Cooperative Lesson Plan
on Indus Valley Geography and Civilization - An
ancient civilization that owes many of its achievements to its
geographic location. |
Created
by Ramon Lopez
Location: Paul Robeson H.S.
District: 73
Grade: 9th grade
Subject: Global History and Geography class
If you have any questions regarding
this activity, please contact Ramon at: Cedeiras1@aol.com |
Objective:
Students
will be able to:
- Read
and critically analyze maps and geographical features
- Identify
the geographic features of the Indus Valley.
- Locate
and identify the major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization
on a map
- Create
a detailed map of the Indus Valley.
Materials:
- blank
sheets of paper
- coloring
pens or markers
- overhead
projector
- transparencies
and transparency markers
- Any high school World History book
which includes a section or chapter on the Indus Valley civilization
(make sure that the textbook or other source used includes a map,
and geographical description of the Indus Valley)
- physical
map of India
Research:
- To
prepare for the presentations, the groups must research the subject
first, using the textbook.
- They
may also use the map of India displayed on the bulletin board,
and/or a map of Asia.
- To
ensure participation by all group members, each one must perform
a specific task. The group may decide what each member will do
(if they cannot agree on this, the teacher can assign each member
a task).
- The
tasks to be assigned are:
- Finding research material
about the geography of India from the maps in the book and on
the bulletin board
- Finding research material
about the sites of the Indus Valley Civilization in the textbook
- Identifying physical features
and sites on the map
- Drawing the map for the
presentation
- Preparing notes for the
group's presentations.
- Each
member of the group will produce a map of their own using the
information gathered by all the members on a blank sheet of paper.
- The
group will then produce a single map on a transparency sheet to
use for their presentation (Draw your map on a sheet of paper
before you put it on the transparency).
- All
work will be collected and graded.
Cooperative Group
Activity (45 Minutes.)
- Divide the class into groups of
4-5 students.
- Introduce the activity to class
and hand out instructions, read instructions and answer any questions
the students may have.
- Hand out coloring pens and paper
to each group.
- Each group will produce a map of
India, showing the major geographical features of the Indus Valley,
and the main cities of its ancient civilization.
Procedure:
Group presentations:
(20 - 25 Minutes.)
Each group will have 5 minutes of class time to present their map
and the findings of their research.
- They
will present their map on a transparency to the rest of the class.
- Each
group will produce a map of India, showing the major geographical
features and the most important sites of the Indus Valley Civilization.
- Each
group will have 5 minutes to present their finished maps to the
rest of the class.
- It
is the responsibility of the other groups to pay close attention
to the presentation and to grade the presentation based on the
following guidelines:
- Does the map show the major
geographical features of the Indus Valley?
- Does the map show the major
sites of the Indus Valley Civilization?
- Is the map attractive and
easy to read?
- Was the presentation well
organized?
- Take
notes on these questions on a separate sheet of paper as the different
groups present their maps.
Rubric:
- With
the other members of the group, come up with a grade for each
group in the class, with the exception of your own group. The
grade must be based on a scale of 0-4, with 4 being the highest
score.
- Explain
the grade you have assigned each group. Example: If a group's
presentation has only touched on 3 of the specified guidelines
they should receive a score of 3, along with an explanation of
why they assigned that score.
Discussion and
Assessments:
- Ask how geographic location affected
the rise of civilization in the Indus Valley.
- Ask which geographic features
affected the rise of Egyptian and Sumerian Civilization.
- Ask students to describe 2 ways
in which geography affected the life of people in the Indus Valley.
Have these responses listed on the blackboard.
- Groups will evaluate each other's
presentations based on the rubric provided (the previously mentioned
0-4 grading system).
- Ask students to write down 3 things
they have learned about the Indus Valley, and one question they
have on the back of their individual maps.
- Collect maps and transparencies
as well as group assessment forms.
Teacher Notes:
I was very pleased
with the outcome; every student stayed on task and did their assignment.
I even received praise from my principal who walked in on the lesson.
I found cooperative groups an effective strategy to keep students
engaged. Any textbook
on world history can be used with this lesson as long as it covers
the ancient civilizations of the Indus valley.
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