Differentiation Strategies Use the following daily activities to engage students in critical and creative thinking exercises that explore and solve problems related to this week's lesson focus, traveling America.
Students will begin their investigation using the Guide Questions below.
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
GUIDE QUESTION Which words does the author use that could be included in a dictionary of
geographic terms?
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT Have students review
their selection
and create a list of geographic
terms. Students might include
words that identify
or describe landforms, bodies of water, types of
weather, and so on. For each term, tell students to
use the word in an original sentence and to create
an illustration to show its meaning.
Independent Investigative Work and Problem Solving Skills
GUIDE QUESTION How can you convince young people to visit your city, state, or region?
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT Have students use
online or print
resources to find and list information
about attractions in their area
that might appeal to
young people. Then have students write the
script for a one-minute radio advertisement explaining
two or more reasons why young people should visit
their area.
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
GUIDE QUESTION What is the point of view of the selection? How would the reading change if it were
written from a different point of view?
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT Tell students to identify
the point of view
in their selection. Have students
consider whether the narrator is using
first-person pronouns such as I and us, second-person
pronouns such
as you and your, or third-person pronouns such as he, she, it, and
they. Tell students
to choose a passage and rewrite it
using a
different point of view. Have them write a few
sentences
reflecting on how changing the point of
view affects the writing.
Creative and Critical Thinking Skills
GUIDE QUESTION If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go and why?
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT Have students make a
list of places they
have visited—or would like to
visit—in the United States. Tell students
to choose
one destination and list reasons they want to go there. Let
students use online or print resources,
as necessary. Tell students to write one or two
paragraphs explaining where they would like to go
and why.
Creative and Critical Thinking Skills
GUIDE QUESTION Do the people or characters in the selection like to travel to distant places, or do
they prefer to stay close to home? Which lifestyle would you prefer?
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT Tell students to review
the selection and
think about the attitudes the
people or characters have toward travel.
Have
students create a T-chart with the column headings Traveling
and Staying Home. Tell students to jot
down the benefits and drawbacks of each lifestyle.
Then have students write a brief explanation of
which lifestyle they would prefer and why.
Trade Books for Advanced Learners
Suggested Activities for Trade Books
Students can
- keep a reader response journal.
- evaluate the content of the selection and write a review.
- create a dramatic reading of the selection.
- discuss the selection in a book talk.
- design and create a product of their own.
Trade Books
Suggest the following titles to provide additional reading materials
related to this week's lesson focus.
Coast to Coast with Alice by Patricia Rusch Hyatt
Link Across America: A Story of the Historic
Lincoln Highway by Mary Elizabeth Anderson
and Randall Ray
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon by Paul Erickson
