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Take your class on a road trip like no other as they discover the United States of America! Take in the incredible landscapes, learn about the fifty states and their characteristics, explore America’s wild side and much, much more with this Geography 'The USA' scheme of work for Year 3 and Year 4.
#TheCompleteSeries7lessons
Containing seven individual lessons with everything you need to teach your class about the USA, including detailed lesson plans, presentations, differentiated activities and a range of printable resources, this scheme of work will open their eyes to the incredible and varied country that is America.
This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle . Perfect if you are teaching 'The USA' as a cross-curricular topic.
#Lesson1StateyourLocation
Children will start by identifying the USA as a country in the continent of North America, finding out where both of these are on a world map. They’ll consider what they already know about the USA and find out how it is separated into fifty states. Using compass directions, they will then identify each of the fifty states and describe where they are in relation to each other. Alternatively, they can test their memories to see how many of the states they can remember and recall in a given time scale!
What's included:
- Lesson plan
- Activity ideas
- Differentiated worksheets
- Differentiated clue cards
- Fifty States map
#Lesson2ExploringtheStates
Now that your class can identify the fifty states, they will find out how they are split into six regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southwest, South and West. They will explore the broad characteristics of each region before finding out more about the individual states in order to start comparing them.
- Fifty State Facts eBook
- States Regions map
- State Names cards
#Lesson3Landscapes
The breathtaking scenery your class will be shown in this lesson will help them to start understanding what a rich and varied landscape America has. Through these photos, they will find out about different geographical features of the USA, including mountains, coasts, prairies, forests and deserts. They will start to compare these landscapes using geographical language using photographs, or by exploring them for themselves using online maps.
- Picture cards
- Landscape keywords
#Lesson4AmericanCities
Children will start this lesson by identifying the difference between a village, a town and a city. They will then go on to explore some of the largest and most famous cities in the USA. They will find out about the capital of the USA, as well as the capital city of each individual state. They can then carry out their own research to find out more about an American city, or compare Washington, D.C. with London.
- USA Map sheet
- Information cards
#Lesson5NationalParks
This lesson starts by encouraging children to consider the effects of urbanisation on wildlife. They will then go on to find out what national parks are, how, when and why the first national park was set up, and the role that national parks play in the country today. They will be able to find out more about American national parks, particularly Yellowstone, identifying and explaining why they are important.
- Challenge cards
- Yellowstone National Park map
#Lesson6NaturalPhenomena
This lesson shows your class the wild side of America as they learn about blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, identifying where in America each of these phenomena are most likely to occur. They will also consider the effects these have on people and landscapes.
- Information sheet
- Poster template
#Lesson7VisitingAmerica
Now that your class have learnt so much about the USA, they can consolidate their knowledge by thinking about what a holiday in America might be like. The slides will show them some of the USA’s top tourist hot-spots which they can then use to help some travel agent customers decide where they should go on holiday, based on given criteria. They can also prepare a TV or radio advert to encourage tourists to visit a particular state. They can then show off all their American knowledge with an end of unit quiz!
- Customer cards
- State cards
- End of Unit Quiz
Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)
Download a free overview to support your teaching of this scheme of work.
Free Assessment Grid
Download a free, editable assessment grid to support your teaching of this scheme of work.
Curriculum Objectives covered
- KS2 - locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
- KS2 - understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America
- KS2 - describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
- KS2 - describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
- KS2 - use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
- KS2 - use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
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Really great lessons with some lovely ideas. Saved me so much time. Just what I was looking for.
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The Americas - Rising Stars Geography
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- Geography Ks2 Usa Six Week Unit
Geography KS2 – Take a six-week trip across the USA
PDF medium term plan; 1 x PowerPoint presentation; selection of worksheets
From sea to shining sea, the USA is a huge country in many ways. Our much younger cousin, just across the pond, presents an engaging and engrossing locale to apply a host of skills for geography KS2.
You can spend whole terms studying the USA (and I have).
The six lessons I outline below will guide students on a tour of the eastern seaboard of the United States, practising mapping skills and exploring the human geography of these locations.
So strap on your cowboy boots, fuel up your truck, and let’s hit the highway.
Geography KS2 curriculum
The national curriculum for geography in KS2 says that:
Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America.
This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features.
They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge .
Learning objectives
Throughout this six-week plan, children will learn to:
- Explore a location
- Understand what social geography is
- Understand how a country is governed
- Compare different locations
- Understand the features of a cultural region
- Compare climate data
Matthew Lane is a teacher from Norfolk. Follow him on Twitter @MrMJLane and see more of his work at theteachinglane.co.uk
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Road Trip USA!
Teach children about the United States, past and present, developing children’s knowledge of Native American culture, map reading, and the physical and human features of key locations in the United States.
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This project is part of the Cornerstones Curriculum which is available through an annual licence for Cwricwlwm Maestro.
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Road Trip USA
Our usa state treasure hunt.
- Engage phot treasure hunt.docx
Buckle up, sunglasses on - we're going on a road trip across the good old US of A!
Year 4 will be using their map skills to navigate around some of the most famous landmarks and plan a bespoke road trip.
