`KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Heather Milligan

Date: 12/5
Cooperating Teacher: Jason Hanlon
Coop. Initials: ________________
Group Size: 20 students
Allotted Time: 60 minute lesson
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Subject or Topic: MidWest Region
Section: 932

STANDARD: (PA Common Core):

● Standard - 7.1.4.B

○ Describe and locate places and regions as defined by physical and human features.

COMMON CORE LESSON

I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

● The fourth grade students will be able to restate facts about a state from the MidWest region by writing
them down.

II. Instructional Materials

● Powerpoint
● Note Sheet
● Projector
● My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States by Lee Bennett Hopkins
● Writing Journals
● Little pieces of paper to put states on
● Hat to put little pieces of paper in

III. Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, new content)

Prerequisite Skills
 ● Students will already be familiar with point of view and persuasive writing
● Students will already be introduced to the 12 states but do not know much about them in detail
● Students will have already learned about other regions

Key Vocabulary

● Plains- a flat area

● Tornadoes- a twirling funnel of wind with speeds of 100-300 mph
● Region- an area with features that make it different from other areas
● Physical features- features of land, such as rivers and mountains

Big Idea

● Students will be able to know facts about each of the 12 states in the MidWestern Region.

New Content

Illinois
1. Nearly 80% of the state's land area is farmland.
2. Home to the world's only river that flows backward, The Chicago River.
3. Illinois generates more nuclear power than any other state
4. Aurora is known as the City of Lights because it was the first U.S. city to use electric street
lighting throughout the entire city.
5. The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is one of the only three major free zoos in the country and is the
nation's oldest public zoo.

Indiana

1. The state of Indiana was named after the Native Americans. Indiana means "Indian Land".
2. Baseball was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The very first professional game had played in Fort
Wayne on May 4, 1871.
3. Bedford, Indiana, is known as the "Limestone Capital of the World". Admired for its light color
and ease of cutting, Indiana limestone was used in the construction of the Empire State Building in
New York City, the Pentagon and National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as well as several state
capitols.
4. First state to have a chapel inside the state capitol, built in memory of former first lady Beth
Bowen.
5. Before public schools families pitched in to build log schoolhouse and each student's family paid a
few dollars toward the teacher's salaries.

Iowa
 1. Only state in the United States whose eastern and western borders are formed entirely by rivers.
2. Iowa has the highest literacy rate among all the states in the United States (99%).
3. Largest producer of pork, corn, eggs among all the states in the United States.
4. Arabella Mansfield was the first female lawyer in the United States and from Iowa
5. Iowa is called "The Hawkeye State" to honor Indian Chief Black Hawk.

Kansas
1. Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States
2. The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Kansas.
3. Largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.
4. Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the world.
5. Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the
world. Salt is actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.

Michigan

1. First in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron
ore.
2. The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cage less, open exhibits that allowed the animals
more freedom to roam.
3. Has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.
4. Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.
5. The Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.

Minnesota

1. The first intercollegiate Basketball game was played in Minnesota.

2. The climate-controlled Metrodome is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series
and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
3. The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at the
University of Minnesota
4. The stapler was invented in Minnesota.
5. The Guthrie Theater Is the largest regional playhouse in the country.

Missouri
 1. Named after a tribe called Missouri Indians; meaning "town of the large canoes"
2. The most powerful earthquake to strike the United States occurred in 1811, centered in Madrid, Missouri.
The quake shook more than one million square miles, and was felt as far as 1,000 miles away.
3. Became the first slave state to free its slaves.
4. Aunt Jemima pancake flour was invented in Missouri. It was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the
first ready-mix food to ever to be introduced commercially.
5. First successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry at St.
Louis, in 1912.

Nebraska

1. Was once called The Great American Desert.

2. The largest porch swing is located in Nebraska and it can sit 25 adults.
3. Birthplace of the Reuben Sandwich
4. Inventors of the strobe light.
5. The world's largest hand-planted forest is The Halsey National Forest near Thedford, Nebraska.

North Dakota
1. Grows more sunflowers than any other state.
2. Named after the Dakota Indian Tribe
3. The North Dakota State University research experiment station in Hettinger is the largest state owned sheep
research center in the United States.
4. Out of the 50 states North Dakota is 17th in size.
5. Milk is the state beverage.

Ohio

1. First ambulance service

2. First traffic light
3. Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.
4. The first hot dog. Harry M Stevens created the popular dining dog.
5. Cleveland Is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

South Dakota
 1. The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are
sculpted into Mount Rushmore the world’s greatest mountain carving.
2. South Dakota consists of nearly 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttles, pinnacles and spires blended with
the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States.
3. The largest underground gold mine is the Homestake Mine in Lead
4. Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. More than 120 miles of passages have been surveyed.
Calcite crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name.
5. South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation.

