map of the United States on it with.
Students will attempt to complete the puzzle and I will remind
them to pay attention to the shapes of the states and where they
are located on the map. (Gardener Visual/Spatial)
State Identification center flash cards with the shape of each
state on one side and the name on the other side. Students will
take quiz each on the names of each state. (Gardener Visual
Spatial)
Mapping it out center the students will trace and label each
state on a blank map of the United States. (Gardener
Logical/Mathematical)
6. As students work at each center, I will play Fifty Nifty softly in the
background.
Extension

How will I provide modified instructions for gifted students? I call this
Gear-up. Extensions are additional activities to expand the learning
on the lesson. If students finish early what will the supplemental
activity be? - I will have them do.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

For students who finish early, I will have work a large poster
of the states with cutout names of the capitols. The
students will practice placing the names of the capitols on
the correct state. When the poster is completed I will
display it in the classroom as a visual representation.
Remediation

How will I provide modified instructions for below average? I call this
- gear-down. Remediation activities include methods to re-teach the
learning for students who need more instruction. If a student falls
behind I will ..

For struggling students who are falling behind I will chunk

the assignment and have them focus on learning one
region of states at a time such as the Northwest states.

Adaptions
Modifications

How will I provide modified instruction for special education? How will
you adapt the learning for learners with special needs? Choose one
disability and tell me how you would adapt this lesson for that
disability.

For a student with a Specific Learning Disability, such as Dyslexia, I will let
them either tell me the states they know or they have the option of using a
voice recorder at the end of the lesson instead of writing the states on paper.
They will not be required to list 40 out of 50 states. Each of these students
will have a modified goal based on their abilities and IEPs/504s. I will
strategically place learners with special needs in groups that they will work
well in.
CLOSURE

Reflection / Wrap-Up. How will you close the lesson, summarize the
lesson content, relate the lesson to future lessons & tie it to previous
lessons? (student-involvement required). How will I review subjectmatter and purpose with students?

Students will be given a sheet of paper with lines numbered 1-50 and asked
to list of the states they are able to recall. When they finish, I will ask to see
if anyone listed more now than they were able to at the beginning of the
lesson. Then, on a blank map they will attempt to fill in as many states as
they are able. They will turn in both of these sheets as an exit ticket when
they are finished.

Summative
Assessment

Describe the assessment process that you will use to measure whether
the students achieved the instructional objectives. How will you assess
the student performance/mastery of skill? What are the criteria for
achievement, and performance level? How will you assess that students
have learned? How will you monitor student progress? The criteria
should directly align to the instructional objectives and standards. Also
describe your plan for providing feedback to your students.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

At the end of the lesson the students will be given a map and asked to label as
many states correctly as they can. I will collect these to check for
comprehension. Some of the students will not be as familiar with the map of
the U.S as others. The goal is for all students to be able locate all 50 states on
a map. Since this will be one of the first of several lessons in a unit about the
50 states a test will not be given until all the lessons in the unit have been
covered.

NOTES:
The goal of the lesson was to get students familiar with the shapes of states
and where they are on a map. More lessons will follow until students have
mastered this standard, then a unit test will be given.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014