The purpose of this lesson is to give students an opportunity to seek information, evaluate on-line resources, and work collaboratively in teams. The students will be introduced to the Atlantic Region of the United States. Students will research a state by searching the Official State Tourism Website to identify places of interest to visit. Students working in teams will create a Regional Travel Brochure for the New England, Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic Regions of the United States. Each team will orally present their brochure to the class. This lesson is the second in a series of lessons on Regions of the United States. The first lesson introduced students to the concept of regions. The lesson is a compliment to a previous three-lesson plan on understanding what can be learned from maps. It is planned for a 90-minute block and can be adapted for two 45-minute periods.

Instructional Goals:

Students will learn about the Atlantic Region of the United States.
Students will learn where to find information on a Website.
Students will learn how to evaluate a Website.
Students will apply research and mathematics to life situations.
Students will orally share their written work.

Learning Objectives:

5th Grade students will learn how to locate information on the Official State Tourism
Website.
5th Grade students will learn how to apply evaluation criteria to Websites.
5th Grade students will demonstrate their ability to work in teams.
5th Grade students will assemble relevant information to write a travel brochure.
5th Grade students will use mathematical skills to calculate distances and travel times between destinations.

Motivational Goals:

Stimulate students' curiosity about places to visit in the Atlantic Region.
Generate student interest in the research process.
Promote the value of learning information skills.
Develop confidence in research abilities.
Encourage the future use of information seeking skills.

The following learning tools were designed for this lesson some of which can be found under Related Meda:

Pathfinder listing Official State Tourism Websites for the Atlantic Region
Places to Visit Information Organizer
Website Evaluation Form and Website Evaluation Score Sheet
Brochure Preparation Worksheet
State Maps provided by the Automobile Association of America
Grading Rubric
Student Assessment and Evaluation Form
Pathfinder listing Official State Tourism Websites for the United States

Introduction:

The students will enter the library media center to the accompaniment of music that students will identify with a particular state (i.e. New York, New York, Georgia on My Mind). Travel posters for the states in the Atlantic Region will decorate the library media center. A table with a variety of travel information: State Maps, Travel Brochures and Event Flyers will be available for students to view. A large regional map detailing the various States in the Atlantic Region will be projected on a screen using an Elmo.

The teacher and library media specialist will start the discussion with personal travel anecdotes. An album of personal travel photographs will be circulated for the students to look at. The teacher will engage students in the discussion by encouraging them to provide travel anecdotes. The library media specialist will show video clips to visually introduce the students to the Region.

Using a PowerPoint Presentation the teacher and library media specialist will introduce the Atlantic Region (New England, Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic) and discuss with the students the similarities and differences in the three Regions that comprise the Atlantic Region. The teacher will explain the project requirements, pathfinder, organizers, final project, and grading rubric.

Body:

The students will be asked, “Where would you like to take a vacation this summer?” The library media specialist will place pushpins into a large regional map mounted on the bulletin board to indicate where the students would like to visit.

The teacher and library media specialist will brainstorm with students about places of interest to visit in the Atlantic Region.

The students and teacher will compile a list on the whiteboard of important information to include in the brochure: hours of operation, cost of admissions, days open etc…

The teacher will place an appropriate number slips in a “hat”, each with the name of a State for a student to select at random.

The library media specialist will handout a Pathfinder listing the Official State Tourism Website for each State and the Places to Visit Information Organizer.

Students will visit the Official State Tourism Website for their selected state. Students will select five places they would like to visit in the state. Using the visual organizer as a guide the students will find specific information about the selected place to visit. The selection of a sixth place to visit is optional.

The teacher and library media specialist will respond to students' questions and provide adequate feedback and praise.

The class will be divided into three teams:

Team 1: The New England States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Team 2: The Middle Atlantic States: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

Team 3: The South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia

The library media specialist will handout the Website Evaluation Form and Web Sites Chart. The library media specialist and students will discuss how to evaluate information on a website?

Each team will visit the Official State Tourism Website for each State in the Region. Using the visual organizer as a guide the students will look for specific information and features to evaluate the website. Students will rank the websites.

Referring to their Places to Visit Information Organizer students will decide on the three best places to visit in each state.

The team will prepare a regional travel brochure. The brochure will include the important information about each place to visit.

The team will decide on a starting point for the trip and prepare an itinerary of places to visit including the driving distance between destinations. The team if they wish can calculate the average driving time.

The teacher and library media specialist provide assistance and feedback.

Conclusion:

Students will present their regional travel brochure to the class with each student presenting the three best places to visit in their state.

Following the presentations students will meet as a class to discuss the positive and negative features about the websites they viewed.

The library media specialist will take photographs of each team with their travel brochure.

The library media specialist will hand out Pathfinder listing Official State Tourism Websites for the United States to encourage further research.

Learning Assessment Method(s):

The student's ability to work in teams will be assessed through observation by the teacher and librarian. Non-academic skills including but not limited to cooperation, assistance, and socialization skills will be considered.

The student's individual work will be evaluated through the travel brochure and their oral presentation.

The student's ability to use the Internet will be assessed by the Places to Visit Information Organizer and Website Evaluation Form.

Students will be provided with a Student Assessment and Evaluation Form soliciting their interest and opinion of the project including an assessment of their performance.

Credits: Helpful Websites

National Geographic Xpeditions: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/

U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov/