LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Goal 1

The learner will apply the five themes of geography to North Carolina and its people.

Objective 1.02

Describe and compare physical and cultural characteristics of the regions.

Resources aligned to this objective

The Five Themes of Me
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Five Themes of Geography through literature-based integrated activities to spotlight how they are represented in each. They will also work on language/writing skills and computer competencies while enjoying a little art along the way!
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Catherine Hazelton.
North Carolina Regional Travel Brochure
The students will cooperatively design travel brochures that describe major physical and cultural characteristics of the regions in North Carolina.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Visual Arts Education, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)
By Deborah Harrell.
North Carolina Regions
Working in cooperative groups, the students will learn about their assigned regions of North Carolina. A list of questions will be generated. When the research is completed, the students will design a way to orally present the information to the class. This also will integrate Visual Arts and Informational Skills.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Information Skills and Social Studies)
By Patricia Britt.
North Carolina Rivers
Students will locate 28 rivers within the state of NC, noting names and origins of names, directions of flow, navigability, and development of population centers in relation to the rivers.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)
By Mike Stevenson.
Operation Beach Teach
This lesson is the introduction to an integrated marine science unit which culminates in an early fall trip to Hammocks Beach State Park. (See attachment: Pre-Activity). The unit is designed to hook students into science and provide joyful learning experiences across the curriculum.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Visual Arts Education, Social Studies, and Science)
By Math Science Education Network.
Shifting coastlines
In their study of North Carolina's changing coastline during the Paleoindian and Archaic periods, students will determine the positions of the coastline at different times and decide what types of archaeological information has been lost due to rising sea levels.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Social Studies and Science)

Lesson plans on the web

Boundary ballads
Students identify the boundaries that are “singing” odd geographical songs. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–7 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
Make state maps with MapMachine
In this Xpeditions lesson, students compare and contrast their state with another one using observations they make from National Geographic's MapMachine. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
Mapping your state's culture
In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the concept of culture. They learn about interesting aspects of North Carolina's culture, including arts, recreation, folklore, and cultural diversity. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
New takes on old tales
Students revamp a classic fairy tale so that it takes place in today's world. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
Planning a road trip
This lesson reviews latitude and longitude and asks students to find the latitude and longitude for several United States cities. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies and Mathematics)
Provider: National Geographic
Quilting: The story of the Underground Railroad
Students use the Internet to research the dangers that escaping slaves faced along the Underground Railroad and the factors that helped the slaves make it to freedom. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts, Visual Arts Education, and Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
Top ten cities
In this Xpeditions lesson, students identify and study the most populous cities in their state, province, or country. They also learn about population distributions. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
What is geography?
Students work in groups to analyze a website to locate information about a particular country or region, and then create presentations showing how the geographic concepts described in the themes can be used to help solve environmental problems. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
What we can learn from maps
In this Xpeditions lesson, students examine different types of maps. They look at marine maps and maps of their state's agricultural pattern to learn how maps can be used to provide information about a variety of activities, distributions, and geographical locations. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic
Which direction should I go?
Students review and practice their knowledge of compass directions. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provider: National Geographic