Grade 4 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 1, Lesson 1

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Oh, California

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 1, Lesson 1: Where on Earth Is California? (pp. 4-8)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Continuity California's location is traced from a distant view in space to a close-up look at it on Earth.

Compare the relative size of California as seen on maps of the world, North America, and the United States. Have students describe what they notice about California's size and location on the map of the world, then on the map of North America. Finally, have them explain what details the map of the United States contains about California that each of the other maps do not.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students do a radio play of a broadcast from a space shuttle describing California from different distances in space.
Have students draw two views of California--one from a distance and one from close up.

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