Part of the Florida Geographic Alliance's collection of lesson plans.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

HEATHER R. WOOD

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Geographic Themes

Landforms

Overview

Students will begin with a warm-up card game reviewing the major landforms and definitions. The students will look at examples of these landforms from around the world. Next, the students will pair up to create three landforms on cardboard squares using goop (salt dough). Finally the students will present their landforms to the class and the teacher will read aloud a short story involving landforms.

Materials

• warm-up card game with land forms and definitions *see procedure*
• cardboard squares 5" X 5" (one square per pair of students)
• paper towels
• Goop (salt dough) *see procedure* either pre-colored or use markers and paint
• flip chart with types of landforms or pull down wall chart with landforms and definitions.
• short story about physical features.

Goals

• (2) Locate and describe geographic features and political divisions of the major regions of the world.
• (2.04) identify the major physical features on each continent

• (A-4) explain the relationships between location, climate, topography, and other interactions in physical geography (concepts of physical geography)

Objectives

By the end of the lesson the student will be able to:

• review common landforms and definitions
• recognize types of landforms throughout the world
• create a model of three landforms using goop
• work cooperatively with others

Procedure

1. Initiating Activity - Warm-up Card Game

   Each student will receive an index card with a landform name on the front and a different definition on the back. All the students will stand in a circle. The student with the first card reads the definition. The person with the matching landform calls it out. That person then reads the definition on their card. This proceeds until all students have given their definition. The last definition should go on the back of the beginning person's landform.

   This works well as a review tool. The teacher must make sure that the students' answers are correct.

2. Strategies - Examples and Goop

   The teacher will review landforms and definitions with the students using a flip book. The book has examples of the landforms from around the world.

   Students will form pairs with guidance from the teacher (usually the students they are sitting beside). Each pair will receive a piece of cardboard, three landforms to create (written on a sheet of paper), paper towels, and pre-bagged goop. Goop Recipe

   Ingredients

   • 2 cups table salt and 2/3 cup water (mix)
   • 1 cup cornstarch and 2/3 cup water (mix)

   Instructions

   Stir the salt mixture in saucepan until it is well heated (3 or 4 minutes). Remove from the heat and add cornstarch mixture. STIR QUICKLY. If it does not thicken, return to low heat and stir until thick. It is hard to stir, but undercooking it leaves it sticky and too gooey! It should be soft, pliable mass that can be kept in a jar or baggie. It does not need refrigeration.

   This can be used to make 3-D models, as it dries hard. It can be colored with markers or tempra paint. Food coloring can be added while mixing to create pre-colored goop.

   After handing out the materials, ask for questions, show an example of the finished product, and begin. Watch and guide the students as they work. They are usually very interested in this activity and will work with few problems. If the goop gets in the carpet, allow it to dry and then sweep it away.

3. Culminating Activity - Presentation and Story

   Allow groups to clean up as they finish. Hands will need to be washed, either in bathroom or a handy spray bottle. Keep leftover goop in a baggie as it can last a year or two. Have each pair present their landforms to the class, explaining what they are and why they them like such.

   After presentations, the teacher will read a short involving physical features.

Evaluation

Completion of landform creation and presentation to the class. Landform definitions will be on eventual physical geography test.

National Geography Standards

4: Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of place.

Resource List

Baerwald, Thomas J. and Celeste Fraser. World Geography Needham, Massachusetts: Prentice Hall, 1993.

Carlson, Laurie. Kids Create! Charlotte, Vermont: Williamson Publishing Co., 1990.

de Blij, H.J. and Peter Mueller. Physical Geography of the Global Environment. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1993.

Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts. 7th ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1994.

Easterbrook, Donald J. Surface Processes and Landforms. New york: MacMilan Publishing Company, 1993.

Waugh, David. The Wider World. United Kingdom: Nelson, 1994.

