Rylee John April 29, 2019

Social Studies Unit Plan

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Established Goals:
Standard 1:
Students will understand how geography influences community location and development.
Objective 2: 
Describe how various communities have adapted to existing environments and how other
communities have modified the environment.
Understandings: Essential Questions:
a. Describe how communities have
modified the environment to 1. Why are communities
accommodate their needs (e.g.
logging, storing water, building important?
transportation systems). 
b. Describe the major world ecosystems 2. How is an ecosystem
(i.e. desert, plain, tropic, tundra, supportive?
grassland, mountain, forest, wetland).
c. Investigate ways different
communities have adapted into an 3. When are natural resources
ecosystem and Identify important helpful?
natural resources of world ecosystems.
Students will know… Students will be able to…
How communities shape Ecosystems What a community, Ecosystem, and
and Natural Resources. Natural Resource is and how they all
impact the world.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks: Other Evidence:
“When I grow up” Worksheet YouTube: Ecosystem and Natural
Resource
Ecosystem Experiment
“Imagine” Book
“Natural Resource” Worksheet

Stage 3 - Learning Plan

 Learning Activities:
Lesson #1: Community pg. 2-4
Lesson #2: Ecosystems pg. 4-6
Lesson #3: Natural Resources pg. 6-9

Lesson #1

Community
Grade Level: 3 rd grade

Approximate Length: 30-35 minutes

Curriculum area: Social Studies

Objectives:

Standard 1:
Students will understand how geography influences community location and development.

Objective 2: Describe how various communities have adapted to existing environments

and how other communities have modified the environment.

a. Describe how communities have modified the environment to accommodate their

needs (e.g. logging, storing water, building transportation systems). 

____________________________________________________________________________

Essential Question: What is your role in the community and why is it important?
How will you face challenges when growing up?

Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that communities play a huge

role and are important in many different ways. Understanding that people also have
challenges in life to overcome.

Materials: “Imagine” Book, “When I grow up” worksheet, pencils, and

coloring/drawing utensils.

2
 Lesson Plan Summary

Students will learn that a community can make a huge impact on a person’s life. By learning
about what this stands for and expressing it to their peers can help the students learn how a
community forms and keeps building. By reading “Imagine” by Juan Felipe Herrera, the author
hopes and dreams of readers searching for their place in life.

Instructional Procedures

Discussion (3-5 minutes): Explain to the students what we will be working on today
with Miss Rylee. Going over that we will be reading a book and then working on a
worksheet together as a class. Giving the students an outline of the lesson can
hopefully help them to understand what is being expected.

Brainstorm (5-8 minutes): Before reading the book to the class, talking and writing on the
white bored about the word community and ask the class what it stands for. I am
wanting the students to brainstorm what community means to them and what their
personal community looks like. Sharing to the class what does “giving back” look
like. Sharing examples with the class and hearing what they have to say.

Continued Discussion (10-12 minutes): After wrapping up the discussion on community, I will
then group the students together while I sit in front of the classroom and read the book called
“Imagine” by Juan Felipe Herrera. Throughout reading the book, I’ll be asking students if they
feel comfortable sharing a challenging time they have faced. Asking the students if they can
relate or share anything with their peers. Taking the time to connect with the class is so essential
when reading this book.

Worksheet and introduction to it (10-12 minutes): When completing the book and discussion
with the class, have the students work at their desks on the “What I want to be when I
grow up” worksheet. When the students are finished with coloring, writing their
name, and having a detailed picture they can advance to the backside of the
worksheet.

3
The backside of the worksheet is talking about their community. Each student will
then draw and write how you would want to help your community and “give back”.
Once completed, the students will then join a circle on the floor and share with the
other students who are finished on what they did on their worksheet.

Accommodations: I will constantly be scaffolding around the classroom while

students are working on their paper. If any student feels the need to be in a quiet
place to work on their worksheet, accommodations will be given if needed.

Assessment: I will check the work completed by the students and have each student come up and
show me what they completed. By assessing their drawings and what they want to explore with
their community will help me understand what they learned from this lesson.

Lesson #2

Ecosystems
Grade Level: 3 rd grade

Approximate Length: 30-35 minutes

Curriculum area: Social Studies

Objectives:

Standard 1:
Students will understand how geography influences community location and development.

Objective 2: Describe how various communities have adapted to existing environments

and how other communities have modified the environment.

b. Describe the major world ecosystems (i.e. desert, plain, tropic, tundra, grassland,
mountain, forest, wetland). 

____________________________________________________________________________
Essential Question: Why do humans modify ecosystems? What can we do to protect our
ecosystems? Why should we protect our ecosystems?

4
Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that people need to make unlivable areas
livable by diverting resources.

Materials: Glass bowl, sand, length of PVC pipe, pitcher of water, Lego house (or similar),
pictures of diverse ecosystems that have been modified by unnatural human constructions (for
example, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Mesa, Salt Lake City) maps of the world or a globe non-
fiction books on alternative resources, inhospitable regions, how people survive and adapt to
difficult regions in the world.
Lesson Plan Summary

Students will learn that humans modify our ecosystems and certain areas of the world need to be
protected. Understanding what impacts Utah and places around the world can help the students
understand what natural resources are and how they affect one another.

