Introduction
In 1984 the National Council on Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers came together and created the five themes of geography. This was a way to organize the way geography was taught in the k-12 setting. These five themes included Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, and Region.(Rosenberg)
These five themes allow geography to be taught in pieces so it is easier to understand. Location is where geography usually begins. When we talk about location, it is usually referred to as an absolute location or a relative location. If we are talking about an absolute location, we are talking about longitude and latitude. A relative location is one that can be described in detail to its atmosphere and its linking to other places.(Rosenberg)
A Place is described by two certain characteristics. The human and physical aspects of a place describe its features of things like mountains, waterways, animal, plant life, cultural features, architecture, religion, sustenance, transportation and communications. A place isn’t just somewhere in the world, it is somewhere that holds life and interaction.(Rosenberg)
When we talk about Human and Environment Interaction we are talking about the way that humans live in their environments. We look at the positive and negative aspects of human modifications and its repercussions on the land. This can be developments in the land, littering and landscaping. How are human interactions impacting our world? That is one of the questions that should start critical thinking in this area.(Rosenberg)
What is Movement? Movement in the geographical sense is what drives us. There are patterns around the world that humans have taken called migration patterns. These patterns show us how early peoples moved and came to inhabit the earth in different places at different times. It can also be used as a topic to talk about the things that humans come to find valuable in trends. Trending items can be ideas, goods, and fads. These things move to and fro across the globe and impact human existence and shape our realities.(Rosenberg)
Region is the last piece of the theme. Regions break our world up into more manageable areas. We break those areas into three categories called, formal, vernacular or functional regions. Formal regions refer to cities, states, countries, and counties for example. Our functional regions are what we refer to as the area around a major city for example. However, a vernacular region is what we call regions in relation to their Cardinal direction such as The Middle East, the South, or the Midwest.(Rosenberg)
These aspects of geography allow us a look into world in a different way. It also opens the doors for further understanding into the order of the world and its conflicts and triumphs. There is much to be discovered and much to be revealed when all social studies subjects are taught in harmony with one another.
Task
- 1. The Cradle of Civilization: Students will be given vocabulary pyramids, maps, a textbook and a KWHLAQ chart. We will begin with an introduction in about the lesson. Students will be given their materials. They will first fill out the KWHLAQ chart after the introduction. We will briefly discuss at they already know about the topic and then watch a video, The Fertile Crescent: Cradle of Civilization (Monagan). http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-fertile-crescent-cradle-…
After this video the class will have a few moments to fill out their KWHLAQ chart if need be and then we will discuss the video and what was written on their chart. Students will then be asked to remove their maps and they will highlight with different colors to signify the Fertile Crescent and its surroundings. These will be color coded and labeled for their convenience.
Students will then continue to a lecture and reading from the textbook. We will use the Map and our color codes to help us relate what we are seeing and hearing during the lecture, video and the readings. We will detect areas of inhabitation, the ability for humans to cultivate and grow and beginning migration patterns. Students will record vocabulary words on their vocab pyramids as we go. Further work on the pyramids will be homework.
- Egpyt- We were here first: In this lesson students will focus on the first civilizations. Students will be given a timeline of the first civilizations and be asked to get out their vocab pyramids and maps from the day before. Students will choose new colors to use on their maps and give to each civilization on their timeline (http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/10772/2012/02/02/ancient-civilizations-tim…) to be represented on the map.
Students will learn in this lesson the importance of history and how it shows us where we came from and how we got to where we are now. Students will watch several videos in accordance with the civilizations on their timelines (http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history). Between each video will be a short lecture, filling out the map, question and answer, text reading, and filling out of the KWHLAQ chart.
Students will learn the importance of each civilization and their contributions to our modern world and if there is time, how it eventually led into our modern conveniences.
- Microeconomics/Macroeconomics: Students will learn about the finer side of economics and what it means for them. They will discover how supply and demand, income distribution, Gross National Product, Inflation, the role of government and unemployment will affect their worlds.
Students will watch several videos on micro/macroeconomics from http://www.investopedia.com/video/play/macro-versus-microeconomics/
Students will be given a project to do. Students will be placed into groups and given a company to run (i.e. industrialized categories; Food service, manufacturing, supply chains, government, and the discouraged workers). They will also receive a questionnaire about what they feel the outcome is going to be and how they feel and view the way things are now. Each will be given a task that will affect the pother. Example; the government group will pass a law on the food service industry that will directly affect the manufactures and then affect the supply chains and so on. They will also be thrown curve balls with the increase in inflation and how that affects each group and the how it affects the discouraged worker. At the end of the project students will fill out a questionnaire and asked to reflect on their previous answers and re-answer based on the outcome of the project. The groups will then write an essay collectively discussing the before and after questionnaire. Each group will then present their before and after outcomes to the others in the class.
After all presentations are made a class discussion will ensue.
Evaluation
Formal evaluations will be given throughout the lessons. However, at the end of each lesson a summative lesson will be given. In task one, a test will be given over the material and will include multiple choice and essay questions. Task two, will also be given a similar test but will be over the maps and vocab words. Students will be given a map with a timeline. They will have to correctly identify each civilizations branch off from the Fertile Crescent and write a one paragraph explanation of the civilization and why it was important. Task three; the summative evaluation will be their final presentations over micro/macroeconomics. They will be asked a series of questions during their presentations that they will have to collectively answer as a group to earn their grade.
Conclusion
In conclusion, students will have learned the value of geographical locations and their importance on our world. They will also have learned how the evolution from the beginnings of civilization to migratory patterns and eventually to our modern era with how economics affect those regions and how they even work in the first place.
Credits
Monagan, E. (n.d.). The fertile crescent: The cradle of civlization. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-fertile-crescent-cradle-…
Rosenberg, M. (n.d.). The five themes of geography. Retrieved from http://gegraphy.about.com/od/teachgeography/a/5themes.htm