Geographic Theme #2: Place
I.
Re-Visiting “Perception”
a. Find someone in the class who has the same birth month as you. Share
your perception (from a teenagers view)
“In my opinion, the use of electronics should be allowed at school because………
b. Report out using “sticks of justice.”
II.
Group Q and A
A visitor asks “I’m thinking about moving to Happy Valley, OR. Can you tell
me a little bit about it?”
Q: How do we describe the place in which we live?
Physical Characteristics
Definition:
III.
Human Characteristics
Definition:
7 Elements of Culture
a. You are going to be split into 7 different groups. Each group will then
be given one of the 7 elements of culture As a group you should use
the spider map to complete the information to be presented.
b. Once your group is given an element of culture, write it down on one
of the lines provided on the “spider” map. Your group should then
respond to the following:
Frame #1: “This element of culture refers to_____________________.”
Frame #2: “Examples of this are_________________________________.”
At this point you are the expert on that element of culture.
c. We will separate into 7 different groups with each element
represented. Starting with element number one, the “expert” will
report out to the group providing the definition/description of the
element as well as providing examples. Follow frames #1 and #2
when you are sharing with the group.
IV. Describing the United States
A. 7 Elements of Culture – Describe the following human
characteristics that can be found in the United States. A general
description of each should be sufficient.
1. Customs and Traditions (What are our rules of
behavior? Accepted habits? Social Norms of interaction
between male/female? Laws that regulate right and
wrong?
2. Forms of Government (What is form of government do
we have? Who holds the power? Who makes the
decisions? )
3. Spoken Languages (How do we communicate? How do
we communicate our history? How do we communicate
within a relationship?)
4. Economic Systems (What economic system do we
have? How do we determine who gets what? Who
determines what we should make? How we should make
it? And for whom?)
5. Religion / Beliefs (What major religions exist in the
U.S.? What are some beliefs/values do we live by?
Monotheism or Polytheism What role does religion play in
society? )
6. Arts and Literature (What activities do Americans take
part in to entertain us? How would you describe our
music? Our television? Our literature? Our dance? )
7. Social Organization (How do we organize ourselves
into groups? What do our family units look like? What
social classes exist? )
Practice:
Your objective this evening is to choose one country (beside the U.S.) of interest
that you would like to research. Once you have chosen that country, you will
research a specific element of culture related to the country you have chosen.
a.
Create a 8 ½ by 11 poster (the size of a piece of copy paper) describing
that element of culture within the country you have chosen. The poster
should be creative, descriptive, and accurate. It should also include a
variety of words, symbols, and/or photos. You may use images/words
from magazines, newspapers, websites, or those that you create on your
own.
Note: Your poster can be larger than 8 ½ x 11
b.
The name of the country and element should be clearly labeled somewhere
near the top of the poster.
Option: If you so choose you can create a poster for a specific country that lists all
the elements of culture for that particular country. If you choose this option, only
the country needs to be listed near the top of the poster.