Lesson 1
Instructional Objectives
In this lesson, the students will be able to locate, identify and recreate all of the major physical land formations occurring in nature and synthesize them into a fictitious continent of their own creation.
Advanced Preparation/Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills/Illustrative Materials
The students will need a copy of the Land Formations Graphic Organizer, colored pencils and white drawing paper. The first step in this unit is for the students to have an understanding of the many physical land forms. The teacher can guide them through an anticipatory set which focuses the students on prior knowledge. A good beginning may be to have the students share some of the beautiful places they have visited in the past. For examples: The Grand Canyon, The Islands of Hawaii, The Sierra Mountains. Use the Land Formations Graphic Organizer as a tool for the students to keep track of their findings and help them to begin drawing the more basic land formations. Keep the drawing simple. See Student Work Samples.
Time Required
Two to Three Class Periods
Vocabulary
This entire lesson is essentially a vocabulary lesson. See Land Formations Graphic Organizer
Assessment/Evaluation
The unit builds upon each lesson toward the successful completion of the "Continent Project." It is important that all students complete this lesson successfully. You could collect and check for accuracy and completion, or check the student groups as you monitor their progress. The students will need these activity sheets as they will use them for reference while working on their continent projects.
Procedures/Activities
This portion of the unit requires students to search for the land formations listed in the graphic organizer, draw their outline in the box provided, color the land one color and the water blue, and define the formation in the space to the right of the box. In the anticipatory set, you should already be showing the students how to outline and color some of the formations discussed in class. Students will then search for more of the formations using the web resources listed for the lesson. If internet access is not available, students use an encyclopedia, dictionary, classroom atlas, or the text book. I prefer to keep this portion of the unit in the classroom where I can monitor student progress and adjust instruction for special needs. In fact, I encourage the students to work in collaborative search teams to assemble the information.
Individual Practice/Homework
Once the students have completed the Land Formations Graphic Organizer and feel comfortable with the outlining procedure, it is time for them to synthesize their"pieces" into a body of land, their own continent. It is important for the teacher to model this on the board or preferable an overhead projector. Begin with outline or shoreline pieces. For example, draw a peninsula, then continue curving and make a bay. An island placed close to shore creates an ocean strait. Some shoreline will simply be random curves. After the outline is done, students should fill in interior formations such as rivers and mountains. (Students need to be reminded that water flows from mountains to ocean). Students will be using paint program such as Printshop. If you do not have access to paint program, students should make a rough draft on scratch paper before drawing on clean white drawing paper. All formations should be labeled. The students should be encouraged to name formations after their friends and family. They will have fun inventing such places as Jessica Bay or Mount Justin. (Some students will want to shape their continents to look like cars or Mickey Mouse etc. They should be discouraged from leaving the integrity of the project.
Web Resources for Lesson 1
Landforms and Definitions This site gives verbal descriptions of all land formations.
Standard Grade Geography This site provides enrichment exercises for students wanting more information.
Extensions
I challenge students to find a land formation not listed in the graphic organizer. You might even want to leave one or two of the easier ones out of the graphic organizer when you make the photocopies.
PDF Files
• In order to access the worksheets and answer keys included in this site, you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have it, you may download it for free at the link to the right.
