A First Grades View of Nevada
Nevada and Her Symbols

MICHELLE REDING
FIRST GRADE
ROBERT MITCHELL

Portfolio Cover Sheet

Michelle Reding
A First Grades View of Nevada
Nevada and Her Symbols

Nevada State Standards
H1.1.3 -Listen to histories of important local landmarks that create a sense of community among citizens.
            C13.1.5-Name a traditional U.S. patriotic activity, holiday, or symbol.
            3.1.1-Identify characters, setting, and sequence in stories.
            3.1.3-Listen to and read stories from different cultures and eras.
6.1.6-Edit, with teacher assistance, for correct word usage.
7.1.6-Print legibly using left to right, top to bottom directionality and correct spacing between letters and words.
1.1.8-Recognize the shape of Nevada.
            G5.2.6-Identify geographic information using simple lists, graphs, and maps.
7.1.4-Capitalize names, months, days of the week, and words at the beginning of sentences.
8.1.4-Follow simple oral directions to complete a task.
            C15.1.1-Identify sources of information.
            2.1.4-Retell details of text.
6.1.2-Organize and sequence ideas, with teacher assistance, through activities such as drawing and discussing.
6.1.5-Edit, with teacher assistance, for correct word usage.
6.1.7-Read and share writing with others.
9.1.2-Speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Background
This coming year, aside from my internship, will be my first year in first grade. The new standards for first grade have little to work with when you have history in mind. None actually, it starts at second grade. I did, however, have some social studies standards to work with when I chose to focus on our state and it’s symbols.

There are several symbols to work with for our state. My hope is to help my first graders not only become aware of, but also to get an understanding of those symbols. Our flag was adopted in March of ’29 and the emblem has our state flower on it. The star represents the mineral wealth of Nevada and Battle Born represents the fact that Nevada became a state during the Civil War. The name Nevada is a Spanish word for snowcapped and its song is, Home Means Nevada.

Nevada’s capital, of course, is Carson City. It was the crossroads for miners and pioneers and became a trading post. Our state animal and bird are not specifically desert animals but have managed to thrive in such a climate. Nevada is home to the Hoover Dam, which in turn created Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in the country.

Great people came from Nevada, Sarah Winnemucca, Velma Johnston, and Dat-So-La-Lee to name a few. People from Nevada are called Nevadans and the state is the 7th largest in the United States. First grade will be fun when these young Nevadans will learn some great things about there home.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Activity 1: Picture Book: S is for Silver
Learning Goal: As a class, students will listen and participate during story time, helping to create an information poster that can be later used as a resource. Students will focus on one symbol or item from the story to create a story flag.

Activity 2: Internet/Technology: Power Point Presentation:
Learning Goal: As a class, students will interact with power point to reveal information about the different images found on the presentation. This is done as an informal assessment to see students’ retention of detail information.

Activity 3: Student Project: Nevada Symbol Memory Game
Learning Goal: in small Groups, students will use graphic organizers, images, and writing techniques to create their own memory game.

Activity 4: Foldable: Nevada Map
Learning Goal: Students will identify and create their own maps of Nevada using geographical information. These maps, along with other work, will then be used to create a presentation foldable.

Activity 5: Art/Writing Piece: Nevada State License Plate
Learning Goal: Students will identify and recall certain names of symbols for Nevada, writing details about that symbol and creating their own license plate.

Activity 6: Primary Source: Photo Story
Learning Goal: As a group, and using previous work as a resource, students will gather information about two Nevada symbols. Students will add narration of details to images of different Nevada icons for a photo story class presentation.

FIRST GRADE
PICTURE BOOK ACTIVITY

Objective

• Students will listen and interact appropriately during story telling.
• Students will discuss and choose one item from story to write and draw in Nevada flag worksheet.

Standards

H1.1.3 -Listen to histories of important local landmarks that create a sense of community among citizens.
            C13.1.5-Name a traditional U.S. patriotic activity, holiday, or symbol.
            3.1.1-Identify characters, setting, and sequence in stories.
            3.1.3-Listen to and read stories from different cultures and eras.

