Seventh Grade Europe Unit

Lesson 1

Title: European Geography

Grade Level: Seventh

Unit of Study: Europe Unit

GLCE:

·  7 – G1.1.1: Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales

·  7 – G1.3.1: Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment interaction, movement, and region) to describe regions or places on earth.

·  7 – G2.1.1: Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or Eastern Hemispheres) under study.

Abstract: Students will use various map resources to create a sketch map of Europe as well as thematic maps that include climate, regions, and landforms.

Key Concepts: Region, climate, physical boundaries, political boundaries

Sequence of Activities:

  1. To begin, students will receive the European Geography Pictures document. Explain to students that over the next several days they will be exploring the geography of Europe. In order to understand the geography, they will need to be able to use and understand a variety of maps.
  2. Go through the instructions on each box of the European Geography Pictures document and have students begin with box one, the sketch map of Europe. For this box they will need to use a political map of Europe to find the required countries. A quality map can be found here.
  3. The second box focus on the regions of Europe. Due to the fact that different sources have varying regions within Europe, the map here will be used for this unit. As such, students should use this map when completing the second box of the lesson.
  4. For the third box, students will create a drawing of a landscape for the country they picked in box one. The idea behind this box is that students will research the physical features of their country (by using the map here) and create a picture that reflects the landscape in that area.
  5. Finally, for the last box students will need to research the climate of their country (by using the map here) and create a drawing that represents what the climate is like.

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Connections:

Instructional Resources:


Equipment/Manipulative

Computer lab or Internet access

Student Resources

Physical Map of Europe

Regional Map of Europe

Physical Features Map of Europe

Climate Map of Europe

Teacher Resources

Technology Extensions

The map resources mentioned above have been overlaid on Google Earth and can be found by accessing the European Geography on Google Earth file.

See above

Calhoun ISD Social Studies Curriculum Design Project