by Laurence W. Carstensen, Robert W. Morrill, and Joseph D. Enedy of the Virginia Geographic Alliance
Made possible by grants from the Virginia Geographic Alliance, the Virginia Department of Education, and
the National Geographic Society.
LESSON PLANS
by Anne M. Evans (formerly of Henrico County Pubic Schools and now Coordinator of Social Studies K-12,
Charlottesville City Schools), Donna L. Fontaine (Isle of Wight County Schools),
Camille F. Hodges (Fairfax County Public Schools), Al Lovelace (Williamsburg-James City County Schools), and
John C. Sammons (Chesapeake City Public Schools).
The following lesson plans were developed by teachers who are members of the Virginia Geographic Alliance. They coordinate with the Atlas of Virginia and are keyed to SOLs. Each provides a clear set of objectives, teacher background information, a list of needed materials, an outline of procedures, and suggsted means for assessment. They are available here for download as pdfs.
PART 1: VIRGINIA in the WORLD
Learning about the Geography of Virginia Using the Five Themes (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 2 a, b, c, d)
Introduction to Maps (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 2 a, b, c, d)
PART 2. LANDFORMS and REGIONS of VIRGINIA
Learning About Landform Regions of Virginia (Grade 4; SOL references: VS 1 i, VS 2 b, c)
Five Landform Regions of Virginia (Grade 4; SOL references: VS 1 i, VS 2 b, c)
Five Regions Flip Book (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 2 a, b, c, d)
Learning About Virginia’s Regions (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 2 a,b, c, d)
Let’s Get Physical (Grade 4; SOL references: VS 1 i, VS 2 a, b, c)
Virginia Has Its Faults, Too: A Lesson on Earthquakes in Virginia (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1b, d, i)
PART 3. CLIMATE in VIRGINIA
Reading and Interpreting Climate Maps (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1 i)Water,
Water, Water Everywhere: Virginia’s Annual Precipitation (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1 b, i)
Hurricanes in Virginia (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1b, d, i)
Virginia’s Weather Patterns: Understanding Tornadoes (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1 b,d, i)
PART 4. HISTORY of VIRGINIA
All Aboard for Jamestown (Grade 4; SOL References: VS 1 b, d, f, h, I; VS 2 c; VS 3 f)
The Route to the New World or A Trip from England to Jamestown (Grades 4- 6; SOL references: VS 1 b, d, f, h, i)
The Colonization of Virginia (Grades 4-6; SOL references: VS 1 b, d, i and VS 2 c)
How Big Was Virginia? (Grades 4-5; SOL references: VS 1 c, VS 3 c)
Moving West (Grade 4; SOL References: VS 1 b, d, h, i; VS 2 c; VS 4 b)
Virginia’s New Capital (Grade 4; SOL References: VS 1 b, d, e, f, g, h, i; VS 4 c)
Virginia’s Economic Geography(Grade 4; SOL References: VS.1 b, c, d, e, f, h, i, and VS.10 c)
PART 5: POPULATION of VIRGINIA
Virginia’s Growth (Grade 4; SOL References: VS 1 b, c, d, e, f, h, i; VS 2 c; VS 9 a
