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2002 AUTHENTIC PEDAGOGY: GEOGRAPHY & READING
LESSON INDEX
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CLIMATE SURVIVAL
Students will use an understanding of how different climate regions influence the way people live in those regions.
GRADE LEVEL: 8-12 |
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- WHERE IS XINJINAG?
- As China becomes a global partner it will become more apparent to have knowledge of different regions of China. Xinjiang as part of the silk route has always been important to China as a link to other nations. Today it is increasing its importance as natural resources are discovered (most recently oil). Learn about this region and culture of China through a mapping exercise and fictional story of a young Uyghur (one of 56 recognized minority cultures in China) women.
- GRADE LEVELS: 9-12
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RAFA, RAFA
This simulation game, followed by discussion and student written discourse, introduces students to simple cultural universals that can become barriers to communication.
GRADE LEVEL: 5-12 |
- PREHISTORIC CULTURES OF MN: PALEOINDIAN HUNTER
- Using prior knowledge of the Woolly Mammoth students will hypothesize what life was like for the Paleoindians and write a story about a day in the life of a Paleoindian hunter.
- GRADE LEVELS: 6
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THE THREE GORGES DAM
The Three Gorges Dam Project is designed to be quite a large unit on the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River in China. This unit could encompass such issues as resource depletion and conservation, national economic planning and forced migration, to name a few. It is designed as a simulation that can be set up for students who already know a fair amount about the dam controversy or for students who know next to nothing about the issue. I have constructed this set of lessons for the latter audience.
LESSON 1 ; LESSON 2; LESSON 3; LESSON 4; LESSON 5
GRADE LEVEL: 6-8
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UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM
In this lesson, students will gain an understanding of how elevation affects the flow of water. They will discuss issues that can arise when residents and industries upstream pollute or irrigate a river, in opposition to those downstream. In a group role play, they will examine the opposing viewpoints and formulate proposals to solve a dispute through a poster and presentation. Finally, they will compose letters to the editor, identifying problems and suggesting solutions.
GRADE LEVELS: 7-8 |
- A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON SUSTAINABILITY
- This lesson will introduce students to the important geography concept of sustainability by looking at the Roseau River floods of 2002 to discuss the impact of humans on the environment.
- GRADE LEVELS: 9-12
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- MIGRATION; PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
- This unit covers the Great Migration of African-Americans from the South to northern cities from 1916 to approximately 1950, through the lens of push factors and pull factors for migration. It uses source documents (letters written to a Chicago newspaper), the Migration Series of paintings by Jacob Lawrence, and historical census data to illustrate the concepts involved. The unit culminates with an opportunity for students to illustrate these migration concepts in their own lives through an art activity, and then do some writing to compare their own experience to the Great Migration.
- GRADE LEVELS: MIDDLE SCHOOL
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- CONDITIONS IN AND CONNECTIONS TO INDONESIA
- SES students participate in Geography Day at the Minnesota Zoo by creating displays and activitities which explain to elementary and middle school student visitors how geography affects the animals and plants on the Tropics Trail, who are mostly from Indonesia. Students research an animal and its habitat, the conditions of that habitat and how its connections to the rest of the world are affecting that habitat GRADE LEVEL:11
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REGIONS of the UNITED STATES This lesson asks students to observe geographic patterns in the United States and to hypothesize about why these patterns might exist. GRADE LEVELS: 6-8 |
- SUSTAINABILITY AND THE STILLWATER BRIDGE
- This lesson is designed to apply the idea of sustainability to a current problem occurring in the hometown of my students.My hope is that students will look at the many sides of this issue with the specific idea of sustainability in mind and will come up with their own proposals to the city council. Students will write up a proposed solution to the Bridge issue that takes into account sustainability.
- GRADE LEVELS: 7-8
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- DO YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO LIVE ON THE LAKE?
- A power point presentation on the concepts of landuse and sustainability, using Lake Minnetonka as an example.
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- Reaching Across Borders in Southern Africa
- This unit uses the National Geographic magazine article, “Without Borders: Uniting Africa’s Wildlife Reserves,” to explore some of the difficulties presented by the borders established by European colonizers, as well as some current efforts by people in southern Africa to bridge those difficulties. It continues with the class establishing a correspondence with a Peace Corps volunteer in the field in Africa. The option of bringing in a guest speaker relating to the southern Africa region is also suggested. The unit concludes with a short summary paper which can be used as an evaluation.
