The Southeast

We started our learning about the Southeast Region in Social Studies. On the first day, we took the states and capitals pretest. That latest two minutes, then we used our time to identify the states and capitals of the Southeast. Students brought home a copy with the answers and a copy they can use to practice from.

The second day of this unit, Ms. Leom introduced the SE Questions. We went through the first page together.

First, Ms. Leom has us organize our work space so we can be successful. All of our materials are neatly stacked on the name tag. Our SE Information Packet and SE Questions are placed side by side in front of us. We write our names in the top right corners. We label the packets, "SE Info" and "SE Questions" in the left hand corner, so we are all using the same terms.

SE Info Packet

Next, we read take a "pretest". Ms. Leom reads all the question in the boxes, and we mark a "T" for true or a "F" for false in the "before" column. These are not graded. Ms. Leom wants us to think about what we are learning and see what we know.

Then, we reread all the questions, and we highlight the key words in the questions. These are the "bigger" words or important words. Although "Southeast" and "Region" are more specific words, we do not highlight these words, because the whole packet is about this topic. Ms. Leom is helping our brains focus on the information we need to know.

highlighting the key words on the SE Questions

Now, we are ready to read and learn. We begin reading the information packet, one paragraph at a time. We are using our reading strategies we are learning about in class; such as, asking questions, visualizing, determining important information, making inferences ...

When we find one of the answers, related to the key words we highlighted in the question, we read carefully. We reread the question and reread the text. We answer carefully and neatly. When we answer the open ended questions, we underline or highlight the key words in the question. We use these phrases to reword the questions in our answers. Then we add the answers from the text.

We use these steps for the entire front page together. We will work independently and with partners in class. Ms. Leom expects we should finish near two pages by the end of class (front and back). Ms. Sherri and our high school helper, Jon, are sitting with students in class, offering support. Ms. Leom starts class work time by walking around, giving reminders and feedback. The last five minutes of class, she pulled two students to her table to offer more support. A third student was invited, and there was room for more students. As she worked at her table, she continued to monitor the class. Someone was moved to the purple table to help avoid distractions. Students will have at least one more full day to complete the last two pages (they work faster independently and in pairs than in the whole group, when they are on track) and part of a third day if needed.

SE Questions - answers for the first page

The expectations are clearly provided for the class. A reasonable amount of class time is available. Students who need more support are able to receive the help they need. All students have the access to being successful.

Ms. Leom is assess these packets when students finish. Students are welcome to make corrections and return to LEARN and improve their scores. Students should keep these packets in their Social Studies' folder. They will be able to use this information on their Southeast Test.

We study the five regions of the United States. This is our second region. Students are getting into the groove of this learning.