Wisconsin

1. Produces more milk than any other state.

2. Home of the Harley Davidson Motorcycles
3. The original Barbie is from Willow, Wisconsin. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
4. The first typewriter was designed in Milwaukee
5. The nation’s first kindergarten was established in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856. It’s first students were
local German-speaking youngsters

IV. Implementation

A. Introduction –

● The teacher will ask the students what states did they learn from yesterday that are in the MidWest Region?
○ The students will answer and name the 12 different states that they learned were in the region the
day before.
● The teacher will get the students excited by saying today we will be learning more about the different
landmarks for each state in the MidWest Region and seeing what is important about them.
● The teacher will hook the students into the lesson by having them watch a video on the MidWest Region.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIKNX-02Gg)
○ The teacher will ask the students before watching the video to look at some of the landmarks it
talks about because we will be learning about them today.
○ The teacher will stop at 0:53 and tell the students to pay close attention to the landmarks that the
video will talk about
● Once the video is over the teacher will ask students some of the landmarks that they saw?
○ The teacher will call on students
○ Students will say answers such as Mount Rushmore, The Mackinac Bridge and other landmarks
that they saw from the video.
B. Development –

- The teacher will then pull up the power point that is about each of the different states in the MidWest
Region. (15 minutes)
- The teacher will then also give the students a note sheet to write down the facts about each of the states.
The note sheets will have fill in the blanks.
- The teacher will tell the students to make sure that they are paying attention and writing the facts down
because they will be using these note sheets later. The teacher will also make sure to go over what belongs
in the blanks with the students when completing the lesson.
- The teacher will go over the first slide of the powerpoint.
- The teacher will tell the students that the MidWest Region is made up of 12 different states which we
learned yesterday.
■ The 12 different states in this region are: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

