Unit Plan and Curriculum Map. Unit 2: Latin America. 7 week unit: September 15-
‐November 30. BPS 7th Grade Social Studies-Geography. SY 2013 - 2014 ...
Unit Plan and Curriculum Map Unit 2: Latin America 7 week unit: September 15-‐November 30 BPS 7th Grade Social Studies-Geography SY 2013 - 2014
Introduction to Latin America Unit: In the Latin America unit, students explore cities, migration and urbanization in the Mexico City chapter. In each of the other three chapters, students explore the interplay between man and the environment. At the same time, students should learn the basics of Latin American geography. They should walk away knowing major geographical understandings like: 1. the Andes Mountains dominates the western coast of South America; 2. the Amazon Rainforest impacts life in a major area of Brazil; and 3. most areas in Central America, the Caribbean and South America are warm, because they are located near the equator (such understandings can generally be achieved through mapping work and review). They should also be able to locate major countries like Brazil, Mexico or Argentina on a map and physical features like the Andes Mountains or Amazon Rainforest. However, it is not necessary to get bogged down in geographic details like the location of the Isthmus of Panama or the rural vs. urban breakdown of Latin America; stick to the key geographic understandings that students should remember long-‐term. It is important to continue to review the key understandings from Unit 1 as you progress through the Latin America unit. However, unlike in Unit 1, students should get very accustomed to reading and analyzing the text in this unit. In chapters 9, 12, and 13, the text can be heavily relied upon, and students should be completing reading notes on a regular basis. In Chapter 11 on hurricanes, there are many opportunities to bring in video to engage students and illustrate key concepts; the text for this one chapter is more supplementary and does not need to be relied upon heavily.
CURRICULUM MAP: WORLD GEOGRAPHY Unit 2: LATIN AMERICA1 Key Understandings/Key Concepts:
September 30 – November 15
By the conclusion of the first unit, all students need to be able to: 1. Explain key differences between rural and urban areas. 2. Provide a detailed explanation of how rural decline leads to urbanization. 3. Explain the benefits and challenges that result from urbanization. 4. Contrast between the extremely different conditions present in wealthy neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods due to spatial inequality in Mexico City. Key Understandings from Highly Encouraged Unit of Study: 5. Diagram and explain the three key parts of a hurricane (eye, eye wall, and rainbands). 6. Diagram and distinguish the four stages of a hurricane (tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm and tropical cyclone). 7. Explain how a hurricane strengthens and weakens. 8. Analyze and describe the impact of one major hurricane (i.e. Katrina, Sandy, the Hurricane of 1938) on communities in the United States. 9. Analyze the impact of sustainable development and provide examples (rubber tapping, strip logging, etc.). 10. Compare and contrast the varying viewpoints of the six major rainforest groups described in the text (natives, rubber tappers, environmentalists, loggers, cattle ranchers, and settlers). 11. Analyze and assess the positive and negative attributes of each rainforest group. 12. Create a clear claim and include supportive evidence and reasoning in analyzing the credibility and impact of the cattle ranchers in the rainforest (Document-‐Based Question). 13. Compare and contrast the tierra caliente, tierra templada, tierra fria, and tierra helada altitude zones in the Andes Mountains. 14. Explain critical adaptations that have been made to allow peoples to live at each altitude zone in the Andes environment (i.e. terrace farming in tierra fria, vertical trade at all levels, the construction of certain types of housing at each level, etc.). 15. Describe how the physical environment changes as elevation increases (i.e. thinner air, colder air, less vegetation) and explain why each key change occurs. Mapping: 16. Locate major physical features on a map (i.e. mountains, plains, rivers). 17. Describe the characteristics of major climate zones (tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, highlands) and vegetation zones (broadleaf evergreen rainforest, tropical grassland, highlands) relevant to Latin America. 18. Identify low, medium and high population density areas on a map and describe what each area would be like to live in. 19. Explain major ways in which people make a living in Latin America (forestry, mining of precious metals). 20. Identify key countries and specific physical features on a map including at least the following (assessed through a quick quiz focused entirely on mapping):
1 Contributed by A. Rollins, teacher at Eliot School, SY 2012-‐2013
Countries: Mexico Colombia Uruguay Physical Features: Amazon River Pacific Ocean
Argentina Ecuador Venezuela
Bolivia Paraguay
Brazil Peru
Andes Mountains Gulf of Mexico
Cape Horn
Atlantic Ocean
Common Core Standards/MA Framework: Common Core: http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/commoncore/ MA Framework: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/hss/final.pdf
MA Content Standards:
LATIN AMERICA 1. On a map of the world, locate South America and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On a map of South America, SUGGESTED COMMON CORE READING AND WRITING locate the Amazon, the Andes Mountains, Cape Horn, STANDARDS FOR THIS UNIT: and the southern, northern, eastern, and western regions of South America. (G) RH.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. 2. Use a map key to locate the countries and major cities of South America. (G, E) RH.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or 3. Explain how the following five factors have influenced settlement and the economies of major opinions. South American countries (absolute and relative locations, climate, major natural resources, population RH.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as size, major physical characteristics) (G) they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. RH.5. Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, casually). RH.8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. WRITING: 1. Write arguments focused on discipline-‐specific content. a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrates an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g. headings), graphics (e.g. charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-‐ chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-‐specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Essential Questions: C9: Why does inequality exist? (extension: Can we end inequality? How?) C 11, 12, 13: How does the environment impact people? How do humans adapt to the demands of their environment?
