One day in social studies as we were studying the Southwest Region, Texas specifically, my students started talking about the phrases, "Everything's bigger in Texas" and "Go big or go home." Now that we have moved from breaking down information about the regions to breaking down information about North Dakota they've begun commenting that the same is true of me and our classroom this year...LOL! I'm sure you're thinking...why on earth would they say that?! Well, because for the past several weeks half of the white board in my classroom has been plastered with butcher paper as we've filled in this...
My original plan was to create a humongous anchor chart to gather key information about each region as we worked our way through our text. I also wanted my students to develop a thorough understanding of economy, geography, government, history, and people so that they could identify elements of each of those in each region (and have a solid understanding of these concepts). Students were immediately drawn to my monster of a table and couldn't wait to begin writing all over it.
Before we began the first region I explained that as we read about different places in our country we not only want to get a "big picture" view of everything that's here, but we also want to uncover what "makes a region a region." Why is Texas part of the Southwest and not the Southeast? What sets the states in the Northeast region apart and bonds them together?
We began reading through each chapter, breaking down information region by region. As we read each segment we carefully analyzed what the key information was, which of our five areas it related to, and how best to record it. We discussed how to summarize, analyze topics or main ideas, identify supporting or key details, elaborate as needed, create graphic sketches (a term I used frequently in my classroom...a quick sketch that is super meaningful and specific, yet not time-consuming to draw and doesn't include irrelevant or extra detail), etc. I did much of the recording on the board (the plan was to release the pen to students beginning in the Midwest, but after completing this region they pointed out that our time was used more efficiently if I was stationed at the board), and they each had a smaller version for each of the regions (which we created on large construction paper).
Here's what we ended up with...
Unexpected learning outcomes??? Absolutely!!! Love it when that happens!!! As we read bite-sized sections of each chapter and I gradually released ownership of the discussion to students, I was seriously impressed with their ability to efficiently determine and sort purpose and details. Not only that, but they figured out quite quickly the relationship between economy and geography and how the economy of our country is diverse and dependent on the geography.
Now that we've worked our way across the regions students are completing their final project / assessment. To tie in our essay writing from writing workshop, students are creating a content based essay on the region of their choice. Love going cross-curricular!!!
This unit turned out to be a very efficient way to cover a lot of information while also being super engaging. Will I continue using this strategy in the future? Absolutely! I'm already creating note-taking templates for my next year's students (these will be a freebie in my TPT store soon!) and planning to pull in technology to design virtual tours of regions or specific locations. I'm seeing QR codes in my future...
Updated...the following freebies are now available (in two sizes) in my TPT store for your students' note taking ease!
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