- The teacher will then go to the second slide of the powerpoint and it will be about the state Illinois.
○ The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Illinois.
○ If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Illinois and what they did there.
○ The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Illinois.
1. Nearly 80% of the state's land area is farmland.
2. Home to the world's only river that flows backward, The Chicago River.
3. Illinois generates more nuclear power than any other state
4. Aurora is known as the City of Lights because it was the first U.S. city to use electric street
lighting throughout the entire city.
5. The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is one of the only three major free zoos in the country and is the
nation's oldest public zoo.
- The teacher will direct the students to fill in The Chicago River and Lincoln Park Zoo.
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about the state Indiana.
o The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Indiana.
● If a student says yes…ask the student where they went In Indiana and what they did
there.
- The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Indiana and will then read the facts to
the students.
1) The state of Indiana was named after the Native Americans. Indiana means "Indian Land".
2) Baseball was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The very first professional game had played in Fort
Wayne on May 4, 1871.
3) Bedford, Indiana, is known as the "Limestone Capital of the World". Admired for its light color
and ease of cutting, Indiana limestone was used in the construction of the Empire State Building in
New York City, the Pentagon and National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as well as several state
capitols.
4) First state to have a chapel inside the state capitol, built in memory of former first lady Beth
Bowen.
5) Before public schools families pitched in to build log schoolhouse and each student's family paid a
few dollars toward the teacher's salaries.
- The teacher will tell the students to fill in the blanks first professional game and Limestone Capital.
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about the state Iowa.
- The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Iowa.
 - If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Iowa and what they did there.
- The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Iowa and will then read the facts to the
students.
1) Only state in the United States whose eastern and western borders are formed entirely by rivers.
2) Iowa has the highest literacy rate among all the states in the United States (99%).
3) Largest producer of pork, corn and eggs among all the states in the United States.
4) Arabella Mansfield was the first female lawyer in the United States and from Iowa
5) Iowa is called "The Hawkeye State" to honor Indian Chief Black Hawk.
- The teacher will tell in to fill in the blank for #3 and write pork, corn and eggs
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about the state Kansas
- The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Kansas.
- If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Kansas and what they did there.
- The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Kansas and read the facts to the
students.
1) Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States
2) The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Kansas
- The teacher will ask the students if any of them like pizza hut.
3) Largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.
4) Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the world.
5) Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the
world. Salt is actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.
-The students will fill in the blanks on the notes the windiest city.
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about the state Michigan.
- The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Michigan.
- If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Michigan and what they did there.
- The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Michigan and read the facts to the students..
1) First in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron
ore.
2) The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cage less, open exhibits that allowed the animals
more freedom to roam.
3) Has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.
4) Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.
5) The Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.
-The students will write The Detroit Zoo to fill in the blank.
-The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about Minnesota.
-The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Minnesota.
-If a student says yes….ask the student where they went in Minnesota and what they did there.
-The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Minnesota and read the facts to the students.
1) The first intercollegiate Basketball game was played in Minnesota.
2) The climate-controlled Metrodome is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series
and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.
3) The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at the
University of Minnesota
4) The stapler was invented in Minnesota.
5) The Guthrie Theater Is the largest regional playhouse in the country.
- The students will fill the stapler in for the blank.
-The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about Missouri
-The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Missouri.
-If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Missouri and what they did there
-The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Missouri and read the facts to the students.
1) Named after a tribe called Missouri Indians; meaning "town of the large canoes"
2) The most powerful earthquake to strike the United States occurred in 1811, centered in Madrid, Missouri.
The quake shook more than one million square miles, and was felt as far as 1,000 miles away.
3) Became the first slave state to free its slaves.
4) Aunt Jemima pancake flour was invented in Missouri. It was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the
first ready-mix food to ever to be introduced commercially.
5) First successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry at St.
Louis, in 1912.
- The students will fill in earthquake for the blank.
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about Nebraska.
-The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Nebraska.
-If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Nebraska and what they did there.
-The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Nebraska and the teacher will read them.
1) Was once called The Great American Desert
2) The largest porch swing is located in Nebraska and it can sit 25 adults.
3) Birthplace of the Reuben Sandwich
· -The teacher will tell the students that this is their favorite sandwich.
4) Inventors of the strobe light.
5) The world's largest hand-planted forest is Halsey National Forest near Thedford, Nebraska.
-The students will fill in the blank the Halsey National Forest
- The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about North Dakota.
-The teacher will ask the student if any of them have been to the state of North Dakota.
-If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in North Dakota and what they did there.
-The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about North Dakota and the teacher will read them.
1) Grows more sunflowers than any other state.
2) Named after the Dakota Indian Tribe
3) The North Dakota State University research experiment station in Hettinger is the largest state owned
sheep research center in the United States.
4) Out of the 50 states North Dakota is 17th in size
5) Milk is the state beverage.
-The teacher will ask the students to raise their hand if they like milk.
-The teacher will have the students fill in “sunflower” for the blank
-The teacher will then go to the next slide of the powerpoint and it will be about Ohio.
-The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Ohio.
-If a student says yes…ask the student where they went in Ohio and what they did there.
-The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Ohio and the teacher will read them.
1) First ambulance service
2) First traffic light
3) Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.
4) First hot dog. Harry M Stevens created the popular dining dog.
5) Cleveland Is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
-The teacher will have the students fill in hot dog for the blank.
● The teacher will go to the next slide of the powerpoint which will be about South Dakota
○ The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of South Dakota.
■ If a student says yes...ask the student where they went in Ohio and what they did there.
● The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about South Dakota and then read them to the
students..
 ○ The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln
are sculpted into Mount Rushmore the world’s greatest mountain carving.
○ Badlands National Park consists of nearly 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttles, pinnacles and
spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States.
○ The largest underground gold mine is the Homestake Mine in Lead
○ Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. More than 120 miles of passages have been
surveyed. Calcite crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name.
○ South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux
Nation.
● The teacher will help the students fill “badlands national park” into the blank.
● The teacher will go to the next slide of the powerpoint which will be about Wisconsin.
○ The teacher will ask the students if any of them have been to the state of Wisconsin.
■ If a student says yes...ask the student where they went in Wisconsin and what they did
there.
● The teacher will then have 5 facts written on the powerpoint about Wisconsin and read them to the
students.
○ Produces more milk than any other state.
○ Home of the Harley Davidson Motorcycles
○ The Original Barbie is from Willow, Wisconsin. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
○ The first typewriter was designed in Milwaukee
○ The nation’s first kindergarten was established in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856. It’s first
students were local German-speaking youngsters.
● The teacher will tell the students to fill in original barbie for the blank.
● The powerpoint will end and the teacher will ask the students to turn and talk about the state that they
thought was the most interesting to them or the state that they liked the best.
○ The teacher will then call on students to share from there groups.
● The teacher will then tell the students that we are going to read a couple short poems about some of the
states that they just learned about. The poems are from My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States.
● The teacher will read the poem This Is Indiana by Rebecca Kai Dotlich to the students. The teacher will
read this with expression and to model good reading to the students.
○ “This is Indiana, the place that I love-with wide open spaces and stars above. It’s a bountiful
wheat, sweet corn growing land; home of James Whitcomb Riley and his Raggedy Man.
○ This is Indiana, where the Wabash flows; where the steel mills stand, and the tulip tree grows.
Where the limestone quarries for buildings reside, and the Indy 500 is known worldwide.
○ This is Indiana, veined with fields and farms. Scored with rivers and lakes, paved with bridges and
barns. Embroidered with churches on rich, fertile land- in a hommeland of the hoosiers, and
basketball fans.
■ The teacher will ask the students to turn and talk with a partner for 30 seconds and tell a
partner a new true fact they learned about Indiana.
The teacher will read the poem on page 34 of Wisconsin in Feb-b-b-rr-uary.
○ “B-rr, b-rr, b-rr, b-rr, b-rr, b-rr, huff, puff, rough, tuff…..enough of Feb-b-rr-uary!
■ The teacher will then ask the students to put their thumbs up if they think it is cold in
Wisconsin in February?
■ The teacher will make sure to show the students the illustration of the boy freezing in the
snow.
● The teacher will read one more poem to the students and it will be about Nebraska on page 44.
○ “There, there is no mountain within miles. The land, slowly rising toward a distant glory. Is
devoid of ornaments or sudden splendor. It is a land no more tourist travels far to see. Those who
ride through it, hurrying to strong streams broken and shot across stones, or running to find gay
 palaces to possess the mind, hardly notice as they pass, or note with anger, the constant, level
wind. Yet this, the one companion of that land, might tell them, though they are always hurrying,
and though they hate that hot and wheat-high wind: This was the bed of forgotten seas; this wheat
is blossoming.”
■ The teacher will tell the students that they learned from reading this that Nebraska is a
flat land with no mountains within miles.
■ The teacher will ask the students to turn and talk for 30 seconds with a partner and ask
them what is something new they learned about Nebraska from this poem.
● The teacher will tell the students that there are more poems in the book from states from the MidWest
Region and other regions that they have already learned about. The teacher will tell the students that this
poem book will be in the text set bin and they will be able to look at this poem book later if they would
like.
● The teacher will then tell the students that they are going to need to get out their writing journals.
● The students will get out their writing journals from their desks.
● The teacher will then tell the students that they are going to be writing a paragraph pretending to be one of
the MidWest states and telling their audience why their state is the best state using facts from their note
sheet.
● The teacher will tell the students that we are doing this because we have been working on point of view
writing in ELA class.
● The teacher will already have the directions written on the anchor chart. “You are a MidWest state. Write a
paragraph with 5 sentences using facts you have learned in class from the powerpoint or from the poem as
to why your state is the best in the MidWest Region. Make sure to include 3 true facts that we learned. You
are aloud to use your notes from the powerpoint.”
● The teacher will have a student pull out of a hat the state from the MidWest that they will be convincing
their audience is the best state from that region. This will help have a variety and not have all students pick
the same state.
● The teacher will give the students 15 minutes to write.
● The teacher will walk around and assist students who need help.