Key Vocabulary: Chapter 9:
Key Questions: Chapter 9:
Chapter 12:
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rural
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urban
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biodiversity
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rural decline
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deforestation
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urbanization
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indigenous
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spatial inequality
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land use conflict
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standard of living
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carbon-‐oxygen cycle
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Why does spatial inequality exist in urban areas?
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suburb
How does life differ from one neighborhood to another where spatial inequality exists?
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unemployment
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environment
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metropolitan
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settlement
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How does rural decline lead to urbanization?
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poverty
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impact
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What pull factors bring migrants to the city? What push factors cause rural residents to leave?
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migration
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sustainable
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quality of life
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What benefits and challenges exist in city life?
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In what ways is urbanization positive? In what ways can urbanization be negative?
development •
economy
Chapter 11 (highly encouraged unit):
Chapter 11
Chapter 13:
(highly encouraged)
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How do hurricanes impact communities?
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How have communities and countries as a whole adapted to the dangers of hurricanes? (may need to go beyond the text to answer this)
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extreme weather
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meteorology
How do hurricanes develop, strengthen and weaken?
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natural disaster
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tropical cyclone
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eye
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eye wall
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rainband
How would you resolve the land use conflict in the rainforest? Why?
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storm surge
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atmosphere
How does each rainforest group use the resources of rainforest? Do they do so responsibly? Do they do so effectively?
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Saffir-‐Simpson
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Chapter 12: • • •
Which rainforest group do you believe is best for the rainforest? Why?
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Which rainforest groups would be most likely to be able to build alliances with each other and coexist? Why?
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Why is sustainable development important to the entire world?
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Should the cattle ranchers be allowed to stay in the rainforest? (DBQ)
traditional
scale
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vertical trade
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altitude zones
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adaptation
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elevation
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altitude
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terracing (terrace farming)
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tree line
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snow line
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gravity
Chapter 13: •
How does the environment differ at each altitude zone in the Andes?
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How do people adapt to the environment at each altitude zone?
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How does the environment change as elevation increases?
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How do the people living in different altitude zones rely upon one another?
Major Assessments and Products: 1) The Geography Interactive Student Notebook should be collected and assessed by the end of the first week of October (at the very latest). Clear feedback should be provided to students. The clearer the feedback is at this point, the more likely the student is to be successful going forward. 2) Write a Document-Based Question Essay: Should Cattle Ranchers Be Allowed to Stay in the Rainforest? Optional Assessments: 1) Create a newspaper article on Mexico City its neighborhoods, and its spatial inequality issues (from Geography Alive! curriculum guide). 2) Create a 3-‐Dimensional model or 2-‐Dimensional poster (be clear on teacher expectations on this) of the four elevation zones of the Andes Mountains. Students should either label their model in detail or submit a separate “mini-‐report” that explains the key adaptations and differences in physical and human geography found in each altitude zone. 3) Hold a summit on the land use conflict in the rainforest. 4) Complete the Culminating Writing Activity for any of the three close reads
Materials and Primary Documents: 1. 2. 3.
