Cardinal Direction with Dash: 2nd grade

Cardinal Direction With Dash

Lesson Plan for 2nd Grade, Social Science

Prepared by Mrs. Yandell

OVERVIEW & PURPOSE

Students will learn the importance of cardinal direction, and explore means of navigation in the classroom by coding Dash to move N,S,E, & W.   

EDUCATION STANDARDS

1. SS:G:2.1 The student will identify and locate his/her city, county, state, nation, and continent on a simple map or a globe.
2. SS:G:2.6 The students will use legends, map keys, cardinal directions,intermediate directions, compass rose, and letter/number grids to determine locations on different types of maps.
3. SS:CH:2.1 The students will be able to locate Chattanooga on a US and Tennessee state map.
4. 21 Century Communication
5. 21 Century Collaboration skills
6. CSTA Computer Science Standards/ ISTE Standards

OBJECTIVES

1. Students will be able to identify and locate his/her city, state, nation, continent on a map.
2. Students will be able to identify cardinal directions when looking at a map of the United States
3. Students will be able to identify and determine the cardinal directions of different states from their home state Tennessee
4. Students will be able to work as a team, by communicating and collaborating efficiently to code their robot to maneuver the room.  
5. Students will use a magnetic compass to determine cardinal directions in their classroom.

   MATERIALS NEEDED

   1. 5 Ipads
   2. Cardinal Direction Posters
   3. Dash smart robots

   VERIFICATION

   Steps to check for student understanding
   1. Can your group successfully identify Chattanooga, TN on a map?
   2. Can your group successfully determine the cardinal points on a map when asked to locate and give cardinal direction for a given state from the start point Tennessee?
   3. Can your group successfully code a program for your smart robot?
   4. Can your group successfully identify cardinal points on a map and apply the cardinal direction in the classroom?

   ACTIVITY

   In this activity, we will review Cardinal Direction and the importance of using a Compass Rose. We will then separate into small group of 3 to 4 students, and have each group use a compass to determine the cardinal points in the classroom.  We will place posters with cardinal points around the classroom on the floor, and then place a poster that reads Tennessee in the very middle of the classroom.  
   The students will be asked if they have ever taken a family trip before?  Then on a big screen, we will look at a google map of the United States and point out where Chattanooga, TN is on the map.  As a class, I will ask them to give me the cardinal direction of a given state in approximation to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
   Next, the class will be introduced to our smart robots, and the apps that will be used for this lesson.  Students will be introduced to the GO app, which is age appropriate for PreK and up!  
   The activity:  Each group will be given an iPad and a smart robot, and will be asked to sync their robot to their iPad (app).  The students will be told that our classroom is Tennessee, where they will start their journey.  Each group will be given a different state, and will be asked to identify on the projected map what cardinal direction they must move from Tennessee to arrive at their destination.  Each group will start in the middle of the room  on the Tennessee poster, and program their robot to venture through the room to their groups desired cardinal point.  Each group member will have a turn! When they want a little more of a challenge, they will have to attach the bulldozer attachment, and drive a ball as they venture to their cardinal point.  
   
   
   

Recap written by Mrs. Yandell:

In second grade, students are learning about the compass rose and cardinal direction.  Their STEAM lesson was full of excitement!  I introduced our Dash and Dot smart robots to the classrooms during this lesson, which was called Cardinal Direction with Dash.  To start the lesson, we reviewed the cardinal points of a compass and discussed cardinal direction using google maps.  Then I introduced the Go app to the students, and split them into groups of four. Using a compass on the iPads, each group found one cardinal point in the classroom and tapped a poster on the floor each for N, S, E, & W.  For this lesson, students were to take their robot on vacation to a different state.  I projected an image of North American from google maps on the wall. The students were told the center of the room was Tennessee, and they were to find the cardinal direction from Tennessee to a specific state that I gave them.  Then they were to program their robot to travel to the cardinal point in the room that signified the cardinal direction from Tennessee to their robot would vacation.  

This was a great opportunity for teamwork and collaboration, because each group worked together to figure out which direction their vacation state was from Tennessee using google maps, and then apply that information in the classroom.  The lesson was awesome; however, next time, we may use cities in Tennessee as the vacation destinations instead of other states since the second graders are learning about our city and state!