C. Closure –

● The teacher will tell the students to wrap up their last sentence after 15 minutes.
● The teacher will then allow for a couple students to share their writing piece.
● The teacher will have the students to put their writing journals into the bin.
● The teacher will then get the students excited by saying that tomorrow we will review the MidWest Region
states by doing an activity called I have___ who has____ with the different states to help us remember
some the facts.
● The teacher will also tell the students that they will be learning more about the MidWest tomorrow!

D. Accommodations / Differentiation -

● Student will be given already filled out notes.

● Student will be aloud to have computer to type if they can not type with their
● Front seating so they can see the powerpoint
 E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formative

● For the formative assessment I will be assessing the students writing piece to make sure that they included
3 true facts about the MidWest Region state that they had to write for. I will not be assessing the students
actual grammar during this lesson because I am only looking to see if they can give me 3 true facts that
they learned from the powerpoint that gave the students facts. The teacher will have given the students a
note sheet that she will have told them from the beginning to be writing notes on from the powerpoint. The
students will be using their writing to show me that they learned about the states during this. I will be using
a checklist to assess the students and if they included 3 true facts about the state that they wrote about. The
student will receive a plus (+) if they can successfully include 3 or more newly learned facts about their
Mid West Region state in their writing. The student will receive a check (√) if they only included 2 or 1
true facts about the state they were writing about. The student will receive a minus (-) if they included no
true facts about the MidWest Region.

