Where Do You Live?
Geography Lesson Plan
The children will be able to identify the state of Arizona on a United States map, as well as the city of Tucson on an Arizona map. (This can be used for any locale)
large map of United States, 30 or so copies of a small Arizona map, star stickers, crayons, felt cut-out of Arizona, globe, Zoom or Re-Zoom by Istvan Banyai
- Read Zoom or Re-Zoom to your class. When you finish, go through the book backwards relating the "zooming-in" motion of the story to the globe, U.S. map, single state map, etc.
- See if anyone can point out the United States on the globe. Point out the map of the United States and ask what the map is representing. Help students see the correlation between the United States on the globe and the map of just the United States.
- Ask students if they know what state they live in. You will be surprised at some of the answers you get. Help to clear up these misunderstandings.
- Present the cut out of Arizona and ask a volunteer to see if they can find that same shape on the large U.S. map.
- Ask students if they know where we live in Arizona – what city. Discuss. Once again, help to clear up misunderstandings.
- Give each student a copy of Arizona map. Help them to locate Tucson, placing a star-sticker there. Have students write Tucson and Arizona on the map, and have them color it. This would work well as a center activity
After students have found Tucson on their map of Arizona, ask them each individually to identify it on the large United States map. See if they can find Tucson or the general vicinity of it on the globe as well.
Were the students able to locate Tucson on the large U.S. map? On the globe?
