Ryan Morris
Middle School (grades 6-8)
Geography
 
 

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this lesson is to excite students about the idea of learning the geography of their surroundings as well as the geography of other places in the world. This can best be accomplished through interactive learning and hands-on experience in the classroom setting.  Students must gain an interest in a subject before a true learning atmosphere can be obtained.  It is my job as an educator to place interest and knowledge of geography in the minds and hearts of the students.  The following is an outline of five ninety minute lesson plans for a junior high school class in an attempt to educate my students in a fascinating and hands-on environment.

CONNECTION TO THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
Numbers:
1. Knows and understands how to use maps, globes and other graphical tools to acquire, process and report information.
-this project will fulfill this standard as the students will use each of these during the lessons

2. Uses mental maps to give spacial perspective to the world.
-the students will have to use mental maps in order to answer test questions

4. Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places.
-the pen pal system will fulfill this standard

6. Knows and understands that culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and experiences.
-this should be fulfilled in the pen pal exercise as well

7. Knows and understands that physical processes shape patterns on the earth’s surface.
-this will be evident through the natural disaster project

9. Knows and understands the characteristics, distribution, and migrations of human populations.
-this standard will be fulfilled through the celebrities assignment

12. Knows and understands the process, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
-this will be fulfilled through several assignments--celebrities, pen pal, and hyperstudio

14. Knows and understands how the earth’s physical and human systems are connected and interact.
-this will be covered in the hyperstudio and perhaps by the pen pal assignment

17. Knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the past.
-hopefully all of the lessons will aid in the fulfillment of this standard

18. Knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the present and future.
-again, each of the lessons should help to fulfill this standard
 

APPLICABLE TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
The student uses maps, globes, graphs, charts, models, and databases to answer geographic questions.

The student understands how geographic factors influence the economic development, political relationships, and policies of societies.

The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development of places and regions.
 

OBJECTIVES LIST:
Students will demonstrate their ability:

1. To use maps and other graphic aids to analyze geographic information.

2. To complete a hyperstudio worksheet after discussing and applying geographic information.

3. To complete various projects and assignments based on geographic discussion and hands-on learning tools and activities.

4. To find information and analyze an Internet site.

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION:
Through this project, I hope to help inspire students to want to learn about geography.  In my lesson plans I will include activities that will open the minds of the students to new ideas and learning environments.  I will include both individual and group work in my lessons.  Individual work is necessary to help the students concentrate and focus without distraction.  However, group interaction proves to be very beneficial in the sharing and discussion of ideas.  Also, group work is often more fun to students because they are able to interact with peers on the same subject.  The lesson will include several projects, including a hyperstudio stack, a collage assignment, a natural disaster project, as well as work groups, guest speakers and examinations.
 

Day 1

Materials:
crossword puzzle worksheets (GREAT SITE FOR THIS IS http://www.mapping.com)
computers
pen pal information from cooperating school

1. Sponge Activity:
geography crossword (go to http://aol.com/histxword/exgeo.htm)

2. Opening:
explain pen pal system to class and Internet procedures to get started

3. Guided Practice
Have students choose out of a hat a name from a student of the prearranged school.  Then have them make a list of questions they can each ask their pen pal.  This should take at least twenty minutes. I will allow controlled discussion among students.  This will be an exciting assignment as the students will be able to communicate with students in the same situation as they are but with totally different perspectives.

4. Independent Practice:
For the remainder of the class the students will log on to the Internet and attempt to connect and send e-mail to his/her pen pal.  The questions submitted will be a combination of teacher generated and student generated queries so that their is some guided learning but also some freedom to let the students have fun with the project.

Day 2

Materials:
word search worksheets
magazines
computers

1. Sponge Activity
Geography word search

2. Opening:
Explain the collage activity to the class

3. Guided Practice:
Have the students work on a list of their favorite celebrities and come up with twenty.  Magazines, and the Internet will be available for the students to get a list of these celebrities from which they must choose.

4. Independent Practice:
Have students look on the Internet for the celebrities hometown.  The students will find out the geographic information about each celebrity’s town using maps, charts, and graphs using various sources.  A collage will be made over night from magazine cutouts along with a few geographic statistics from each town.  I will be provide guidance as to what sort of statistics the students should try to retain.

Day 3

Materials:
geography worksheet
computers
hyperstudio text books

1. Sponge Activity:
students will work on a prepared worksheet about world geography.  http://www.schoolexpress.com/

2. Opening:
I will introduce the idea of a hyperstudio stack to the class.  I will show some example stacks that have been created by other students as well as myself.

3. Guided Practice
 After discussing the worksheet, the class will complete a hyperstudio stack as an in-class exam--worksheet may be used as reference.
Then, I will teach the basics of making a hyperstudio of their own.

4. Independent Practice
Then the class will be allowed to create their own hyperstudio stacks using geographic animation, sounds, and graphics.  I will provide the sites to refer to for images, wav files, etc...  I will also provide a text book that teaches a hyperstudio system.

Day 4

Materials:
Puzzle worksheets
atlases
encyclopedias

1. Sponge Activity:
Puzzle of countries and continents to complete (puzzles will be provided)

2. Opening:
discuss the idea of group work and base groups with the class

3. Guided Practice:
I will lead a class discussion about the predominant geographic environment of the seven continents.

4. Independent Practice:
Students will be divided into base groups.  These seven groups will each be assigned a continent.  Each member of the base group will be numbered from 1 - 7.  They will discuss in groups geographic characteristics about the continent.  Then the groups will break up into seven
subgroups according to number and discuss the geography of the largest country of their base group’s continent.  Students will then return to base groups and teach what they have learned to that group.

5.Evaluation/Assessment/Feedback:
A report will be done by each group to show how much they learned.  The report will be done together as a unit, but all must participate and present a portion of the report.

Day 5

Materials:
weather and climate worksheets
computers
encyclopedias
atlases

1. Sponge Activity:
worksheet over weather and climate

2. Opening:
discuss the project that would be completed by groups over natural disasters (GREAT SITE FOR THIS IS http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Environment_and_Nature/Disasters/

3. Guided Practice:
students will visit Internet sites about natural disasters with supervision and suggestions from myself.

4. Independent Practice:
students will use encyclopedias and other sources to learn about these natural disasters.
groups will be formed and will choose one natural disaster to report on and to make a model of to be turned in one week from the day.

Extensions to other disciplines:

Science:

--describe the climate of the celebrities exercise hometowns and how each is affected by such
--describe how the natural disasters affect the animals of a region

Mathematics:

--use the statistics of the pen pal exercise questions and calculate the average rainfall in that region
--calculate the crude birth rate in the hometown of certain celebrities

Art:

--create models of the natural disasters
--draw pictures of the towns affected by these disasters

BILIOGRAPHY

Asia. 1997. http://www.schoolexpress.com/   (April 16. 1998)

Geography Quizzes. http://www.mapping.com (April 16, 1998)

Natural Disasters Page. 1994-98.
http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Environment_and_Nature/Disasters/. (April 16, 1998)

History Crosswords. http://aol.com/histxword/exgeo.htm (April 16, 1998)

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