2. Summative

V. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives (Reflection on students performance written after
lesson is taught, includes remediation for students who failed to meet acceptable level of achievement)

● While looking at the report of the students completing the formative assessment a lot them proved to well.
There were 20 fourth grade students who took part in the lesson and completed the formative assessment.
The assessment consisted of the students writing piece had to include 3 true facts about the MidWest
Region state that they had to write for. I will not be assessing the students actual grammar during this
lesson because I am only looking to see if they can give me 3 true facts that they learned from the
powerpoint that gave the students facts. The teacher will be using a checklist to assess the students. The
teacher will be using a (+) if they can successfully include 3 or more newly learned facts about their
MidWest Region. If the students receives a (√) they only included 2 or 3 facts about the state they were
writing about. The students will receive a minus (-) if they included no true facts about the MidWest
Region. While looking at the data 19/20 (95%) students included 3 true facts in their writing about their
state and received a plus. Also, while looking at the data 1/20 (5%) students included 2 or 1 true facts in
their writing about their state and received a check. No students got a minus which meant no students
included 0 facts in their writing about their state. Since a lot of the class did well I did a good job teaching
the students the facts and explaining to them what they needed to do. For the student who did not get all
three true facts I will go over the facts with them 1-on-1 and see maybe they just missed the directions or
maybe they did not understand the facts. This will help me see why this student struggled. I was happy with
my students performance.

B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught.)(Reflective answers to

questions recorded after lesson is taught.)

What could I have done differently?

● One thing that I definitely would have done differently in my lesson would be breaking this lesson
into a 2 day lesson. This lesson took a lot longer than I expected. I feel like it would have been a
 lot better to just do the state powerpoint and reading the poem 1 day and than the writing a
different day. I felt like my lesson gave the students a lot of information and that it would have
been better to break this lesson up into 2 days instead of 1.
● Another thing that I could have done was instead of me giving the students the facts for the lesson
I could of had the students research facts for each of the different states. I could have gave the
students websites and had the find the important facts from each of the different states in the
MidWest Region. If I would ever teach the MidWest Region again this is something that I
definitely will want to do with the students.
● Another thing that I noticed is that the students when picking their state got mad and did not want
that state. I feel like next time I should just allow the students to pick their state. The student will
be more into their writing if they are able to pick their state.
● Another thing that I noticed is that the students did not seem to be interested in the poem or really
understand what the poem was saying. I feel as if I need to find a more engaging book for the
students if I do this lesson again about the MidWest regions. I picked the poetry book to read to
them because I feel like students are not read aloud poetry that much.

How could I get more student involvement if I did this lesson again?

● I wrote above that a good way to get more student involvement is to have the students research the
states and that could be a good way to test the students on their knowledge about the different
MidWest states. This will get the students involved and have them be responsible for their own
learning. They could even complete this with a partner which could have the students interacting
with each other.
● I could have also incorporated more turn and talks throughout the lesson. I have actually learned to
really like turn and talks. I really like turn and talks because before I ask for the students to answer
it helps them talk to a partner and have them think about things they might not have thought about.
I wish I would have incorporated more during the powerpoint when the students were learning the
new facts.

What did I do good in the lesson?

● I think I did really good preparing for the lesson. I showed my co-op the lesson 2 days in advance
to make sure that everything was okay for the lesson and that it was what he wanted me to teach. I
also created this lesson from just the standard and the topic of the MidWest Region. I think I did a
good job creating all of these materials myself! I created the powerpoint, checklist, the notes for
students.
● I also think I did a good job being expressive and talking loud to the students. I also felt very
comfortable talking in front of the students. I tried to relate the powerpoint and state facts to the
students to help them understand better. I used some real life pictures in the powerpoint so the
students could see what some of the stuff actually looks like in real life. I think it is important to
relate real life to what you are teaching.
● I think I also did a really good job finding important facts for the students to learn about the states
in the MidWest Region. I even learned some new information myself from this. It was really cool
to learn new information while teaching it. This lesson went really well and I was really glad about
that.

Please note:
· Do not try to fit your lesson plan into the spaces on this format sheet. Scan this form or retype it. Adjust the
spacing to match the needs of your individual lessons.
· After the cooperating teacher has approved and initialed the plan, any recommendations or revisions should
remain on the plan.

VI. Resources

● Bondi, M. (2014, April 02). 25 Fun Facts About Illinois. Retrieved December 05, 2017, from
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/madison-bondi/25-fun-facts-about-illino_b_5076872.html

● 50 facts about each U.S. State. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2017, from https://www.50states.com/facts/

● Hopkins, L. B., & Alcorn, S. (2001). My America: a poetry atlas of the United States. New York:
Scholastic, Inc.