Class: 7th Grade/Social Studies                               

Teacher:Lee Ann Erickson               Unit: Trade and Culture

Date: 11/01                                         Topic: Eastern Hemisphere Geography and Intro to Culture

Lesson Title:Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere and Intro to Culture

Content Objectives:

Students will be able to identify major geographic features of a region by interpreting a common atlas.

Students will be able to identify how geographical features affect land and water travel in a given region.

Literacy Objectives:

Students will draw and label a map with continents and countries in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Students will be able to discuss and write down, using their own words, how geography effects travel in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Materials/Resources needed:class set of laminated atlases, pencils or pens, color pencils, Smart Board, GoogleDocPresentation, computer, projector

Input: Students are already familiar with the Eastern Hemisphere as well as the continents, oceans and some countries in that region from the previous days’ lesson.

Note to self: Write on white board:

            Agenda items:                                    Objectives:

1.      Review Survey                         1. SWBAT identify major geographic features of a region

by interpreting a common atlas.

2.      Eastern Hemisphere                2.SWBAT identify how geographical features affect land

                                                                  and water travel in a given region.

3.      Exit Pass

4.      Homework: Reading packet Due Wednesday 11/02

 Welcome/Fill in Agendas and settle down.            

Good Afternoon how is everyone today? Please fill out your agenda and then get out a piece of paper and pencil.                                                                                         

 (3 min)

transition 2 min

Check for Understanding: You are taking a continents and ocean quiz which you have done before, except this time you will draw an atlas that includes all the continents and oceans, the four hemispheres, 10 countries, and 2 dividing lines that we went over yesterday. You have 3 minutes.

                                                                                                                                                (3 min)

Adaption

**IEP and ELL students will receive extra instruction for clarification and extra time if needed.

(12 min)

You are going to get into small groups now when you hear your name please remember who your group partners are and then I will show you where to move to. (2 minutes transition time)

Please pick one person from the group to come up and get a laminated copy of the world atlas.

Looking at the map and working as a team I want you to point to the feature or area I ask you to look at.

Yesterday you started learning about direction, what are the four hemispheres we talked about? North, South, East and West. What are the two lines that divide Earth? Prime Meridian and Equator. Which continents did we talk about? Africa, Oceania, Asia and Europe. Which countries did we talk about? Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, Malaysia, and India. As I call out a feature I want you and your group to locate it on the atlas and point to it. I will walk around and see that you are pointing to the correct region, once I see that you all have it we will move on to the next region.

(15 min)                                            

Thank you for your focus and good work on that activity, it looks like everyone is really beginning to know how to locate the countries we are focusing on.                    

SET: Everyone move your chairs to sit closer to the screen for a presentation.

Mini-lesson: Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere

(transition phrase) Everyone please refocus. Eyes on me...

What types of features makes up the geography of the world? Oceans, Rivers, Mountains, Hills, Deserts…

Let’s look at the continent of Africa. (checking for understanding, recalling knowledge) Which countries did we identify yesterday, that are in Africa? Ethiopia and Egypt. If you look at this map (display map on the Smart Board) of Africa. And then focus on where Egypt and Ethiopia are, what kind of geography do these countries have? Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Sahara Desert, Nile River and the Highlands of Ethiopia. 

What about this map helps to show you where these different geographical features are? What colors or textures or shapes? Brown=Desert, Green=Forest or it can indicate there is a lot of water or hills, blue lines=rivers, large areas of blue= large bodies of water (i.e. oceans, seas, lakes)

Let’s look at Asia. Which countries in Asia did we talk about yesterday? India, Malaysia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Looking at this map, which is similar in coloring to the one of Africa, what sort of geography does this continent have?  Mountains, Rivers, Deserts, Seas, Oceans

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        (10 min)

transition 2 min

Set: When you travel you have to think about the different ways you can travel to get there. Some of these regions we just talked would have to be crossed in very different ways.

Small Group Discussions introducing travel and geography:

Eyes on me please, we are going to do another group activity. One person please get out a piece of paper and a pencil or pen. Pick someone to be the scribe, or be the one to write your answers. Once you choose a scribe, write all of your names on that piece of paper and the period number.

This time you will work together to answer 3 questions. You will talk about each question as a group and the scribe will write down what you talk about. You can write down your answers in a couple different ways. I will read each questions and tell you when to move on to the next one. You can make a list of key words or write full sentences.

Questions:       1. How do different geographical regions affect travel?

                        2. How could where you live affect your culture?

 (10 min)

The reading assignment I gave you yesterday needs to be read by tomorrow. It’s only two and a half pages. If you want to read it together then by all means go ahead, form study groups, hang out, read it at lunch, read it with your parents or an older sibling, but I expect you to read it and be able to talk about it tomorrow.

Closure: Exit Pass: Group discussion paper.

Independent Practice: Reading Packet on Culture due 11/02

                                                                                                                                    Total 58 min

Daily Reflection: 

Today’s lesson was intended to build on the previous days lesson by beginning with a review of the everything we covered by drawing an atlas (something they had done several times with their teacher for previous lessons) and adding in the new elements that covered. The countries, directions and dividing lines. By doing this activity at the beginning of their class I wanted them to immediately start thinking about the position of the continents and I wanted to see where they were at as far as remembering their previous lesson. When I looked at them night I discovered there had been a lot of regression on their previous lesson and so I made the decision to go over the maps a little more thoroughly than originally planned.

The mapping activity where I had them find the different regions on the map as I walked around ended up taking three times longer than I intended; however, it was an extremely productive activity. The students were talking to each other and having great conversations about what they were looking at. Once I walked by to see that they had found what I wanted them to find they were looking at other things on the map which I thought was a great side effect to the activity.

The students seemed to enjoy the presentation I did on geographical features and again had productive side conversations about the regions and there were also some good questions about local regions and were they the same as the ones we were talking about. 

We also had small group discussions to begin thinking about the idea of traveling across these regions and what you would have to do. For the most part when I looked over what they had written, most of the groups had come up with some of the more basic answers which is what I intended. That particular exercise was to see what they were thinking about when it came to geographical regions they had never seen before but perhaps had some conception about what they were.

This lesson originally had a third activity, but I am beginning to see that the lessons are taking quite a bit longer than my original estimations had thought.  I’m willing at this point to continue to push activities to the next day as long as I continue to see productive conversations and work. I believe that it is a good use of their time and helps them better understand the material when they are allowed to speculate on meaning of some of the information.

In my second day leading the class the students are still responding well to my transition phrase and we are moving along with the activities well and there have been very minimal complaints about the homework. I’m anxious to see them begin to put the puzzle pieces together, by the end of the week I think I’ll have a better idea that all these concepts, vocabulary and locations are beginning to come together.