R i i i v e r r r C o m m u n i i i t t t i i i e s s s
Subject: Science Grade: 8
Georgia QCC’s or district objectives:
Science: Grade 8
Strand: Earth Science
11 Topic: Geology
Standard: Examines how land formations influence development of an area.
11.1 Relates the topography of land, climate and resources to economic
development.
Social Studies: Grade 8
Strand: Georgia Studies
2 Topic: Geographic Factors
Standard: Identifies geographical factors and explains how they have influenced
Georgia’s exploration, settlement and economic development emphasizing:
 Location
 Climate
 Mountains
 Rivers, and
 Soil and Natural Resources
Duration: 1 day

Materials:
 Access to the websites listed below
 A screen hookup to computer for classroom viewing
 Pens and pencils
 Textbooks and other research materials
 Handouts: 3 maps, and one expository essay entitled “River
Communities”
Specific Objectives:
 Students will review land formations in Georgia by viewing maps online and discussing topographic regions.
 Students will learn the names and locations of some of the major rivers in Georgia and will apply their knowledge by labeling rivers on a map of Georgia.
 Students will research the locations of Georgia Native
American archeological sites, and will label these locations on a map of Georgia.
 Students will examine how land formations influence the development of a region focusing on why rivers are so important to this understanding.
Motivation/ Getting their attention: Students have been studying topographic regions of Georgia. When the class arrives, the teacher has pulled up the following web address and placed it on a screen so that the whole class can view the site: http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/maps1/ga.gif
The students are asked to do a “think, pair, share” in response to the following challenge: “Name and locate the physiographic provinces of Georgia.”

Now the students may check their answers by viewing the following website: http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/photogallery/physio map.htm
Now the students are asked to do a “think, pair, share” in response to another challenge:
“Identify 3 geographical factors that have influenced Georgia’s exploration, settlement, and economic development. Explain your answers.” Since many students will think to mention rivers, you may tell them that they are exactly right about this. Today’s lesson will explore how rivers influenced the settlement of
Georgia by focusing on the river communities of early Native
Americans.
Procedure:
 Students are given a print- out of a map from the following website: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/FS/FS-010-
96/images/fig2.gif
Students should take note of features and names of the rivers listed on the maps, as well as the average annual discharge of each river. Which of these river names came from Native Americans?
 Students are given a second unlabeled map from the following website: http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/pdf/garivers.pd
f Students will be given several minutes to label the rivers on this map. They should include the Chattahoochee,
Flint, Ocmulgee, Oconee , Altamaha, Savannah, and
Etowah Rivers. Students may include additional rivers found in their textbooks.
 Now students view another website: http://shapiro.anthro.uga.edu/GASF/gisinfo.html

Students should carefully place the names of the public archaeological sites in Georgia on their maps that pertain to Native Americans. They may also use their textbooks to find prehistoric Indian sites. Perhaps some students will find additional Cherokee, Creek, or Yamassee villages to add to their maps.
 The teacher might now ask if the students have noticed what all of these villages has in common. Perhaps they have noticed that nearly all of these Indian villages were found along rivers. The teacher should instruct the students that from the beginning of human history rivers have had an effect on people. Rivers provided a constant source of water for people and animals, and rivers were the first highways as well. All around the world the earliest civilizations were founded along rivers. Rivers have been called the cradles of civilization.
 Students are given a handout to read on river communities. (See Micco’s Notebook.)
 Students are asked to reflect on the following question by writing in their journals: “Explain the statement that rivers shape society.”
Closure: Students are asked to randomly choose ten large cities in the United States. Then they are asked to name the river, if any, on which they are located. The students will then determine the percent of the cities on rivers. The class will then discuss why there is a high percentage. The class may also discuss the Chinese culture, which grew around the Yellow and Blue Rivers, the civilization of India, which grew up around the Ganges, The
Babylonians, who had the Tigris and Euphrates, and the
Egyptians who had the Nile.

Evaluation: The students will be evaluated by their journal entries, class participation, and completed map work. A test will be given in few days and will include labeling an unlabeled map of Georgia with rivers, geographical regions, and at least 4 Indian sites.
Accommodations: Students with special needs may work with a peer tutor to label the map.