Landforms and Definitions

altitude (elevation): the height above sea level

archipelago: a group of many islands

basin: an area of land largely enclosed by higher land.

bay: part of a body of salt water that reaches into the land; usually smaller than a gulf

branch (tributary): a river or stream that flows into a larger river or stream

canal: a man-made waterway connecting two bodies of water and is designed to shorten travel time or irrigate

canyon: narrow valley with steep sides; usually created by erosion

cape: a curved or hooked piece of land extending into a body of water

channel: a narrow deep waterway connecting two larger bodies of water; the deepest part of the waterway.

climate: the pattern of weather conditions (temperature, precipitation) over a long period of time

cliff: a high, steep slope of rock or soil

coast: land along the sea or ocean

continent: one of the seven largest bodies of land on earth

continental shelf: plateau of land surface into the ocean but underwater

current: the flow of a stream of water

dam: a wall built across a stream or river to hold back water

delta: land built up by deposits of sand and silt at the mouth of some rivers

desert: dry, barren region usually sandy and without trees, little rainfall or practical use of land unless irrigated

divide: the highest ridge of land separating river basins

downstream: the direction of a river's flow; toward the mouth of the river

fault: a fracture in the rocks along which there has been movement

fjord: a narrow inlet of the sea between high banks or cliffs created by glaciers

forest: a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; extensive wooded area

fork: the place where a stream or tributary joins a river

glacier: a large body of slow moving ice which alters the land around it through displacement

gulf: part of a sea or ocean that reaches into land; usually larger than a bay

harbor: a sheltered area of water where ships may anchor safely

hemisphere: half of the earth usually referred to as eastern or western; northern or southern

highland: an area of hills, plateaus, and mountains

hill: a raised part of the earth's surface with sloping sides; old mountain which because of erosion has become rounder and shorter

iceberg: a large mass of floating ice that has broken off from a glacier, most of this is underwater

inlet: a small part of a body of water that reaches into a coast

island: an area of land completely surrounded by water

isthmus: narrow strip of land with water on both sides connecting two larger pieces of land

lake: a large body of water surrounded by land

latitude: imaginary lines on a globe or map used to measure distance from the equator; parallel lines running east and west

longitude: imaginary lines on a globe or map used to measure distance from the Prime Meridian; lines running from pole to pole

lowland: an area of low and usually level land

mesa: a land formation having a relatively flat top and steep rock walls

mountain: high, rocky land, usually with steep sides and a pointed or rounded top, higher than a hill

mountain range: a long chain of mountains; a row of connected mountains

mouth (of a river): place where a river empties into a larger body of water; the end of a river

oasis: a fertile place in the desert where there is water and some vegetation

ocean: largest body of salt water; these cover 3/4 of the earth's surface

peninsula: piece of land that extends into a body of water and is surrounded on three sides by water

plain: a broad, flat or gently rolling area; usually low in elevation

plateau: flat highland area with one steep face; elevated plain

port: man-made place along the coastline where ships can load and unload cargo; not a natural harbor

prairie: a large plains region with tall grass

rapids: a part of a river, generally shallow, where the currents move swiftly over rocks

reef: a ridge of rock or sand at or near the surface of the water

reservoir: a lake where water is collected and stored for future use

river: a large stream of water flowing through the land into a lake, ocean, or other body of water

sea: a large body of water, usually salt water, partly or completely surrounded by land

sound: a wide channel connecting two bodies of water or an inlet between the mainland and islands

source (of a river): the place where a river or stream begins

strait: a narrow waterway connecting two larger bodies of water

swamp: an area of land that is always soaked with water; low, wet land that supports grass and trees

tide: the regular rising and falling of the water of the oceans and waters connected to the ocean

upstream: the direction toward a river's source; opposite to the rivers' flow

valley: low land between hills or mountains

volcano: a cone shaped mountain formed out of rock or ash thrown up from inside the earth, frequently with an opening or depression at the top

waterfall: place where running water makes a sheer drop, usually over a cliff

Part of the Florida Geographic Alliance's collection of lesson plans.