|
|
|
|
Content Area: Social Studies
Index: 6.6E Grade 12 CPI 3
Standard: 6.6 - Geography
Strand: E - Environment and Society
Cumulative Progress Indicator: 3 - The student will analyze examples of changes in the physical environment that have altered the capacity of the environment to support human activity, including pollution, salinization, deforestation, species extinction, population growth, and natural disasters.
Grade: 12
Sample Activities:
· One group of students researches the various types of natural environmental change occurring throughout history. Another group investigates the effects of various human activities on the planet. For example, this second group investigates the origin of the Sahara desert in the wasteful farming practices of ancient civilizations or the denudation of farm-land in Mexico caused by the introduction of sheep into that country by the Conquistadors. (There are many such investigations that the students will find interesting.) Ask the library media specialist to review atlas- and map-reading skills with the class and discuss strategies for finding information in the library media center and elsewhere in the school and community.
· Use a watershed (source of water for a river) to investigate the many processes that shape a place or region. For example, students use state highway maps, atlases, and Internet sources to outline a rough map of the Delaware River watershed, including the appropriate parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Next, they compare their map to physical, population, and transportation maps to gain an overview of the region. They prepare retrieval charts to summarize the data and use these charts to develop more elaborate pie and bar charts and line graphs to display these data and to do comparisons.
· Create a simulated conference for students. Announce that the Delaware River watershed has been selected to be part of the National Estuary Program and that a “Delaware Watershed Regional Planning Conference” will be held in the near future. Inform the students that they will be participants in the conference and will be asked to present their findings and recommendations. Students work in small groups, representing the various states and organizations with-in the watershed or different areas of investigation (e.g., population, economics). They present the results of their investigations at the mock conference. (Note: The Delaware Estuary is part of the National Estuary Program. In 1997 Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania joined together to host three conferences focusing on implementing a management plan to preserve and enhance the quality of life within the estuary.)
Inspiration Templates:
|
|
