US and Canada Regional Geography Project
Objective: The student will investigate the economic, social, political, and geographic features of a region of
the US or Canada, and will report their finding to the class using a Moviemaker or Photostory movie.
TEKS
The student understands how people, places, and environments have changed over time and the effects of these changes.
The student is expected to
(A) describe the human and physical characteristics of the same regions at different periods of time to evaluate
relationships between past events and current conditions;
The student understands how political, economic, and social processes shape cultural patterns and characteristics in
various places and regions. The student is expected to
(A) analyze how the character of a place is related to its political, economic, social, and cultural elements
The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. The student is expected
to
(B) describe the interaction between humans and the physical environment and analyze the consequences of
extreme weather and other natural disasters such as El Niño, floods, tsunamis, and volcanoes
The student understands the concept of region as an area of Earth’s surface with related geographic characteristics. The
student is expected to
(A) identify physical and/or human factors such as climate, vegetation, language, trade networks, political units,
river systems, and religion that constitute a region;
The student understands how the components of culture affect the way people live and shape the characteristics of
regions. The student is expected to
(A) describe distinctive cultural patterns and landscapes associated with different places in Texas, the United
States, and other regions of the world and how these patterns influenced the processes of innovation and diffusion;
(B) describe elements of culture, including language, religion, beliefs and customs, institutions, and technologies
The student understands the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student is expected to
(A) describe and compare patterns of culture such as language, religion, land use, education, and customs that
make specific regions of the world distinctive;
Procedure:
1. Students will be assigned groups of 4. The
teacher will assign each group a region of
the US or Canada.
2. Students will research their assigned
region, using the geography textbook and
the Internet.
3. Students will prepare a Movie using the
rubric as a guide.
4. Students will present their Movie to the
class.
Information that must be included in the Movie (not necessarily in this order), using audio, maps, pictures, and
charts/graphs:
Location
1. location of region
Physical Characteristics
2. physical features of the region, including mountains, major rivers, plains, coastline, ports, or other
important features
3. climates, vegetation of the region
Human Characteristics
4. major cities, states/provinces
5. population distribution, number of people, average income, migration (in or out, from or to where)
6. ethnic groups, historical immigration and settlement
7. main languages, religions
8. economic base (how do people make money)
9. economic trend – is the region growing or declining?
10. historical economy (what was the original economic base? Has it changed?)
Region
11. What makes this a unique Region?
Movement (connectedness) of People, Goods, and Ideas
12. How are the people in this region connected to each other? (transportation systems, ports, etc)
13. How is this region connected to (or isolated from) other regions?
Human-Environment Interaction
14. natural hazards (earthquake, hurricane, etc.) and methods of coping with them
15. any environmental/pollution issues
Use the following visuals as a minimum. See the rubric for complete grading information.
Maps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
at least one for each section
Location of region
political, with major cities
physical features
population density/distribution
economics
hazards, or pollution
Pictures: at least 2 for each section
1. major city
2. major economic activity
3. physical features
4. iconic images from your region, ie – a cowboy from the West, Statue of Liberty, etc
5. to 8. your choice
Charts:
1. climographs or rainfall/temp graph or map
2. income or population growth over time
3. two more relevant charts of your choice
It is easy to create a Movie. Select the pictures/maps/charts, etc., and put them into a PowerPoint. Edit them,
write on them, put arrows to point out important features, or whatever (no animation). Save the ppt. When you
are finished, save the ppt again, this time as a *.jpg file, and ppt will convert the slides to pictures. You can
then import the pictures into Windows Moviemaker or Photostory, record your audio, import it into the
program, and voila! A movie.
BE SURE TO CONVERT YOUR PROJECT INTO AN ACTUAL MOVIE FILE, THEN COPY AND PASTE
IT INTO MY T DRIVE.
Digital Storytelling : US and Canada Regional Geography rubric
CATEGORY
content x3
9-10
Thoroughly
addresses all 14
required criteria
8
addresses all 14
criteria
7
addresses at least
12
0-6
fewer than 12
criteria addressed
visuals x2
has more than the
required 18 visuals
has 15 visuals
has 12 visuals
has less than 12
visuals
accuracy
all information is
accurately
summarized
most information is
accurate, but there
may be 1 error
more than 1 error
many errors in
accuracy
Duration of
Presentation
Length of
presentation was
4-5 minutes.
Length of
presentation was
3-4 minutes.
Length of
presentation was 3
minutes.
Clarity
Both visuals and
audio crisp, clear,
and
understandable
Visuals or audio
have parts that are
not clear
Much material not
clear or crisp
Presentation was
less than 3 minutes
long OR more than
5 minutes.
Much of the
program not clear
or understandable
Organization
Logical progression
of information
Organization was
ok
Little organization
evident
No thought to
organizing the
information
Citations
All citations
correctly formatted
List of citations
Few citations
No citations