Geography Alive! text, curriculum guide and mapping resources DBQ: “Should Cattle Ranchers Be Allowed To Stay in the Rainforest?” Close Reads on Andes Mountains and Hurricanes
Suggested Activities for Latin America Unit September 30 – November 15 The following are possible learning experiences. Teachers should pick and choose from these learning experiences and build lessons around them (this is NOT an attempt to prescribe a day-‐by-‐day unit plan or an outline for daily lessons): September 30 to October 1: Mapping Lab 2 School Days Please see mapping resources from GA! Mapping Lab Lesson Guide. If additional or alternative resources are needed, please look at the added resources on this site. Repeatedly stress the major features (the Andes Mountains, Amazon River, and Amazon Rainforest) and their impact. October 2 to October 11: Spatial Inequality in Mexico City 8 School Days 1. Boston Urban Development Case Studies: used as an anticipation guide to get students thinking about the topics relevant to Chapter 9 and building upon what they already know about cities and urbanization (from having lived in an urban area). See posted resources. 2. Illustrated glossary for key words like rural decline, urbanization, spatial inequality, rural/urban Students should divide notebook page into four squares (a cross shape). In each square, students should write the word and a definition (in their own words if they can). Then, the students should draw a picture that reminds them of the meaning of the word. Optionally, students can also use the word in a sentence (though space will become tight if they do this). For this illustrated glossary, put rural and urban in the same entry. 3. Suggested Reading Notes Formats: a. T-‐Chart contrasting life for the Haves and Have Nots in Mex. City (Section 9.5) b. Flow Chart showing how rural decline leads to urbanization (Section 9.3) c. Pro-‐and-‐Con chart showing the positives and negatives of urbanization (Section 9.4) Note: Section 9.2 is largely unnecessary in achieving content objectives. 4. Students write an interview or dialogue with Anna Romero (from text p. 141) – students write both
the questions and responses in dialogue form (in their notebook). It should be at least ¾ page; it can be creative, but should include content from the text. 5. Neighborhood Visit: See pp 211-‐213 of the GA! Curriculum Guide (or a modified version—you don’t necessarily need to recreate each neighborhood or complete the writing for understanding). In this GA! activity, students will “visit” several neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic backgrounds by looking at pictures and listening to the interviews from the GA! CD. [Be sure to adapt this to make it work for your classroom; if the worksheets are confusing, you can simply have students take notes on what they see and hear. If the maps don’t work well for your students, they don’t need to be used.] 6. Visual Discovery: In order to explore spatial inequality, use pictures of neighborhoods of varying incomes in Mex. City (could use GA! Transparencies 9B through 9E if not using them in doing Neighborhood Visit) or find pictures on Google Image Search. Have students write about what they see in each neighborhood as well as what they believe the standard of living (quality of life) would be like in each neighborhood and why. This Visual Discovery can be redundant to the Neighborhood Visit, so you may want to think about which one you use or how you use them in conjunction with one another. 7. Consistently make connections to Boston (after all, our students live in a city) through previews, reflections and discussion 8. Newspaper Article: This article on Life in Mexico City is a culminating activity. Please see pp. 211 – 213 of GA! Curriculum Guide or see attached resources 9. Mexico City Discussion: Please see posted resources. This discussion can serve as a culminating activity and prompts students to think deeply about the key concepts that they have learned in the chapter. October 15 to October 22: Dealing with Extreme Weather: Hurricanes in the Caribbean 6 School Days Suggestion: use either Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Sandy as a lens for learning throughout the unit
1. Ideas for Videos: a) Hurricane Katrina or Sandy forming on satellite (find on youtube) b) Hurricanes 101 (National Geographic) (find on youtube) and other informational videos c) Katrina storm surge at the Beau Rivage, Biloxi (youtube) or a similar Sandy video d) Excerpts from Katrina documentaries (i.e. When the Levees Broke, Inside Hurricane Katrina) or Sandy documentaries Remember that students need context and background for Katrina as they were very young when the hurricane struck New Orleans. If you decide to use Sandy, students may be more familiar, but will likely need background and context for this hurricane as well. 2. Close Reading: “The Great Hurricane of 1938” This reading answers the question of whether hurricanes can strike New England and reviews a number of concepts from the chapter. Use the close reading guide to guide this intensive reading experience. As always, please feel free to adapt the questions, vocabulary, etc. to suit the needs of your students; however, the overall format should be followed with a high level of fidelity. Please see posted resources. 3. Suggested Reading Notes formats: a) diagram, label and explain (in notes) the three parts of a hurricane b) diagram, illustrate, label and explain (in notes) the four stages of hurricane development 4. Write and/or perform a news report warning of an approaching hurricane. Be sure to include key vocabulary and concepts from the text include the watch/warning system, the Saffir-‐Simpson scale, the naming of the hurricane, etc. 5. Create a hurricane brochure to recap key concepts from the unit. Please see posted resources. 6. Read “My Hurricane Story” (student impact statements from Katrina) or another excerpt/story/ article that relays the human impact from hurricanes. Students should mark up this reading by writing down key understandings, raising questions and recording reactions. Teachers could turn this reading into a close read (with a relatively easy reading level) by creating pertinent questions. Using a relatively easy and short reading like this as a close reading can be helpful in establishing the close read protocol in your classroom.
