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D RA I N AG E B A S I N S I N
EUROPE
Howarecountrieswithinadrainagebasinconnectedbytrade,
transportation,andwateruse?
OVERVIEW
StudentsreadaboutandtracedrainagebasinsinEurope.Theydiscussissues
aroundphysicalfeatures,borders,andconflicts.
Forthecompleteactivitywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/drainage-basins-in-europe/
DIRECTIO NS
1.Activatestudents'priorknowledgeandintroducetheactivity.
Ask:Whatisawatershed?Explaintostudentsthatanothernamefora
watershedisdrainagebasin—anentireriversystemoranareadrainedbya
riveranditstributaries.Drainagebasinscanserveasatypeofregional
boundaryorborder.Tellstudentsthattheywillexploreconnectionsamong
countrieswithinadrainagebasintoextendanddeveloptheconceptofregion
byestablishingthesharedcharacteristicsthatmakethisaregion.
2.Havestudentsreadanddiscussapassageaboutdrainagebasins.
DistributetheworksheetDrainageBasinsandHowRiversFlow.Havestudents
readthepassageindependentlyanduseittosketchadrainagebasininthe
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spaceatthebottomoftheworksheet.Theninvitevolunteerstorestatewhata
drainagebasinisintheirownwords,whilesharingthesketch.Elicitstudent
ideasaboutwhyriversareimportant,andhowcountriesthatshareadrainage
basinmightneedtocooperate.Discussanyquestionstheymayhave.If
possible,havestudentsmakeconnectionstodrainagesystemsinyourlocal
area.
3.Havesmallgroupsidentifyanddiscussdrainagebasins.
Dividestudentsintosmallgroupsanddistributeacopyoftheworksheet
MappingDrainageBasinsandRiversandthemapsPhysicalMapofEuropeand
CountryBordersinEuropetoeachgroup.Assigneachgrouparivertoexplore:
Rhine,Oder,Dnieper,Danube,Volga,orPechora.Thenhavestudentscomplete
theworksheetfortheirassignedriver.Encouragestudentstoincludeintheir
descriptionstheshapeoftheriveronthemap,whatthesceneryislikelytobe
onitsbanks,andwhattypesofhumanactivitymaybefoundthere.Provide
support,asneeded.Ifstudentshavedifficulty,youmaychoosetodemonstrate
theprocessofdelineatingadrainagebasinononeriverandthenaskgroupsto
completetheirown.StudentsmayhavedifficultywithriversinnorthernEurope
thatflow“up”themap,ormaymistakenlybelievethatsouthisdownhill.
4.Havestudentspresenttheirworktotheclass.
Haveeachgrouppresenttheirworkbyshowinganddescribingtheirbasinon
theirmapandansweringquestionsfromclassmates.
5.Haveawhole-classdiscussionaboutphysicalfeatures,borders,and
conflicts.
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Conductawhole-classdiscussion.Remindstudentsthattheyexploredfour
differentphysicalfeaturesinLesson3ofthisunit:rivers,mountains,vegetation,
anddrainagebasins.Allofthesefeaturescrosscountrybordersindifferent
waysacrossEurope.Ask:Whichborders,ifany,wouldmakesensetouseasa
borderbetweencountries?Why?Encouragestudentstoconsiderthefollowing:
Mountainsandsomeriversusedtoformnaturalbarriersbetweenpeople
becausetheyweredifficulttocross.Ask:Isthatthecaseanymore?Whyor
whynot?
Becauseofhowwatermovesthroughdrainagebasins,countrieswithinthat
basinwillbeaffectedbyeachother’swateruse,pollution,anduseofthe
river.Ask:Howcancountriesbestcooperatetouseriversanddrainagebasins
inawaythatbenefitseveryone?Whymightthisbedifficult?
Differenttypesofnaturalvegetationofferdifferentresourcestothepeople
wholivethere.Ask:Whatbenefitsmighttherebetohavingavarietyof
differentvegetationtypesinthesamecountry?Whatproblemsmightthis
cause?
6.Havestudentscompleteawritingassignment.
DistributecopiesoftheworksheetARiver’sRoleintheHistoryofEuropeand
themapNaturalVegetationofEuropetoeachstudent.Havestudentscomplete
theworksheetbywritingabriefessay,eitherinclassorasahomework
assignment.
Modification
HavetheclassworktogethertocompletetheworksheetMappingDrainage
BasinsandRiversforeachriver:Rhine,Oder,Dnieper,Danube,Volga,and
Pechora.Ifstudentshavedifficultydelineatingthebasins,usetheprovidedmap
MajorDrainageBasinsinEuropeandonlyrequirestudentstoanswerthe
questions.
