1. What are the physical characteristics that describe a particular landform?
2. How do these physical characteristics affect people/life?

1. What are qualities of good writing?
   
2. How can I best organize and present my ideas so that my point is clear?

Standard #2 -- Places and Regions: Use physical and human characteristics to compare and contrast places and regions, near and far.

Standard #3 -- Physical Systems: Give simple explanations of earthís physical systems (water, air and land), physical features, and ecosystems.

Standard 1 -- Range: Write using different forms and write to communicate thoughts and ideas

Standard 2 -- Composing process: Use strategies: mapping, brainstorming, reading and talking to focus a topic, generate ideas, and keep the writing flowing.

Standard 4 -- Rhetoric: Communicates meaning; elaborates with details, description and information; has a form or structure that gives the writing a sense of completion; Uses a voice that reveals a unique writer.

Standard 4 -- The physical and human characteristics of places.

Standard 7 -- Physical Systems: The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earthís surface: The components of the Earthís physical systems.

Standard 15 -- Environment and Society: How physical systems affect human systems.

Geographic Theme:
Places (Natural and Physical)

Lesson can be used with:
This lesson primarily focuses on teaching the skills of writing through the content areas and can be used with any geographical lesson. It is best suited for geographical lessons that have various sources of information (pictorial, oral, textual).

Materials Needed:

• Good sources of literature about various landforms (e.g. : Wright Group Science - Big Books; poetry books - Land, Sea, and Sky; travel books - Beautiful Hawaii)
• Pictures of various landforms
• Large pictorial representation of landforms with matching label cards
• Writing handouts (Writing Process, Qualities of good writing, Ways to organize, Four Squares, Paragraphs, Poetry....)
• Chart paper, pens, classroom supplies.

1. The student will be able to describe the writing process and qualities of good writing.
2. The student will be able to use different styles of writing to communicate information about landforms.
3. The student will be able to name and identify characteristics of different landforms.
4. The student will be able to make predictions about how different landforms affect the way people/animals live.
5. The student will be able to analyze pictures and passages to draw conclusions/generalizations.

1. Have children brainstorm what makes a piece of writing good.
2. Categorize their responses.
3. Distribute handout "Qualities of Good Writing"
4. Explain the different qualities using examples and studentís prior knowledge. Have children explain the qualities back to you in their own words.
   
5. Concentrate on one or two qualities. Read a writing sample (published or student generated) which contains these qualities to the children. Have them identify the qualities in the writing. (For this lesson, I chose to use, The Pond, by: Maud King. Published by Sunshine Science, Wright Group.)
6. For meaning, read one or two paragraphs and ask children what the authorís message was; what details support that message; and if the message was clear. If children are older, they can use a graphic organizer (web, flow chart...) to depict what they think.
7. For form and structure, read paragraph by paragraph and ask children how the ideas were grouped (thematic, time, intensity, problem/solution, cause/effect, etc...) - what was common in the paragraph. What are the purpose of the titles, sub titles, and indentions. How did the organization help the meaning? Stop reading before the piece is done. Ask children whether they think the piece is finished. (Probe to enforce the importance of an ending).
8. Repeat discussion about the qualities of good writing as often as needed. Use different examples if possible.

1. Ascertain prior knowledge: Ask children what steps good writers follow when they write. If the children need to be prompted, ask them what they do before they write, while they write and after they write. Chart the answers.
2. Analyze and categorize the childrenís responses.
3. Distribute and review handout, "Writing Process".
4. Discuss the steps in the writing process using concrete examples and analogies.
5. Walk the children through the writing process using something common to write about. (Tangible items are good for younger children- e.g. A cookie or a rock)
   • Choose a topic and focus it. Give the children a prompt or an object to write about. (ex: prompt - "My favorite..." or an object like a cookie). Have the children focus on the topic, deciding what specifically they want to write about and why. (ex: "My favorite toy is a yo-yo because you can do many things with it). (see attached graphic organizer - "TOPIC")
     
   • Brainstorm ideas and details.Help children decide what information is needed to make their message clear. Brainstorm a list of generic categories that children need to cover in order to adequately support their message. Choose a graphic organizer to help children organize their information. (Four Squares, T-chart, web, question boxes, etc...) For this lesson, I used the "Four Square" model. For the teacher demonstration, the book Icebergs was used. The class brainstormed a list of main ideas that were important to describing an object (what it is used for, what are it's physical features, where it is found, wh is it importnt, how it is made...). The class chose three of the main to describe an iceberg. Each main idea was put in one of four squares. The last square was labeled "Feeling/So what?" The teacher read the book and the children listened for details that supported their main ideas. The details are filled into the squares. The children repeated the four square process on their own using their topic.
     
