What Affects the Way People Live

What in Our World Affects the Way People Live
(U.S.A. and the World)
Francine Lum
6th Grade
June 2000

Overall Purpose:

1. Students will acquire information from various maps and data banks of the U.S.A. and then analyze the data to determine what physical characteristics affect the way people live in the U.S.A. (Sept.-Dec.)

2. Using the U.S.A. as a model, students will then choose a particular country and go through the same process to determine what physical characteristics affect the way people live in that country. Finally, students will compare/contrast the different countries. (Jan.-Jun.)

Overall Focus Question:

How does a country's physical characteristics affect the way people live (looking at population, economy, technology, literacy rate, etc.)

Geographic Standards - The geographically informed person knows & understands:

how to make & use maps to acquire, process, and report info.

how to analyze spatial organization of people, places, and environment

physical and human characteristics of places

characteristics, distribution, and migration of populations

patterns & networks of economic interdependence

how physical systems affect human systems

Hawaii Standards:

1. World in Spatial Terms

2. Places & Regions

4. Human Systems

5. Environment & Society

Benchmarks:

1. Interpret & construct geographic representations to explain human & physical distributions & patterns.

2. Use physical & human characteristics to compare & analyze major world regions and countries.

4. Analyze how demographic patterns (popln.), econmonic activites, territoriality, and urbanization affect places.

5. Analyze distribution of natural resources, variations of physical systems, natural hazards, and positive - negative environmental impacts in different parts of the world.

PART 1 (Standard #1)

Focus Question:

How do maps help me to analyze spatial distributions and patterns?

Hawaii Standard #1 (World in Spatial Terms)

Student Objectives -- The students will be able to:

1. use color-coded regional maps to determine patterns of land use in U.S. and relate these patterns to physical phenomena like climate

2. analyze distribution maps to discover phenomena that are related to distribution of people

Geographic Skill/Thinking Skills

1. acquiring info.

use variety of research skills to locate & collect geographic data on U.S. (physical features, climate & rainfall, land use, economic activity, population, literacy rate, role of technology)

know how to find & choose appropriate sources of info.

use maps to collect & compile info.

2. analyzing info.

interpret info. obtained from maps, aerial photos, satellite - produced maps, and GIS to come up with generalizations about how the different regions in the U.S. affect the way people live

find similarities, differences, and trends among regions

make written summaries about the geographic info.

Extentions:

All lessons can be used with units on IMMIGRATION & WORLD CULTURES

Materials needed:

1. U.S. Maps Poster (10 types )

2. individual maps (10 types )

3. U.S. Popln. Data poster

4. atlases

5. Night Lights Poster & indiv. copies

6. colored pencils

7. maps of North America

8. Hawaii population density map & other HI maps (precipitation,elevation, rivers, farnland, highways)

Vocabulary:

region, physical features, climate, rainfall, agriculture, arable, industry, manufactured, economic activity (import/export), popln. density, literacy, technology (modernized, developing, 3rd world country)

Procedure:

"Making Connections Between Maps" (10 U.S. Maps lesson)

"Where There's Light, There Are People" (Night Lights Map lesson)

Assessment:

1. observe students (Can they use maps correctly? Are they using maps to analyze the data?)

2. ask students questions

3. read students' answers to questions

4. look at students' maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.

RUBRIC

PART 2 (STANDARD #2)

Focus Question:

How do physical processes, human groups, and technology shape or alter places?

Hawaii Standard #2 (Places & Regions)

Student Objectives --The student will be able to:

1. analyze the physical characteristics of places

2. analyze the human characteristics of places

3. identify & analyze how technoogy shapes physical & human charcteristics of places

4. give examples of different regions in the U.S.A.

5. suggest criteria that identify the central focus of a region (formal, functional, perceptual regions)

6. describe relationships between physical & human characteristics of a region (ex:sunny, warm climate and its popularity with retired people)

7. determine if there is a correlation between physical characteristics of a region and population density, economic activity, and literacy rates.