Materials

• Book, S is for Silver: A Nevada Alphabet, by Eleanor Coerr
• Oversized lined paper/ marker
• Nevada flag handout: http://members.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/nevada/
• Pencil/ crayons

Focus Activity

            Read story to class. Book is done in simple rhymes. While reading, stop and discuss detailed facts about some of the alphabetical characters.

• Animal: the desert bighorn sheep

  The official state animal.
  Can be found in southern Nevada.
  Can survive without water long periods of time.

• Mountain Bluebird:

  Nevada’s state bird.
  They eat seeds, berries, fruit, and insects.
  They build a cup-shaped nest.

• Carson City:

  Our capitol city.
  The name came from the Carson river, which was named after Kit Carson.
  John Fremont and Carson drew the first map of Nevada together.
  Carson City’s oldest tree is over 200 years old.

After story is complete, using oversized paper teacher will write down facts students recall from story and discussion.

Guided Practice

            Each student will get a Nevada flag handout. On that handout students will choose one character from story, using chart paper as a guide, and draw and/or write that character in the flag. They then get to color the flag and character.

Informal Assessment

            Teacher will use handout and rubric to guide in the assessment of students understanding.

Informal Storybook Rubric

Activity 2: Internet/Technology
Power Point Presentation

Learning Goal: As a class, students will interact with power point to reveal information about the different images found on the presentation. This is done as an informal assessment to see students’ retention of detail information.

Click here to download the presentation.

FIRST GRADE
NEVADA SYMBOL MEMORY GAME

Objective

• Students will use graphic organizer to discuss different symbols of Nevada.
• Students will match up Nevada symbols with the symbols details.

Standards
C13.1.5-Name a traditional U.S. patriotic activity, holiday, or symbol.
6.1.6-Edit, with teacher assistance, for correct word usage.
7.1.6-Print legibly using left to right, top to bottom directionality and correct spacing between letters and words.

Materials

• Graphic organizer handout.
• Previous work created in class to be used as a resource for students.
• Pencils
• Student’s work in progress foldables.
• NV symbol images
• Suggested: Teacher can laminate cards so they will last longer.

Focus Activity
After a brief review of what was learned in previous lessons, students will each get a graphic organizer handout that will be filled out during class discussion. Teacher will write on board different symbols and information pertaining to those symbols as students relay that information to him/her. With guidance from teacher, students will fill in that information on their graphic organizer. Students will have a chance to edit their information after they check their work with teacher.
Guided Practice

In their group, students will get cards in which they will be able to write down the detailed information of their chosen symbols.

For example, for the Mountain Bluebird, students can write: They eat seeds, fruit, berries, and insects. They are Nevada’s state bird.

Once they have these cards, they are in the final draft stage of writing their information. They will be copying the information from their organizer to the cards. These cards will later become half of their cards for the game.
At a later time, after the teacher has assembled state symbols according to which ones were chosen by the students, students will be able to match up name and image of their symbol with the details that they previously created. Each group will have their own memory card game.

Home Means Nevada

FIRST GRADE
NEVADA FOLDABLE MAP

Objectives

• Students will identify the different elements in a simple map of Nevada.
• Students will make their own maps.

Standards

            1.1.8-Recognize the shape of Nevada.
            G5.2.6-Identify geographic information using simple lists, graphs, and maps.
7.1.4-Capitalize names, months, days of the week, and words at the beginning of sentences.
8.1.4-Follow simple oral directions to complete a task.

Resources

• www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/nevada/

Materials

• Map Template of Nevada on oversized paper
• Map template foldable worksheet
• Pencil/marker
• Crayons

Focus Activity
Every map has a key. The key tells us what the symbols on the map means. As a class, work with students to create a key for the map of Nevada. Then start to fill in the different elements of the map. Rivers, mountains, Nat’l Park, boundary, water, State Capital, city, and desert. Map will come to life as it is completed.