October 23 to November 6: Land Use Conflict in the Amazon Rainforest 11 School Days 1. Hook Activity- Boston Land Use Conflict (extended preview): Students engage in a simulated land use conflict. Students start by answering: what would you do if given a large empty lot (and plenty of money to do what you want to) in Boston? Explain what you would do with the property and how it would impact the community. Be as detailed as possible. (it is helpful to project a picture of an empty city lot) 7 minutes: Think and write response to preview question. 4 minutes: In groups of four, each student shares out their plan for the empty lot. 5 - 10 minutes: Students share out plans with entire class. 5 minutes: Students write in their notebooks—commenting on the other plans that they have heard in group and class share-‐out. 5 minutes: In same groups as before, each group has to decide on just one plan for the land. 5 – 10 minutes: Teacher facilitates share-‐out with entire class: what plans did each group come up with? Were members of each groups able to agree with each other or did they disagree? What would happen if we had to come up with just one plan for the entire class? 10 minutes: Students reflect on experience (i.e. being in a land use conflict, coming to agreement or not and answering questions above) in writing in notebook. 2. Suggested Reading Notes format: a) T-‐Chart showing opposing views between groups with conflicting interests -‐-‐ Students (in pairs) can share the reading through reciprocal teaching (each creates reading notes on one group; then teachers the other. Don’t let students just copy each other notes and clearly delineate time for taking individual notes and then time for the first group member to share notes and time for the second group
member to share) -‐-‐ Natural Opposing Groups for Notes: Natives vs. Loggers; Rubber Tappers vs. Cattle Ranchers; Environmentalists vs. Settlers (if pressed for time, focus on the first four groups only) -‐-‐ Taking notes in this way leads to natural debates (teacher may need to play up the positives in deforesting groups like loggers in order to spark better debate, so provide time to write and discuss these debatable issues—like should the loggers be allowed to stay in the rainforest?) b) Review Notes: As a class and after completing all reading, it may be valuable to recap two positives (+) and two negatives ( -‐ ) for each group. Divide the notebook page into six triangles (like a pie) and arrange the groups with commonalities near each other—like natives, rubber tappers and environmentalists across the top. Then, record the biggest positives and negatives for each group. 3. Rainforest Report Card: Students grade the rainforest groups and offer their comments. See posted resources. 4. DBQ: Should the Cattle Ranchers Be Allowed To Stay in the Rainforest? (at least 4 to 5 days) a) Hook: have students debate the topic based on what they already know b) Reading Documents (Going In Depth): Teacher can use some documents as a close read and should definitely model the process for at lest one reading. Students should mark up readings and take purposeful notes in notebook (i.e. a T-‐Chart with reasons why the cattle ranchers should stay on one side and reasons why they shouldn’t on the other) -‐-‐-‐ Be sure that students take detailed notes and include a citation with each note like this (Doc. D). It pays off when they begin writing. -‐-‐-‐ Some readings and documents can be assigned for homework once students understand
the process. c) Pre-‐Writing (mostly in class): Teacher should explicitly teach thesis, selection of evidence, and other necessary writing skills. d) First Draft: This could most likely be done at home. e) Final Draft: This can most likely be done at home. November 7 to November 15: Life in the Andes: Adapting to a Mountainous Region 8 School Days 1. Visual Discovery: This Visual Discovery would most likely be used after a brief introduction of the chapter. In order for students to start to learn about the differences between the four altitude zones, use pictures from four different altitude zones. Students will try to identify the zone, record what they see and what they think it would be like to live there/how people would adapt to live there. (See posted resources) 2. Andes Mountains PowerPoint: See posted resources. This PowerPoint is an extremely basic PowerPoint and can be used as a very early introduction. It focuses on elevation, altitude and introduces the altitude zones. 3. Andes Mountain: The Longest Mountain Range (Close Reading) – This close reading will provide introductory background on the Andes Mountains. It is an informational text. Note: There are two close readings provided in this chapter; it may make sense to choose one or the other (use teacher discretion). This one is shorter, more introductory and basic in reading level. The other close reading is longer and at a very challenging reading level. It is a detailed look at a mining town in the Andes. See posted resources. 4. (optional-‐ encouraged, but a challenge) Andes Mountains Mining Town (Close Reading) – This close reading looks at the mining town of La Rinconada, the riches that come from mining, and the struggles of the townspeople. See posted resources.
5. Suggested Reading Notes format: Use the format featured on pp. 310 – 311 in the GA! Curriculum Guide. Have students draw a mountain outline across a two-‐page spread in their Notebooks—connecting from a left hand NB page, peaking near the spiral center of the NB and descending to the bottom of the right hand NB page. Mark off and label the four altitude zones. On the left hand page, students will take notes on the physical characteristics for each zone and take notes on the adaptations for each zone on the right side. Progress one zone at a time. It should take multiple days to complete their reading notes—taking on one or two zones per day. Students can skim through the characteristics section to pick out the key characteristics (i.e. temperature, altitude level, etc.) and should focus more so on the adaptations made at each level.
