Grades 3-5 Lesson Plan - Place Names and Geography

Map 18 Main Page

Core Map A: "Greater Los Angeles Freeway System" from Los Angeles Recreation and Freeway Map. [Chicago]: Rand McNally & Co., [1979]. © 1979 by RMC, R.L.03-S-87. www.randmcnally.com (Printable PDF version of Core Map A)

Core Map B: "Los Angeles and Vicinity" from Los Angeles Recreation and Freeway Map. [Chicago]: Rand McNally & Co., [1979]. © 1979 by RMC, R.L.03-S-87. www.randmcnally.com (Printable PDF version of Core Map B)

Overview
In this lesson students describe the geography of the Los Angeles based on the evidence from its local place and street names.

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. define basic geographic terms (beach, harbor, foothill, valley, hills, canyon).
2. describe the geography of the Los Angeles area by referring to place and street names.

Materials
Computer image, overhead, and printed copies of the core maps, colored markers or crayons

Time
Approximately 1 class session (30 minutes)

Getting Started

1. Have students access the core maps and examine them. Using only the maps and their prior knowledge as evidence ask students to tell what they know about the geography of the Los Angeles area. (Consider, for example, the settlement pattern of the city, the importance of freeways, the proximity of the ocean. See Curators Notes for guidance. Ask them what prominent geographical features are not shown on the map (mountains).

2. Explain that the lesson involves students using place and street names to describe the geography of the Los Angeles metro area and then describing the role freeways play in defining the Los Angeles metro area

1. Group students in teams of four and distribute black and white printouts of the core maps and colored crayons or markers.

2. Explain that the teams are going to play a geography game that requires them to identify communities and streets that have names that include the following common geographic terms: beach, harbor, foothill, valley, hills, canyon. Two members of each team will work on either core map A or core map B, making a list of street names and communities including these terms identified by the map and circling these streets and place names on the map. Give students approximately 10 minutes to compile their lists and mark their maps.

3. As a class, go over the maps and lists, having teams add answers where needed. Query students as to the geography of the Los Angeles area leading to a description that includes a long beach or coast with harbors, hills and valleys and mountains ringing the area (foothills will provide this clue to the mountains).

4. Conclude the lesson by returning to the absence of mountains on the maps, focusing on core map B in particular. Consider the reasons why these features may have been left off of the map (for example: space concerns, cost of printing). Discuss the ways in which core map B gives clues to the location of mountains (settlement patterns, curvy streets, empty space, place names). For homework, have students write a brief essay describing the geography of the Los Angeles area.

1. Listing the place street names
   For 4 points, the student correctly identified all the names for each geographic term.
   For 3 points, the student correctly identified all the names for most of the geographic terms or most of the names in all of the geographic terms.
   For 2 points, the student correctly named the half of the names for all the geographic terms or half of the names in half of the geographic terms.
   For 1 point, the student did not correctly name at least half of the names for all of the geographic terms or at least half of the names in all of the geographic terms.

2. Essay
   For 4 points, the student correctly described all the geographic features of the Los Angeles area based on place and street names.
   For 3 points, the student correctly described all but one or two the geographic features of the Los Angeles area based on place and street names.
   For 2 points, the student correctly described half of the geographic feature of the Los Angeles area based on place and street names.
   For 1 point, the student correctly described less than half of the geographic feature of the Los Angeles area based on place and street names

Extension
Have students construct a three-dimensional model of the geography of the Los Angeles area.