Unit 1: When Worlds Collide
Lesson 1: North American Geography
Overview:
In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of geographic landforms, climates, natural
resources, and regions of North America. Students will make inferences about the impact of
geography on the survival and settlement of people in North America.
Suggested time allowance: 4 Class Periods
o Unifying Themes:
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Individual Development and Cultural Identity
Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
Geography, Humans, and the Environment
o New York State Social Studies Framework
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Social Studies Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Social Studies Standard 3: Geography
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Key Ideas and Conceptual Understandings
o 7.1 NATIVE AMERICANS: The physical environment and natural resources
of North America influenced the development of the first human settlements
and the culture of Native Americans. Native American societies varied across
North America.
 7.1a Geography and climate influenced the migration and cultural
development of Native Americans. Native Americans in North
America settled into different regions and developed distinct
cultures.
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Social Studies Practices:
o Gathering and Using Evidence
 Identify, select, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse
sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs,
charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and
secondary sources).
o Comparison and Contextualization
 Recognize and analyze how characteristics (cultural, economic,
and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of the
United States.
o Geographic Reasoning
 Use location terms and geographic representations such as maps,
photographs, satellite images, and models to describe where places
in early United States history were in relation to each other, to
describe connections among places, and to evaluate effectively the
benefits of particular places for purposeful activities.
 Distinguish human activities and human-made features from
“environments” (natural events or physical features—land, air, and
water—that are not directly made by humans) and describe the
relationship between human activities and the environment.
Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and
how human activities affect physical environments in the United
States.
o Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
 RH 6-8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
 RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge
or opinions.
 RH.6-8.7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs,
videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
Enduring Understandings:
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Geography and climate impacted the establishment of early American
settlements and their economies in diverse ways.
Essential Unit Question (s):
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How has geography impacted settlement?
How do cultures adapt and change?
Resources/Materials for this lesson:
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“Physical Geography of the United States Map” (included)
“Map of North America” (included) SMART Notebook
“Map of North America” (included) PowerPoint
“Geographic Features” SMART Notebook presentation with images of different regions,
landforms, and natural resources (included)
“Geographic Features” PowerPoint
“Climate Regions of North America Packet.” (included) It contains:
o “Climate Regions of North America” (included) Reading
o “Climate Regions of North America Jigsaw Activity” (included)
o “Climate Map” (included)
“Blank Map of North America” (included)
“Zombie Survival Map” (included) SMART Notebook
“Zombie Survival Map” (included) PowerPoint
“Zombie Outbreak” Reading (included)
“How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse? Youtube. Com. 3:37.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdtQgwOOiBg
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“How does geography impact settlement?” (included) Claim worksheet.
Activities/Procedures:
Day 1
Preparation: Review SMART Board presentation for yourself. Copy and print the blackline maps
for students.
1. Have students record the lesson objective and work independently on the Do Now.
 Objective: Identify the main geographic features of North America. Create a map
key.
 Do Now: Make a list of all the landforms and climate regions that you know.
 Students share their brainstorming with a partner or the class.
2. Project “Geographic Features” with maps and images. Tell the students to:
 Explicitly pair up an image with a geographic feature of North America.
 Using the layering feature of the SMART Board presentation, reveal the main
geographic features of North America (Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mountains,
Appalachian Mountains; Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri
Rivers; Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean., Great Plains, Desert) and have the
Students complete a blackline map as the presentation goes along. Students
complete a key on their map.
3. As a whole class discuss “How might these geographic landforms reflect the climate
around them?”
4. If students have not finished they are to complete the map for homework. Provide the
“Physical Geography of the United States Map” (included) if needed.
Day 2
Preparation: Review SMART Board presentation for yourself. Copy and print the climate
packet for students. Plan your student groups (expert groups and mixed groups) for the jigsaw
activity.
1. Have the students record the lesson Objective and work independently on the Do Now.
 Objective: Identify and describe the various climate regions of North America.
 Do Now: Review of main geographic features of North America. The students
will view the “Blank Map of North America” (included) on the interactive
whiteboard and have to name the areas thar are labeled with different numbers.
Students will then pair/share their answers.
2. Place each student into a group. In that group, each student will be an “expert” for one of
the climate regions in the US. Once the students have been assigned their climate, they
will meet with students from the other groups that have been assigned the same climate
region. Distribute “Climate Regions of North America Packet.” (included) Each “expert”
group will read about their climate, and view pictures/a map supporting the reading.
3. The students will record notes about the climate’s location and a general description,
including climate, vegetation, and land use.
4. After all of the “expert” groups have gathered their information, they will return to their
original groups. Each group member will take turns presenting what they learned about
their particular climate. The other group members will take notes during the presentation.
5. The groups will then answer a series of tiered discussion questions, based on the
information they have about the various US climate regions. This will act as a lead-in into
the following day’s activity.
6. As a whole class discuss “How would you survive in the various US climates?”
7. If the packet is not completed, it should be done for homework.
Day 3
1. Have students chose how they want to work, groups, partners or individuals, to answer
the Do Now.
 Read page 1 of the “Zombie Outbreak” (included) Teacher can read it aloud or
students can read it themselves.
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 Have students answer the questions at the end of the reading.
Open discussion with whole class of answers to the questions.
Go to Page 2 of the “Zombie Outbreak” and continue.
Begin the synthesis of the Survival Plan.
At the end of the period watch the short video clip “How do you decide where to go in a
zombie apocalypse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdtQgwOOiBg
Day 4
1. Have students finish the Survival Plan.
2. Distribute “How does geography impact settlement?” (included) and have students
answer the Essential Question using the organizer of claim, evidence,. Go over the
directions with the students, and then have the students complete the organizer.
Evaluation/Assessment:
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Completed organizer, “How does geography impact settlement?”
Vocabulary:
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adapted
agriculture
altitude
arid
climate
continental
establishment
fertile
habitable
migrate
marine
region
resources
territory
vegetation