Geog. Skills/Thinking Skills

1. looking at maps & other resources to identify & compare:

physical characteristics pf places (physical features, climate, rainfall, land use, economic activity)

human charcteristics of places (population, land use, use of technology & levels of development -- manufactoring & trade vs. subsistence farming)

2. analyze effects of different types of technology on places

3. assess how variations in technology & perspectives affect human modification of landscape over time & from place to place (ex: tree clearing, change of agri. land to home lands)

4. explain how isolated communities have been changed by tech. (ex: new highways, computers, satellite dishes)

Materials needed:

1. (same as Part 1)

Vocabulary:

formal, functional, and perceptual regions

correlation

Procedure:

(same as Part 1)

Assessment:

(same as above)

PART 3 (STANDARD #4)

Focus Question:

Why is there spatial variations in population distribution and spatial patterns of economic activity?

Hawaii Standard #4 ( Human Systems)

Student Objectives -- The student will be able to:

1. analyze the population characteristics of places to explain population patterns.

2. use population statistics to create a popln. pyramid and then suggest reasons for popln. patterns evident on maps.

3. identify & explain how physical & other barriers can impede the flow of people and cite examples of ways in which people have overcome such barriers (ex: Appalachian & Rocky Mtns.).

4. define & map economic activities:

primary (ex: coal mining, wheat growing, salmon fishing, etc.),

secondary (ex: manufactoring & production, equipment, textile, etc.)

tertiary (ex: restaurants, homes, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, etc.)

5. use data to map major U.S. imports & exports in a given year; on a world map, map locations of countries trading with U.S. to identify trading patterns & suggest reasons for patterns.

6. analyze the economic & social impacts on a community when a large factory or other economic activity leaves and mose to another place.

7. discuss major industries in the U.S. from the perspective of how geography and the factors of production helped determine the locations of manufacturing plants (ex: those producing steel, aircraft, autos, food products, etc.).

Geog. Skills/ Thinking Skills

1. acquire info. to make maps

2. display info. on a map or diagram

create population pyramid

create import/export map for U.S. and other world countries

create economic activities map

3. analyze info.

explain popln. patterns

explain how physical barriers can be a factor

identify trading patterns & suggest reasons for them

analyze economic & social impacts on a community

4. apply info.

using what has been learned

Materials needed:

1. world map templates, import/export charts

2. U.S. map template

3. almanac (for import/export info.)

4. colored pencils

5. population pyramid template

6. modified pyramid data table

7. U.S. vs. Nigeria population pyramids on transparency

8. Overhead Projector

Vocabulary:

1. distribution

2. interdependence

3. primary, secondary, tertiary economic activities

4. migration

5. import & export

Procedure:

"What Shape is Your Population In?" (Population Pyramid lesson)

(A country's import & export map diagrams lesson)

Assessment:

1. observe students

2. look at population pyramids

3. look at import & export maps

4. look at economic activities map

5. ask students questions

RUBRIC

PART 4 (STANDARD #5)

Focus Question:

How does characteristics of physical environments (places) provide opportunities for and place constraints on human activities?

Hawaii Standard #5 (Environment & Society)

Student Objectives -- The student will be able to:

1. explain how characteristics of different physical environments affect human activities

Geog. Skills/Thinking Skills:

1. collect info.

gather info. about ways in which people adapt to living in different physical environments

2. analyze info.

write summaries about how the physical environment affects life in a particular region

give examples of ways people take aspects of environment into account when deciding on location for human activities

compare popln. distribution maps with environmental quality maps and describe the association between population density and environmental quality

3. applying info.

use data to support alternative locations for a new _______________

identify populations at risk for specific natural hazards (ex: floodvulnerable houses)

Materials needed:

1. U.S. Maps Poster (10 types)

2. individual maps (10 types)

3. U.S. Popln. Data Poster

4. atlases

5. Night Lights Poster & indiv. copies

6. colored pencils

7. U.S. Environmental Quality Map

Vocabulary:

1. formal, functional, and perceptual regions

2. correlation

Procedure:

(same as PART 1)

Assessment:

(same as PART 1)

Appendix:

class handouts & worksheets

samples of student work

References or Resources:

Teacher's Handbook -- Geography Awareness Week 1998 (National Geographic Society)

1998 U.S. Population Data Sheet (Population Reference Bureau)

Nystrom World Atlas

Reflections:

An HGA graduate introduced the "10 U.S. Maps" lesson to my students

Population Pyramid lesson -- also get current data from an Almanac (may need to change worksheet)

In addition to world map import & export diagrams, if % are used, make a bar graph to display data.