   • Putting thoughts and ideas into words. Here, students are expected to put their ideas on paper. For younger students, begin with constructing paragraphs or short responses. The four square model can be used to help inexperienced writers create paragraphs. The main idea becomes the topic sentence and the details are turned into sentences that support the main idea. Depending on the ability of the child, introduction and conclusion techniques can also be introduced. A class paragraph(s) is done with teacher guidance before the students are expected to do it individually.
     
   • Revising and editing. When the students are done, they are asked to reread their piece and check it for three things, meaning-is it clear and does it make sense, form and structure - did I group my ideas together so the paper flows, conventions - did I use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization and grammar. A writer's circle can be uused to get peer feedback as well.
     
   • Sharing. Students share their piece with one another for feedback and celebration.

1. Pass out pictures of landforms and bodies of water that are found in the lithosphere and hydrosphere. Have the students sort the pictures into two groups and explain how they categorized them. (ANALOGY - form and structure in writing: grouping similar ideas together). Introduce the term, lithosphere and hydrosphere.
2. Split the class in half, give one group the landforms and the other the bodies of water. Have the students continue to sort the pictures into smaller categories. (Analogy - supporting details...looking at the finer qualities, specific information).
3. Have the children think of labels for their groups of pictures (ie: ponds, waterfalls, beaches, fast running water, tall things, etc...). Have the students identify the attributes that they used for sorting.
4. Have the students share with the other group. Display labels of geographic terms that describe the different types of landforms (bluff, mountain, stream, rapids, etc...). Have the children match the labels with the pictures. For landforms that are unfamiliar to students, have the students look up the terms in a geographic book, dictionary, or they can ask the teacher questions to help them figure out what type of landform it is.
5. Ask the class to choose one small category to study. (For my lesson, the class chose mountains)
6. Setting a baseline/Questioning: Chart the studentsí prior knowledge. List any questions that they have, "I wonder....".
7. Acquiring information: Gather information using the same criteria as writing ñ meaning and form and structure. Have children decide what information they need to answer their questions so they can document their findings in an organized way. Begin with the pictures, what information can be obtained (size, texture, color, location, and use). Where else can information be found? (books, people, video, computer). Use multiple sources to gather information. This can be done in small groups or as a whole class depending on the level of students.
8. Have children use one form of writing (informative/descriptive, poetry, letter, travel brochure...) to communicate what they have learned. For this lesson, I chose poetry. Read a few poems and have the students analyze them for content and style. Develop a structure for writing a poem (optional, if children are not familiar with poetry, this may help). The class then brainstorms details for their poems based on the structure. A class poem is written as an interactive demonstration. Then the children do one independently. They may stray from the form if they wish.
9. Sharing. Have the children share their finished pieces with each other and/or another class. The measure of success would be the accuracy of their information and the fulfillment of the qualities of good writing.
10. I would repeat steps 5 through 9 with different landforms; for each landform, I would introduce a new style of writing.

• Observation: were the students able to do what was asked of them.
• Product: Does the product meet the criteria (qualities of good writing and criteria set by students: "Information I need" and "I wonder...";). Roosevelt Complex Rubric
  
• If additional information is needed, a simple worksheet of landforms (Xeroxed picture) can be given to the children for them to label.
• Presentation/Discussion: are the students able to verbalize what they know and learn. Rubric to be created by teacher along with students before the project is assigned.

Extensions:
How environment impacts mans way of life:

• If time permits, after studying about the landforms, children can be asked to predict how different landform affect the way people live, mainly, the shelters that they build. They will use their knowledge of the landformsí physical characteristics, weather, natural forces, and environment to make reasonable predictions. The level of difficulty depends on the type of land that is chosen.
• The teacher then shows the class different landforms or places and accompanying pictures of shelters. The students attempt to match which shelter is best suited for each place.
• Students can then be introduced to persuasive writing. Have them write a short persuasive piece to support their choice.
• As a follow up, students can be given different places (pictures or books) and they need to design a shelter that is suited for that area.

Class book:

• Children can make a book of geography terms. Each child will explain and illustrate one landform.
  
• The book can be tailored to their community or island.

Scrap book: (grade 3 and up)

• Children can create a scrapbook about a country/place as if they had visited it. The book can be filled with pictures and captions. The children can describe the physical features of the land/water that are found in the country, the homes and jobs of the people that live there, and any interesting events and places tourists might visit.