Instructional Procedures

Discussion (3-5 minutes): Students will be looking at their prior knowledge, by understanding
that people usually settle where there are resources, but there are places where natural resources
are slim. Humans have the ability to alter physical features - making roads, building dams and
constructing buildings. As a class, we will discuss this and then go over what we will be doing in
this lesson.
Brainstorm (5-8 minutes): Asking the students the following questions: Why do humans modify
ecosystems so we can live there? What we can do to protect our ecosystems? Why should we
protect our ecosystems? Doing a think pair share and letting them all brainstorm what these
questions really mean.

Continued Discussion (10-15 minutes): I will then group the students around my table so
everyone is able to see my materials. I will then fill bowl 1/2 with sand and then place the Lego
house on top of sand. I will then ask a student to hold PVC pipe end over bowl. I then pour water
through the pipe onto the sand and asks "Why would we pour water into a sandy desert?"
Students can share possible answers and share with class. I will then observe that the water has
settled to the bottom of the bowl, noting that sand cannot hold water effectively and so pumping
water into a desert isn't efficient.

5
I will then ask, "Is a desert a place where natural human settlements are desirable?" Let the
students ponder their answers and note that people DO live in deserts. I then will divide the
students into groups and ask, as a pre-assessment, "What do humans do to make it possible to
live in a desert?" Have the groups list 4-5 things that humans do to modify deserts to make them
livable. I will compile the lists, writing them on the board or a large piece of paper and briefly
discusses each modification - focus on how much each modification impacts the environment.

Next, I will use the list and have the students rank which situations most affect or change the
environment. I the will write the top 5 down, and then leads a discussion on what could be done
differently to lessen the impact on the resources. For example, if homes in the desert have lawns
with Kentucky Blue Grass (which is meant to be grown where there is a lot of water), those
lawns could either be xeriscapes or planted with water-wise grass and plants. This discussion is
exactly what the students will need to have in their groups to accomplish their final assessment,
so model the thought process out loud. End of day one.

Accommodations: I will constantly be scaffolding around the classroom while students are
working and thinking about their discussion with partners. If any student feels the need to be in a
quiet place to work on their discussion, accommodations will be given if needed.
______________________________________________________________________________
Assessment: Students will create a diorama, poster, newspaper article, web page, encyclopedia
article, creation out of Legos or similar materials, 3-D display, book or magazine article or
related object to teach their peers about their assigned environment and how humans have
impacted the environment.

Lesson #3

Natural Resources
Grade Level: 3 rd grade

6
Approximate Length: 30-35 minutes

Curriculum area: Social Studies

Objectives:

Standard 1:
Students will understand how geography influences community location and development.

Objective 2: Describe how various communities have adapted to existing environments

and how other communities have modified the environment.

c. Investigate ways different communities have adapted into an ecosystem and Identify
important natural resources of world ecosystems.
______________________________________________________________________________
Essential Question: What is Natural Resource? How can Natural Resources help
communities? What can Natural Resources do to the world?

Enduring Understanding: Students will be able to define what natural resources are.
Students will work together to complete a Natural Resource model to deepen their understanding
of natural resources.
Materials: Natural Resource Worksheet, Renewable and Nonrenewable Resource
Video, and Pencils.

Lesson Plan Summary

Students will understand and investigate different ways communities have adapted into an
ecosystem and Identify important natural resources of world ecosystems. This will help the
students understand that various communities, ecosystems, and natural resources all come
together and connect with one another.

Instructional Procedures

Discussion (3-5 minutes): I will begin this lesson with a whole group discussion. I will direct the
students to think about what they already know about natural resources. I will encourage the
students to share their ideas with an elbow partner. Allowing the students to share their ideas,
helps the students to recall information that was previously taught in “Ecosystem” lesson.

7
Students will be able to build off one another's thinking, when given the opportunity to share
their thoughts.

I will ask students to share what they believe natural resources are. Together, we will complete
the Natural Resources Organizer. Introducing this model allows the students to organize the
vocabulary terms well. We will use the electronic resource from Britannica Kids to assist in
providing the definition.

Brainstorm (5-8 minutes): To begin the explore section, students will transition to their seats. I
will distribute the Learning about Natural Resources Worksheet to the students. I will explain to
students how to complete the organizer and what the expectations for proficiency are. The
graphic organizer is another great resource for the students to identify and apply their knowledge
to the three facets of natural resources.

Students will be instructed to list the natural resources that they observe in the video. They are to
identify if the resources are inexhaustible, renewable, or nonrenewable.

 Continued Discussion/Worksheet (10-15 minutes): Students will view the video resource from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=35&v=Bh5lyOCUcRg . Once the video has
concluded, and students have finished their worksheet, I will direct students to discuss with their
table groups the information and the new ideas they gathered from the video resource. As
students share ideas, I will observe the discourse and ask probing questions to ensure students
understand the difference between the different types of resources.

Accommodations: I will constantly be scaffolding around the classroom while

students are working on their paper. If any student feels the need to be in a quiet
place to work on their worksheet, accommodations will be given if needed.

Assessment: I will collect the Natural Resource worksheet from each student and constantly be
asking questions throughout the video and end of discussion. There will be time given to those
who need to complete their final assessment from the Ecosystem lesson plan.