Scaling the Distance

A Modified Geography Lesson of the Oregon Trail for ESOL Students

Amy Baumgartner
ED 571 Final Project

Students: 4th Grade
Time: 50 minutes

Prerequisites

1. Map skills consist of reading the directional compass, knowing how to use the scale, and are already familiar with a map of the U.S.
2. Students have been introduced to Oregon history and have a recent background with the history of the route they took. (Landmarks, Location, terrain).

While preparing this lesson I took special consideration of the ESOL students in my class. While using CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach) learning strategies such as cooperation, transfer, imagery, and elaboration, I also used SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) strategies such as contextualization, schema building, and bridging. We often use these strategies in teaching anyway so for many of you these are already easy to implement.

• Cooperation - Working with classmates to complete a task, come up with new ideas, solve problems, critique work, or evaluate performance.
• Transfer - Using what you already know to help learn something new.
• Imagery - Using visual-aids to understand and remember.
• Elaboration - Relating new information to already known information.
• Contextualization - Using visual realia and aids to "contextualize information."
• Schema Building - Bridging connections to understand concepts.
• Bridging - Activation of prior knowledge to create a personal link.

Teresa Walter. Amazing English: How-to Handbook, Addison-Wesley, 1996.

Materials

• Topographical maps
• Foot and a half sections of yarn for each child
• Overhead of landmarks to look for
• Oregon trail map handouts
• Pencil
• Doll figurine roughly representing a 4th grade age
• Scissors

Objectives

The students will use the knowledge they gained about the Oregon trail, yarn and distance scale on topographical maps, to figure out the distance the Oregon trail was. (Blooms Taxonomy: Synthesis)

Anticipatory Set: Ask: who can tell me some landmarks on the Oregon Trail? Which direction is west on the map? What does the scale represent on the map? Introduce a small doll. Ask how old do you think the doll is? Ask how many people have studied proportion in their math classes. Talk about the doll representing someone who is their age, the size of the dolls clothes fits its body, and its features fit its head. Introduce the idea of the topographical map being miniature representations of the U.S. Pull out a piece of yarn and tell them the yarn represents the trail. We're going to figure out using the yarn and topographical maps how long the Oregon Trail is!

Introduce that they will be working in partners to recreate the Oregon Trail. Pair students up and have them get their supplies One Map, one string of yarn, scissors, and handout. The landmark directions are posted on the Overhead.

Oregon Trail Landmarks:

1. Independence Missouri
2. Council Bluff Iowa
3. Kearney
4. Along river to Fort Laramie
5. Rawlings Wyoming
6. Green River Wyoming
7. Burley Idaho
8. Follow Snake River to Payette Idaho
9. Look for Walla Walla WA
10. Oregon City end

Procedure

• Dismiss students back to their seat with yarn and their U.S. handout map.
• Ask them to get out a pencil
• Turn on the overhead with the listing of landmarks that will help them construct the Trail on the map with the yarn.
• Ask them if they know what the scale in the topographical key means,
• Explain that the two inch scale represents a certain distance on the map.
• Explain that the yarn should be laid on the topographical map according to the directions on the overhead. Model how it might look.
• Explain that after they have laid out the yarn they need to cut off any excess they may have so that the yarn is the exact length of the trail.
• Explain how they need to use addition or multiplication to figure out their answer as they measure how many sets of two inches are on their yarn.

Check for understanding

Have three students summarize the directions. Walk around and look at what the students are doing and how the students are figuring out the answer. Looking for actions that show confusion, confidence, interest, curiosity, raising questions and so forth.

Guided practice

Review how addition of 200 increments might look and review multiplication of three digit numbers. Prompt students to use the mathematics skills they are most comfortable with to answer the problem. Confused students may need to be redirected to watch another partnership work out the trail length or may need teacher guided practice to complete the task. Prompt those who are done to make sure their answer is correct (they may check with other partnership's answers).

Assessment

Anecdotal Records are great to keep to show the actions of the students. Self Assessments are also good so students can make corrections for their trail and computations, and a checklist is good to keep track of the students that completed the task and the answer they got.

Geography

For fostering long term memory and problem solving skills

CD ROM Carmen Sandiego (Series)

For a variety of geography skills, activities, and lessons

http://quia.com

For games, activities, teachers guides, and maps about the Oregon trail and history

http://www.nps.gov/whmi/home

For worldwide geography games, lessons, and activities

http://www.globalearn.org/