Acquisition Lesson Plan / Name: Porschet
Topic:Altai Geography
Essential Question: What is the Altai region of Russia and what characteristics make it unique?To What degree does geography determine culture?
Learning objective: Students will identify the location of the Altai region in Russia. Students will make a connection with geography’s influence on the regional culture.
What do students need to learn to be able to answer the Essential Question?
Assessment Prompt 1: Where is the Altai region of Siberia located (Altai Republic and Altai Krai)?
Assessment Prompt 2: How did Altai get its name?
Assessment Prompt 3: How does the geography affect the history of the Altai region?
Assessment Prompt 4: Describe the climate? What peoples settled the Altai region? What natural resources did the Altai people depend on?
Assessment Prompt 5: What industries/resources are located in the Altai region?
Activating Strategy: Concept Map: Have students write down different concepts and keywords, along with properties of that topic. They can write down definitions and examples. Concept map:
NYS ELA standards:
6.2 : Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
6.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone
NYS Social Studies Framework:
3.3 Geographic factors often influence where people settle and form communities. People adapt to and modify their environment in different ways to meet their needs.
6.1 GEOGRAPHY OF THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE TODAY: The diverse geography of the Eastern Hemisphere has influenced human culture and settlement patterns in distinct ways. Human communities in the Eastern Hemisphere have adapted to or modified the physical environment.
6.8 INTERACTIONS ACROSS THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE: Trade networks promoted the exchange and diffusion of language, belief systems, tools, intellectual ideas, inventions, and diseases.ELA Standards: 2, 3
NYS Grades 5-8 Social Studies Practices: Geographic Reasoning, Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence
Teaching Strategies:
Present the topic of Altai, a region in Siberia by showing pictures from the trip of petroglyphs, burial mounds and landscape. Students will watch a video on Lake Baikal:
Graphic Organizer: KWL chart:
Instruction:
  1. (Anticipatory set) Have Google Earth up to view the Altai location. Ask students to write down what they notice as you visit certain areas (Lake Baikal, Koch Agash, Denisova Cave) Draw comparisons in size/population to the United States and biomes covered. Students can then watch video on Lake Baikal, while taking notes.
  2. Alternately, have pictures of different objects that represent Altai culture and ask the students what these objects have in common. (images of shaman, petroglyphs, boobin,
  3. Students will be divided in to four cooperative learning groups and assigned an assessment prompt. They will be required to read the text, discuss their specific question and record their findings.
  4. Students will then rotate through the stations and write their findings on a large piece of chart paper. Students will then do a gallery walk (or present orally).
  5. Teacher can also do this lesson jigsaw style and assign a prompt to each person in the group and then have each student report to others in his group and then do a gallery walk.
AP #1: This group will report what the Altai name means and why is the Altai named that.
AP #2: This group will report on the Geography of the Altai and how it affects who settled their and historical patterns.
AP #3: This group will take a close look at the petroglyphs and research the history of the petroglyphs in the Altai region. Who made them and why? What do they depict?
AP #4: Describe the climate? What peoples settled the Altai region? What natural resources did the Altai people depend on?
AP#5: What industries/resources are located in the Altai region? They can find pictures of some industries on Students can use keyword altai.
Students will report their findings orally or do a gallery walk.
Modifications: Students can create an infographic on facts about Altai. Text can be read to students with emphasis on pertinent information. Summarizing strategies are optional.
Materials:
Google Earth:
Lake Baikal video:
Library of congress website:
Chart paper
KWL chart:
Concept map(if template is needed):
Assignment: Students will be asked to complete this prompt: Imagine you lived in the Altai region a thousand years ago. What do you think daily life would be like and what would you do on a daily basis? Monthly?
Extra resources:
Pictures of typical wooden structure:

Website about Altai land:
Extension: Students can create podcast about the Altai region.
Rubric:
Summarizing Strategy: 3-2-1
3 things you would notice if you went to the Altai region
2 places you would want to visit
1 characteristic describing the climate of the Altai

Assessment:

Informal: Gallery walk

Formal: 3.2.1 summarizing strategy