Landforms Mini Unit
I. Title: This mini unit includes lessons on landforms. Students will familiarize themselves with a
variety of landform concepts and vocabulary.
II. Table of Contents: Overview /Rationale, Preparing the Learning Environment, Unit
Goals/Essential Questions, Lesson Plan Sequence, Content, Unit Culminating Activity,
Appendix.
III. Overview/ Rationale: This mini unit will introduce and examine all types of landforms. Students
will become very familiar with the vocabulary of landforms and be able to identify them on
a map. It is important for students to understand these concepts so that they will be able to
read maps, as well as, understand the topography of the United States and the World.
IV. Preparing the Learning Environment: Students will be organized into three groups of four desks
facing each other. A map will be at the front center of the classroom. All students will be
able to see it from where they are sitting. Students will be given eight vocabulary words
each lesson. These words will be discussed and examples will be show so students become
very familiar with the terms. An educational vocabulary game will be played as the closure
for every lesson. Worksheets will also be handed out and completed by the students based
on their knowledge of landforms. After three days of this mini unit, the closing activity will
be a geographic picture book. Students will accumulate all of their knowledge from this
mini unit to create a book on landforms. Difficulties that may arise is the discipline within
the classroom. Both third grade sections tend to get loud when any sort of unstructured
time is allowed. We need to make sure that the transitions flow smoothly in order to keep
them quiet and on task. As for a backup plan, we will have different ways of explaining the
vocabulary to keep the attention of the students.
V. Unit Goals/ Essential Questions: The unit goal is for students to understand the different types
of landforms and where they could be found on a map. Students will be able to identify
specific landforms without referring to the definitions. The essential question will be asked
in a general format. For example: What is a plain? Where is it located on a map? Can you
describe this and how is it different from another landform. We will ask these questions for
each of the twenty-three vocabulary words.
VI. Lesson Plan Sequence:
a. In planning for this lesson, we tried to group vocabulary concepts with similarities
together. They are grouped like this so that the students will have an easier time
understanding the concepts. The first lesson includes vocabulary words of landforms
that are similar to one another. The first day includes landform vocabulary such as
geography, ocean, bay, river, sea, lake, strait, and beach. The second day includes
landform vocabulary such as peninsula, isthmus, island, archipelago, mountains, hill,
volcano, and valley. The third day, we will finish introduce the rest of the vocabulary.
This includes plateau, desert, gulf, cape, mesa, canyon, continent, and delta.
Lesson One: Students will understand and recognize on a map the concepts that follow:
geography, ocean, bay, river, sea, lake, strait, and beach.
Objectives:
Cognitive: Students will understand and Assessment: Students will complete a
identify each term listed above. worksheet. Teachers will make corrections as
needed. Students will also participate in a
game that includes all of the concepts listed
above.
Psychomotor : Students will write down each Assessment: Teacher will walk around to make
term that is presented to them. sure all eight definitions are recorded in their
book.
Affective: Students will be excited to Assessment: Teachers will make sure that
participate in the game using the knowledge each student is actively participating in the
that they just learned from the lesson. game.
Procedure:
a. Teachers will hold up pictures of the concepts being taught that day. Students will
be given the opportunity to guess what is being shown. After several guesses,
teachers will explain the lesson has in store. Teachers will present each vocabulary
word with a definition, visual representation, and state where in the country one
could find the specific landform. Students will then have an opportunity after each
word is explained to write down what was presented to them in class. Students
should give as much detail as possible because the closing activity will only allow
students to use their workbooks as a resource.
b. In your own words, explain what geography is?
What is the difference between a sea and an ocean?
What is the difference between a river and a strait?
What is the difference between a bay and a lake?
Describe in your own words what a beach is?
c. The closure for this lesson will be a vocabulary game. Students will be broken up
into teams. Students will either be asked to give the definition or the word in the
describing sentence.
Lesson Two: Students will understand and recognize on a map the concepts that follow:
peninsula, isthmus, island, archipelago, mountains, hill, volcano, and valley.
Objectives:
Cognitive: Students will understand and Assessment: Students will complete a
identify each term listed above. worksheet. Teachers will make corrections as
needed. Students will also participate in a
game that includes all of the concepts listed
above.
Psychomotor : Students will write down each Assessment: Teacher will walk around to make
term that is presented to them. sure all eight definitions are recorded in their
book.
Affective: Students will be excited to Assessment: Teachers will make sure that
participate in the game using the knowledge each student is actively participating in the
that they just learned from the lesson and the game.
lesson from the previous day.