Guided Practice
Students will get their own map of Nevada to fill in. They will have the key made for then but they must fill in their own elements on the map. Take them step-by-step through the process of creating their own map.

When the map is complete, students will be able to put the map on the cover of their foldables poster. The inside will have their graphic organizers and drawings of the Nevada state symbols. They will later be able to use this as a reference for other projects.

Assessment
Teacher will use rubric for guidance in grading. Students will learn expectations from teacher’s verbal instructions.

NEVADA MAP RUBRIC

45-51    O
39-44    O-
33-38    S
27-32    S-
    -26    I

ART
NEVADA STATE LICENSE PLATE

Objectives

• Students will identify and recall certain attributes of Nevada.
• Students will create their own Nevada license plates using a state symbol.

Standards

C13.1.5-Name a traditional U.S. symbol.        
7.1.6-Print legibly using left to right, top to bottom directionality and correct spacing between letters and words.
8.1.4-Follow simple oral directions to complete a task.

Materials

• License template
• Pencil/marker
• Crayons
• Glitter glue

Focus Activity
Talk about what “special” symbols Nevada has. Write student ideas on the board. Show students the templates and explain that they are going to make their own license plates. Show the area in which they will write their choice, from the earlier ideas on the board, on the template.

They will then write three things they learned about their chosen term on a quarter length of paper, which they will later glue to the back of the plate.

Guided Practice
Students will create their own personal Nevada license plate using one of the terms learned in the primary source activity. They will color the plate and use glitter glue to give the plate sheen like the real thing.

Students will write their choice on their plates in pencil. Remind students that they must print with their best writing. Once they have their word on the license plate, and a teacher has checked it, they can trace their word(s) in marker. When that is complete, students can color their license plates, and then students will spread glitter glue over the entire plate. Once dry, the glue will be clear and the template is left with a sheen on top. After the template has dried, students will cut, with teacher assistance if needed, the template out, leaving each student with their own personal license plates.

Assessment
Teacher will use rubric for guidance in grading. Students will learn expectations from teacher’s verbal instructions.

LICENSE PLATE RUBRIC

45-51    O
39-44    O-
33-38    S
27-32    S-
    -26    I

 

FIRST GRADE
PHOTO STORY

Objective

• Students will add narration to a slide of images of different Nevada symbols.
• Students will use their foldables, an accumulation of previous lessons on Nevada symbols, to derive information for the photo story.

Standards

C13.1.3-Participate in class decision-making,
C15.1.1-Identify sources of information.
2.1.4-Retell details of text.
6.1.2-Organize and sequence ideas, with teacher assistance, through activities such as drawing and discussing.
6.1.5-Edit, with teacher assistance, for correct word usage.
6.1.7-Read and share writing with others.
9.1.2-Speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Materials

• Graphic organizer handout. www.enchantedlearning.com
• Students completed foldables.
• Photo Story program/microphone.
• NV symbols chosen by students. http://firstlady.state.nv.us/NevadaSymbols.htm

Focus Activity

Students will take out their foldables on Nevada symbols and discuss in their groups, with teacher assistance, which two symbols they would like to narrate about. Once each group has chosen their symbols they will write down, as a group, simple facts about their symbols, using their graphic organizer handout. Each symbol will have it’s own handout. Teacher will work with students to edit their information for understanding. The information in the handout will be used as a guide for narrating their symbols in the photo story.

Guided Practice

Calling up one group at a time, they will get to read off their facts about the chosen symbols. Students will get one bubble to read from from each of their graphic organizers. When completed, photo story can be used as a presentation for school function and/or for parents. Suggested enhancement, the Home Means Nevada song can be added as background music. Students, in collaboration with music teacher, could sing the song.

Informal Assessment

Teacher will check for understanding about symbols while guiding students during the editing process and final narrations using rubric as a guide.

Photo Story Rubric