They will meet the Iroquois tribe: Native Americans and learn about their amazing customs and traditions.
Year 4 designed and made a Native American Indian headress and dream catcher
- Year 4 watch me learn day may 2018 .docx
- Road trip usa web.docx
Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.
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USA KS2 Geography Unit - 10 Week Unit of Lessons, PPTs, Resources
Subject: Geography
Age range: 7-11
Resource type: Unit of work
Last updated
2 July 2020
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Fantastic and so generous! Ty :)
Amazing resources, thanks so much for sharing :)
Glad you liked it! There are lots of ideas on my website theteachinglane.co.uk
This looks great - thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you! There are lots of ideas on my website theteachinglane.co.uk
missiongeography
I have used this scheme since we opened Year 5, it is amazing work. Thank you so much!
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Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!
Pacific Coast
Border to Border
The Road to Nowhere
The Great River Road
Appalachian Trail
Atlantic Coast
The Great Northern
The Oregon Trail
The Loneliest Road
Southern Pacific
Oberlin to the Chalk Pyramids
Home / The Road to Nowhere / Kansas / Oberlin to the Chalk Pyramids
All across northwest Kansas, US-83 sweeps across beautiful rolling farmlands, paralleling railroad tracks and passing through low one-horse towns with towering feed elevators. Funky little Oberlin, (pop. 1725) about 12 mi (19.3 km) south of the Nebraska state line, is definitely worth a stop. It’s a picture-postcard town, with a Social Realist native limestone statue of a pioneering family marking its northern edge and a mini movie theater called the Sunflower Cinema (220 N. Penn Ave., 785/470-2200)—in honor of the Kansas state flower—playing Hollywood hits amid awning-covered storefronts along the two blocks of redbrick downtown streets.
The peace and quiet of today’s Oberlin is in stark contrast to its past: Oberlin was the site of the last Indian raid in Kansas on September 30, 1878, after a fierce skirmish had erupted between Chief Dull Knife’s Northern Cheyenne, heading to regain their lands in the Dakotas, and an infantry contingent from Fort Dodge at what is today Lake Scott State Park, near Scott City, 95 mi (153 km) to the south. The Oberlin cemetery contains a memorial to the 19 settlers who were killed in the Cheyenne attacks.
Oakley (pop. 2,108), south and west of I-70 and lined up along historic US-40, is an old big-time ranching and railroad town, featuring lots of utilitarian architecture, massive diesel engines, farm supply stores, and railroad tracks. The big event here, the Fick Fossil and History Museum (700 W. 3rd St., 785/671-4839, Mon.-Sat., free), just off US-83, features yet more unique exhibits: more than 10,000 fossilized shark teeth, a sod house, and some garish mosaics, including the Great Seal of the President of the United States, made entirely out of the aforementioned shark’s teeth. It was created by—who else?—Vi Fick. The local history and paleontology exhibits are quite good too.
The I-70 Business Loop (old US-40) offers the usual array of cafés and motels.
Chalk Pyramids/Monument Rocks
South of Oakley, the road bolts straight for over 20 mi (32 km), passing between an enormous sea of yellow flowers (in early summer) on one side and expanses of open range on the other. Later, the scenery peters out into a prickly, dry, faintly yellow rocky desolation that signals the fringes of the Smoky Hills region.
The prime topographical feature of the Smoky Hills is the surreal Chalk Pyramids, also known as Monument Rocks; they are referred to in the old WPA Guide to Kansas as the “Kansas Pyramids.” Whatever you call them, these highly eroded geological formations, which reach heights of 70 ft (21.3 m) above the plains, are composed of layers of ancient seabed from the Cretaceous period and were originally formed 80 million years ago. The impressive spires, karst-like formations, and shale cliffs farther on have yielded thousands of excellent fossils of sharks, shark teeth, fish, and reptiles. Although the pyramids are on private land, access is not restricted, but there are no facilities. To get there from Oakley, drive 20 mi (32 km) south on US-83, then east for 4 mi (6.4 km) on Jayhawk Road, around 3 mi (4.8 km) south on Gove 14, and another mile (1.6 km) east on Gove 16. From Scott City, drive 18 mi (29 km) north, turn east on Dakota Road, and zigzag east and north for around 9 mi (14.5 km). Don’t go in wet weather, however, or you’ll get stuck in the mud, and you could be there for some time.
You can get some good maps and directions at the friendly Keystone Gallery (620/872-2762), “conveniently located in the middle of nowhere,” midway between Oakley and Scott City along US-83; the gallery also has a display of fossils, and you can enjoy a sampling of local art and sculpture as well.
Related Travel Guides for the Road to Nowhere
- Barnes & Noble
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IMAGES
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COMMENTS
Road Trip USA Treasure Hunt. An 'engage' lesson on the USA that I used for my Year 4 class. I created information cards about 12 American cities, with maps to show where they were located. I then created passports for the pupils to go to each station around the playground and record the relevant information, which would feed into lesson 2 ...
