State My Region

Information:

This webquest was created as part of Missouri's eMINTS Project. Its purpose is to inform students about United States regions and how they are each special. Students research states within the five regions of the United States to determine and evaluate information to decide what makes that region unique.

Curriculum:

This lesson is part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum, but could easily be adapted to other elementary social studies curriculums.

Learners:

When researching information about the states and/or comparing that state to its region, the teacher could allow the students to work independently or for partners to work together.

Helpful tip before doing this webquest: A mini-lesson to introduce the states within the five United States regions to fourth graders would be a good way to give students a better understanding of what they will be researching when they study US regions.

Standards: This webquest meets the Social Studies Grade Level Expectaions for Missouri, fourth grade:

Social Studies

SS5. Knowledge of elements of geographical study and analysis (such as location, place, movement, and regions) and their relationship to changes in society and the environment.

     1.6 Compare regions (e.g., explain how life in a city region is different than life in a rural region or how landscapes in mountainous regions look different from landscapes in plains regions.)

     3.8 Use geography to interpret the past (e.g., how rivers have played an important role in human transportation) and predict future consequences (e.g., what will like happen if the population of a city increases considerably.)

Communication Arts

CA2 Develop and apply skills and strategies to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate nonfiction (such as biographies, newspapers, technical manuals) from a variety of cultures and times.

     1.5 Apply information in illustrations, title, chapter headings, table of contents, glossary, charts, diagrams, graphs, captions, and maps to comprehend text.

     1.5  Use details from text to compare and contrast.