Regions of the World

Subject Area: International Relations

Grade: 2nd Grade

Date: November 13, 2013

Standards:

1. Iowa Common Core Standard: Kindergarten – Grade 2 Geography –

a. Understand representations of the earth such as maps, globes and photographs

b. Understand representations of locales and regions on maps and globes

c. Understand the concept of regions according to physical and human criteria

Context for Learning:

1. The students have been working on the continents and it is now time for them to move

onto more specific regions of the world. Eventually, this will lead to a study of specific

countries.

Objective and Timeframe:

1. Objective – After this lesson, the students will be able to identify various regions of the

world by name with at least 75% accuracy.

2. Timeframe –

a. 5 – 10 minutes for introduction of the topic

b. 10 – 15 minutes for group practice

c. 10 – 15 minutes for individual practice

Materials Needed:

1. Whiteboard

2. Whiteboard markers

3. ELMO

4. Printouts of blank maps (attached)

5. Completely colored and labeled map of the regions

6. Colored pencils

7. Crayons

Detailed Procedural Steps:

1. Introduction (5 – 10 minutes) –

a. Review Work

i. Place the blank map depicting the continents on the ELMO

ii. Ask for 7 students to provide the names of each of the 7 continents

iii. Write the names of the continents on the whiteboard (over the picture of

the map)

b. Explain that today we will be learning about more specific regions of the world.

Ask if anyone has any examples of a specific region. If none are provided, say

that the Middle East or Western Europe would be examples. Ask the question

again. If there are still no answers, explain that that is the lesson for the day so not

knowing the regions is okay.

2. Group Practice (10 – 15 minutes) –

a. Place the blank map depicting the countries on the ELMO

b. Provide several examples of regions and ask the students to color in the countries,

using colored pencils or crayons, that they think encompass these regions.

i. Write the name of the region over top of the map on the whiteboard

ii. The following regions should be included:

1. Middle East

2. Western Europe

3. Eastern Europe

4. Scandinavia

5. East Asia

6. South-East Asia

7. Northern Africa

8. Sub-Saharan Africa

9. South America

10. Central America

11. North America

12. Polynesia

3. Individual Practice (10 – 15 minutes) –

a. Pass out the blank versions of the maps and 3 – 5 colored pencils / crayons to

each student

b. Place the correct version of the map on the board

c. Allow the students to color in their map, using any of the colors they want, to

show the same regions

d. Have the students label the regions of their map as well

Student Evaluation:

1. At this point in time, the only true method of evaluation will be based on how well the

maps are copied down. As this is the initial instruction, it is difficult to determine true

knowledge of the material until later on.