I had two lessons that went together that were about Utah. We did this to fit into the social studies section of the 4th grade curriculum, and they ended up being really fun lessons!
For the first lesson, I prepared the classroom by taping down a huge shape of Utah that we could dance on. This was really fun, but it did become somewhat of a hassle later when the tape started to come up and started to become a toy for some of the students. We had previously tried to attain a huge Utah map that we thought was in the school somewhere, but we couldn’t find it, so we decided to use tape.
We did an activity in the beginning to talk about latitude and longitude. After that, the class was split into four groups for four different climates in Utah - desert, wetlands, cold desert, and mountain/forest. They each had to create movement for those climates as a group, and then they had to teach it to the rest of the class. We then moved through Utah to move differently in each of the different climates.
After moving through different climates, we played a version of a game called Chicken in a Henhouse where you have to obey certain commands with partners or trios. The last group to reach a shape is out of the game until there is only one pair left. The different shapes are for different landforms and are explained in the lesson plan below. This game was really fun, and it brought out some competition in the class which was really exciting for the students and made them participate more fully, especially the boys.
Arts Bridge Utah Climates Lesson
Objective: By the end of 35 minutes, Ms. Jones’ 4th grade class will demonstrate their
knowledge of different climates and landforms in Utah by making shapes and creating their
own movement to match specific areas of Utah.
Materials:
Tape (tape shape of Utah on floor)
Drum
Speaker and music (Optional)
Set up Expectations:
Warm up: Latitude and longitude
Latitude is like a ladder, going up and down the globe (north or south)
Longitude is long going east to west and vice versa.
I will say a direction (North, east, south, west) and they need to face that direction and either
do the ladder action or long reaching action depending on which one it is.
Experience and Identify:
4 different groups to explore different climates in Utah
Desert: St. George area. Very hot and dry.
Cold Desert: Northern Utah - cold and dry.
Mountains/Forest: Uinta Mountains. Average temperatures with heavier rainfall and snowfall.
Lake/Wetlands: Lake areas – lots of water, maybe more humid.
Have the 4 groups create a movement that shows what the climate is like in that area. Then
have each group show the other groups and then we will move around Utah using the different movements to show what climate we are in.
Game: Chicken in a Henhouse (but with landforms)
You need to get with a partner to make these shapes:
Mountain: Hands up together to make the point of a mountain
Plateaus: “Crabwalk” position next to partner. It has to be totally flat!
Basins: Land that descends into water – shape that has an angle going to the ground, like water could run down the shape onto the floor.
Valleys: Has hills and mountains surrounding it, typically V shaped. Partners make a V shape and lay on their backs, contract so their torsos are the valley part and their arms and legs are up to create the hills and mountains. (Good ab workout)
Arches: Lay on your back and put your feet together to make an arch in the air.
Lake: Flat and wide shape on the ground and do the wave with your partner.
River: Moving body of water. Thin shapes that travel throughout the space.
Create and Perform:
Play the Chicken in a Henhouse game and eliminate the people that get there last.