- GRADE LEVELS: Middle or High School
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ABSOLUTE & RELATIVE LOCATION
Students complete an activity that requires them to use relative and absolute location.
GRADE LEVEL(S): 4 - 8 |
MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH MAPS
This lesson involves creating, interpreting and presenting choropleth maps. This an an authentic task in that this is how geographers can use data to show spatial relationships to answer and raise questions in the real world.
GRADE LEVEL(S): 6-12
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GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH AMERICA
Overview: This lesson focuses on map decoding skills. My students read a book about South America by Mark Plotkin called Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, but have little context of the geography. The lesson asks students to use the map to answer a variety of questions. The questions focus on both map reading skills and South American geography.
GRADE LEVEL(S): 9-12 |
- USING AND UNDERSTANDING LEGENDS ON MAPS
- This legends activity introduces students to the concept of symbols, legends, and how to use them on maps. Ultimately, they will have the opportunity to create their own symbols to represent various locations and land use on the school grounds.
- GRADE LEVELS: 6-8
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- SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD WALKING TOUR
- The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to look at a neighborhood and see what connects us and what divides us.
- GRADE LEVELS:7-8
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- FINAL ASSESSMENT ON HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA
- After studying the pandemic of HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa, the students will be asked to research further to prepare themselves for their final assessment. They will be given the choice of participating in a role-play, mock interview, newscast, writing an informative or persuasive speech, or a paper on the issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
- GRADE LEVELS:7-12
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- WHY ALL MAPS LIE
- Students will learn the fundamental advantages/disadvantages of both maps and globes. They will discover that maps may distort size, shape, distance and direction. They will learn advantages and applications of 5 types of map projections and the 3 main types of maps (physical, political, thematic). Students will also learn how maps present information through points, lines, graduated symbols, etc. and how cartographers make choices to send a message. They will take part in an activity in which they play the role of a cartographer working for a newspaper or magazine publisher and make decisions about how to design a map for a news article.
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- From Classroom to Community: "How Well Do We Know Rochester?"
- This series of lessons is intended to offer ESOL students the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the community in which they live. Students will be challenged in the four skill areas of ESL (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a study of geographic themes. Questions such as: “Where is Rochester located?” “What physical and human features can be used to describe this Minnesota city?” and, “What kinds of people live in the community?” will be analyzed.
GRADE LEVELS: ESOL students, Grades 7-12
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- SUBURBANIZATION: YESTERDAY AND TODAY
- In this lesson, students will compare physical and cultural landscapes of the Twin Cities between 1990-2000. Using census data, aerial photos, and land use maps, they will discover and analyze the changes that have occurred in the region as a result of increased suburbanization. They will take a close look at their own neighborhood and compare it to the metropolitan region as a whole, and they will consider the reasons why people choose to live in certain areas. They will compare recent suburbanization to post-WWII suburbanization, attempting to identify similarities and differences. Finally, they will recommend possible alternatives to increased suburbanization in the metro area.
- GRADE LEVELS: 7-9
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| Two Worlds Meet: A Unit On Chrisopher Columbus |
- The State of the Nation in 1790: Making a Report to President Washington
- This lesson uses a Historic Census Data Browser site and other web sites to help students gain an understanding of some of the challenges the U.S. faced at its birth. Students are asked to compose a report on the state of the nation in 1790, addressed to President George Washington, which includes a narrative, maps, and graphs.
- GRADE LEVELS: Middle or High School
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- GEOGRAPHY AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
- This unit will examine the role geography may have played in the events of a Revolutionary War campaign.
- GRADE LEVEL: 8-12
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- MY LIFE AS A SOCIAL SCIENTIST
- Students will learn about different areas of social studies and tell classmates about what social scientists do.
- GRADE LEVELS: 6-8
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- WHERE DO YOU SHOP?
- This lesson intends to help students understand the concept of shopping hierarchy by showing them a model of shopping patterns.
- GRADE LEVELS: 8-12
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- WORKIN' AT THE CAR WASH
- As we study Asia, Africa and Latin America we seek people in particular need and help them by donating the proceeds of a car wash conducted near the end of the school year.
- GRADE LEVELS: 8-12
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- MYSTERY CLASS
- This is a web-based project that allows students to use their physical and cultural geography skills to determine the identities of ten actual towns and cities around the globe.
- GRADE LEVELS: This contest is available, by grade level, to all grades and especially useful to geography.
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