Procedure:
a. Teachers will hold up pictures of the concepts being taught that day. Students will
be given the opportunity to guess what is being shown. After several guesses,
teachers will explain the lesson has in store. Teachers will present each vocabulary
word with a definition, visual representation, and state where in the country one
could find the specific landform. Students will then have an opportunity after each
word is explained to write down what was presented to them in class. Students
should give as much detail as possible because the closing activity will only allow
students to use their workbooks as a resource.
b. Describe the differences between an island and an archipelago.
Describe the differences between valley and hill.
Describe the differences between mountain and volcano.
Describe the differences between the peninsula and the isthmus.
c. The closure for this lesson will be a vocabulary game. Students will be broken up
into teams. Students will either be asked to give the definition or the word in the
describing sentence. This game will include today’s vocabulary as well as a review
of yesterdays.
Lesson Three: Students will understand and recognize on a map the concepts that follow:
plateau, desert, gulf, cape, mesa, canyon, continent, and delta.
Objectives:
Cognitive: Students will understand and Assessment: Students will complete a
identify each term listed above. worksheet. Teachers will make corrections as
needed. Students will also participate in a
game that includes all of the concepts listed
above.
Psychomotor : Students will write down each Assessment: Teacher will walk around to make
term that is presented to them. sure all eight definitions are recorded in their
book.
Affective: Students will be excited to Assessment: Teachers will make sure that
participate in the game using the knowledge each student is actively participating in the
that they just learned from this lesson and the game.
previous lessons.
Procedure:
a. Teachers will hold up pictures of the concepts being taught that day. Students will
be given the opportunity to guess what is being shown. After several guesses,
teachers will explain the lesson has in store. Teachers will present each vocabulary
word with a definition, visual representation, and state where in the country one
could find the specific landform. Students will then have an opportunity after each
word is explained to write down what was presented to them in class. Students
should give as much detail as possible because the closing activity will only allow
students to use their workbooks as a resource.
b. Describe the differences between a plateau and a mesa.
Explain where the delta is in relation to a river.
Describe a desert and where it could be located in the United States.
Describe the differences between the canyon and a mesa.
Explain what a continent is. List as many continents as you know.
c. The closure for this lesson will be a vocabulary game. Students will be broken up
into teams. Students will either be asked to give the definition or the word in the
describing sentence. This game will include today’s vocabulary as well as a review
of previous landform vocabulary.
Lesson Four: Students will be reviewing all of the concepts taught throughout this mini unit of
landforms.
Objectives:
Cognitive: Students will understand and Assessment: Teacher will review concepts of
identify all terms presented within the mini landforms before going onto our closing
unit. activity.
Psychomotor : Students will create a Assessment: Teacher will walk around to make
Geographic Picture Dictionary included at least sure are completing their book with the
ten terms as well as descriptive pictures. correct definitions as well as pictures.
Affective: Students will be excited to create Assessment: Teachers will make sure students
individual books based on their knowledge of remain on task of creating the geographic
landforms. picture book.
Procedure:
a. Teachers will start off with the game that was used for closure for the previous
lessons. This will be a review of all the vocabulary learned throughout this mini unit.
After playing the game, the teachers will explain what the students will be doing for
this last lesson.
b. The game at the beginning of the lesson will act as the essential questions for this
closing lesson.
c. Students will be given the opportunity to present their books to the class.
VII. Content
The content that we as teachers need to know is the actual landform definitions that we
are teaching. We also need to be familiar with where each landform appears on the map of The
United States. We must be familiar with the answers to the worksheets as we will be going over
each of them with the students. We should also be able to describe the landforms in several
different ways in case students struggle with the prior description. We should make sure that
the students are familiar with the definition of landform and be able to describe several.
As teachers we should be familiar with the types of students we have. We should be
aware of the students who create problems in the learning environment. We should also be
aware of the students who complete their work quickly and need another activity to keep them
busy. As teachers we should also be aware of the time to make sure the lesson runs smoothly
and there is adequate time for closure.
VII. Unit Culminating Activity: We will close with the Geographic Picture Dictionary. Each term
listed will have a page in the dictionary. Use the back of an index card to make each page.
Students will write the term and the definition lightly in pencil on the bottom of the card,
they will then go over it in a marker and erase the pencil lines.
The rest of the card will be used for an illustration of the term. Draw the illustration lightly
in pencil first. Go over the pencil lines in marker. Erase the pencil lines and color the entire
illustration neatly.
When all pages are done, create a cover that includes the title (Geographic Picture
Dictionary) and author’s name. These should be in marker. The cover should be colored
completely. Students will store the cards in an envelope until the book is ready to be
assembled. To do that, stack the pages in alphabetical order with the cover on top. Punch a
hole in the upper left corner. Use a string to hold the pages together.
This activity helps to assess the unit, because all terms will be used in the making of the
dictionary. By creating the dictionary, this will help with the students’ memorization of the
terms.
VIII. Appendix: See attached sheets.