Dover Sherborn Middle School Curriculum Road Maps

 

 

Course Title:     World Geography                                          Grade:  7th Grade

 

Unit:  Prepare to Travel

 

Month Presented:  Sept./Oct.                                       Unit Length:  8 Weeks

 

Essential Questions:

·        Why study the geography and cultures of regions that are very different and far away from our own?

·        What are the skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the world?

·        What are the Five Fundamental Themes of Geography and how do they provide the perspectives, information, concepts and skills which help us understand ourselves, our relationship to the earth, and our interdependence with other people of the world?

·        What are Earth’s basic physical systems, and how do they affect human ways of life?

 

Learning Objectives:

  • Recognize the role that movement of people, products and ideas from other cultures has played in the development of our own culture.
  • Analyze statistics to make generalizations about the world community and one’s relationship to that community.
  • Give examples of how perceptions and cultural differences can cause misunderstanding and judgment rather than curiosity and openness.
  • Brainstorm rules for an open-minded classroom where students listen and speak skillfully, respecting human differences.
  • Conclude that five basic components of a developed country are: transportation, education, economy, technology, and health/housing (T.E.E.T.H.).
  • Identify the Five Fundamental Themes of Geographic Education as: Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, and Regions.
  • Recognize the ways in which the Five Fundamental Themes of Geography Education provide the perspectives, information, concepts and skills for understanding ourselves, our relationship to the earth, and our interdependence with other people of the world.
  • Explain how internal and external forces create and change landforms
  • Identify the main factors that influence climate, and explain how climate affects vegetation and human culture.
  • Give examples of the relationship between physical geography and human geography (settlement patterns, natural resources, land use)

 

Skills:

  • Writing generalizations
  • Brainstorming/problem-solving in a group
  • Thinking globally, practicing openmindedness
  • Researching, summarizing and presenting information (orally and in writing)

 

Instructional Strategies and  Activities:

  • 5 Themes magazine assignment
  • “Learning with Style” activity on multiple intelligences
  •  “Creating a Comfortable Classroom” activity
  • Climate poster project

 

Materials Utilized:

·        Textbook: World Geography

·        National Geographic Video: “The 5 Themes of Geography”

·        Many other ancillary resources

 

Assessment Strategies:

·        Daily homework, writing assignments, poster project, group work, oral

 participation, quizzes, tests