Use this resource to create a great display to showcase children's work all about the USA and to help them to imagine that they're going on a road trip across the USA. Find out more about the USA using KS2 A Journey to America Focused Reading Skills Comprehension Pack. The above video may be from a third-party source.
Go on an American adventure with your class with this 'USA Road Trip' Topic Bundle! Containing four complete PlanBee schemes of work, this pack contains complete curriculum coverage for all your History, Geography, DT and Science teaching for your America cross-curricular topic. Each of the four schemes of work included in this KS2 USA Road ...
KS2 - use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world. Take your class on a road trip like no other as they discover USA Geography with this set of seven geography KS2 lessons aimed at Y3/4 by ...
Geography: Locational knowledge. Resource type. Student activity. Complete lesson. Travel America in the free Great American Road Trip sample unit from Rising Stars Geography for year 4. 7.87 MB. Download. Add to favourites. Facebook Twitter Pinterest.
KS2. Years 5-6. Geography. From sea to shining sea, the USA is a huge country in many ways. Our much younger cousin, just across the pond, presents an engaging and engrossing locale to apply a host of skills for geography KS2. You can spend whole terms studying the USA (and I have). The six lessons I outline below will guide students on a tour ...
Use the A Road Trip to America Banner to help children learn more about the different states in the USA and the aspects of human and physical geography in the USA. Use this resource to create a great display to showcase children's work all about the USA and to help them to imagine that they're going on a road trip across the USA. Find out more about the USA using the USA Information ...
Can you name all 50 states in the United States? Come join GoNoodle as we head on a road trip using the United States map and dance and sing along with Blaze...
Use the A Road Trip to America Banner to help children learn more about the different states in the USA and the aspects of human and physical geography in the USA. Use this resource to create a great display to showcase children's work all about the USA and to help them to imagine that they're going on a road trip across the USA. Find out more about the USA using the USA Information ...
Road Trip USA! Road Trip USA! Humanities. Year 4. Teach children about the United States, past and present, developing children's knowledge of Native American culture, map reading, and the physical and human features of key locations in the United States. Whats Included? 60. Lessons. 68.
Road Trip USA. Our USA state treasure hunt. Engage phot treasure hunt.docx ... Year 4 will be using their map skills to navigate around some of the most famous landmarks and plan a bespoke road trip. ... KS2; Nursery; Reception; Year 1; Year 2; Year 3; Year 4; Year 5; Year 6; Letters Home Archive: 2019 - 2020.
Road Trip Dot Game for 3rd-5th Grade. Explore more than 127 "Road Trip Usa" resources for teachers, parents and pupils as well as related resources on "Usa Landmarks". Instant access to inspirational lesson plans, schemes of work, assessment, interactive activities, resource packs, PowerPoints, teaching ideas at Twinkl!
Medium term plan Year 4: ROAD TRIP USA Autumn 1 3 Develop Phonics/ Word Focus information Discuss ideas about character's and events in groups and with an adult. begin justify using evidence from a point in the text. attempt create links between graphs. Critically
Develop KS2 pupils' reading skills using these great texts all about the USA. With three different levels of text, each accompanied by a range of comprehension questions featuring the Totally Pawsome Gang, these texts are perfect for use during your topic on the US. year 6 reading comprehension usa reading america usa reading comprehension ...
Buy Now. Your great American road trip awaits! Get the fully updated 25th Anniversary Edition of Road Trip USA for the glovebox or as a gift for your favorite armchair adventurer. Author Jamie Jensen's full-color guide includes over 125 driving maps and key sights along the eleven cross-country road trip routes featured on this site.
USA KS2 Geography Unit - 10 Week Unit of Lessons, PPTs, Resources. Subject: Geography. Age range: 7-11. Resource type: Unit of work. File previews. zip, 138.75 MB. This is a 10 Week (30 hour) unit on the Geography of the USA I built and taught to my Year 5 class. We started in New York and each week moved onto a different State or region of the ...
How can I teach children about the cities of the USA? Use these wonderful fact posters to teach your children about cities in the USA. Get the children to the cities they could visit, such as New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Orlando or Chicago. Show more. road trip usa america usa usa landmarks all about usa usa fact file.
From Scott City, drive 18 mi (29 km) north, turn east on Dakota Road, and zigzag east and north for around 9 mi (14.5 km). Don't go in wet weather, however, or you'll get stuck in the mud, and you could be there for some time. You can get some good maps and directions at the friendly Keystone Gallery (620/872-2762), "conveniently located ...
KS2 A Journey to America Focused Reading Skills Comprehension Pack. 5.0 (2 reviews) Cities to Visit in the USA - Fact Posters ... New York Information PowerPoint. 4.8 (9 reviews) KS2 North American Animals PowerPoint. 5.0 (5 reviews) A Road Trip to America Boarding Pass. 4.7 (3 reviews) New York City Landmarks Word Search. 5.0 (1 review) All ...
Use the A Road Trip to America Boarding Pass to help children learn more about the US physical and human geography. Get the children to the cities they could visit, such as New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Orlando or Chicago. Find out more about the USA using KS2 A Journey to America Focused Reading Skills Comprehension Pack.