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InformalAssessment
Havestudentstransferandapplytheirknowledgetoanothercontinent,suchas
NorthAmerica,byfollowingthesamestepsonamap:
tracingthelengthofariverfrombeginningtoend
tracingtheareadefinedbysurroundingmountains
shadingthedrainagebasin
listingthecountries,states,territories,and/orprovinceswithinthebasin
identifyingcountries,states,territories,and/orprovincesoutsidethebasin
thatmaybelinkedtoitthroughtradeataport
Ask:Howmightacitynearthemouthofariverandacity200milesinlandbe
connectedbyariver?
ExtendingtheLearning
Studentscanusethemapsthattheydrewofdrainagebasinsasabasisto
researchhowpeoplehavehandledsharingthewaterresourcesinaparticular
area.Havestudentsconductresearchthatanswersthefollowingquestions:
Whichcountrieshavebeenabletoworktogethertosharenaturalresources?
Whichcountrieshaveencounteredconflictbecauseoftheintersection
betweentheirbordersandphysicalfeatures?
Whydoyouthinksomegroupscancooperatewhileotherscannot?
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
Geography
PhysicalGeography
LanguageArts
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Reading
Writing(composition)
Science
Environmental
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
delineatemajordrainagebasinsinEurope
explorehowcountrieswithinadrainagebasinareconnectedbytrade,
transportation,andwateruse
considerhowcountryborderscanintersectphysicalfeaturesindifferent
waysanddiscusshowthisintersectioncanleadtocooperationorconflict
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
TeachingMethods
Cooperativelearning
Discussions
Hands-onlearning
Reading
Writing
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
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21stCenturyStudentOutcomes
LearningandInnovationSkills
CommunicationandCollaboration
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Understanding
GeographicSkills
AcquiringGeographicInformation
AnalyzingGeographicInformation
AnsweringGeographicQuestions
OrganizingGeographicInformation
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
I RA / N C T E S TA N DA RDS F O R T H E E N G LI S H LA N G UA G E
A RT S
•Standard1:
Studentsreadawiderangeofprintandnonprinttextstobuildanunderstanding
oftexts,ofthemselves,andoftheculturesoftheUnitedStatesandtheworld;
toacquirenewinformation;torespondtotheneedsanddemandsofsociety
andtheworkplace;andforpersonalfulfillment.Amongthesetextsarefiction
andnonfiction,classicandcontemporaryworks.
•Standard5:
Studentsemployawiderangeofstrategiesastheywriteandusedifferent
writingprocesselementsappropriatelytocommunicatewithdifferent
audiencesforavarietyofpurposes.
N AT I O N A L G E O G RA P H Y S TA N DA RDS
•Standard1:
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Howtousemapsandothergeographicrepresentations,geospatial
technologies,andspatialthinkingtounderstandandcommunicateinformation
•Standard3:
Howtoanalyzethespatialorganizationofpeople,places,andenvironmentson
Earth'ssurface
•Standard4:
Thephysicalandhumancharacteristicsofplaces
•Standard7:
ThephysicalprocessesthatshapethepatternsofEarth'ssurface
I S T E S TA N DA RDS F O R S T U DE N T S (I S T E S TA N DA RDS *S )
•Standard2:
CommunicationandCollaboration
PREPARATIO N
WhatYou’llNeed
M AT E RI A LS YO U P RO V I DE
Lesson3,Activity1readingpassage
Pencils
Pens
RE Q U I RE D T E C H N O LO G Y
InternetAccess:Optional
TechSetup:1computerperclassroom,Projector
P H Y S I C A L S PA C E
Classroom
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G RO U P I N G
Large-groupinstruction
Small-groupinstruction
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: H A N DO U T S & W O RK S H E E T S
DrainageBasinsandHowRiversFlow
MappingDrainageBasinsandRivers
PhysicalMapofEurope
CountryBordersinEurope
MajorDrainageBasinsinEurope
ARiver'sRoleintheHistoryofEurope
NaturalVegetationofEurope
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
Adrainagebasin,orwatershed,isalandareafromwhichallprecipitationis
drainedbyastreamsystemconsistingofasingle,ormain,streamandallits
tributaries.Drainagebasinsserveasfunctionalregions.Individualdrainage
basinsareseparatedbyhigherterrainordivides.Rivershaveanorganized
channelflowfromsourcetomouth.Waterflowsdownasurfacegradientfrom
highelevationstolowerelevations,independentlyofcardinaldirection.For
example,theRhineRiverflowsfromitssourceintheAlpsdownstreamina
generallynortherlydirectiontoitsmouthintheNorthSea.Thedrainagebasins
ofmostEuropeanriverslieinmountainousareasthatreceiveheavy
precipitation,includingsnow.Drainageisdirectly,orviatheBalticandthe
Mediterraneanseas,totheAtlanticandArcticoceansandtotheenclosed
CaspianSea.
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Agentsoferosion,transportation,anddepositioncreatelandformswithina
drainagebasin.Theyerodevalleys,createwaterfalls,meanderscars,oxbow
lakes,naturallevees,floodplains,anddeltas.Theriverswithinawatershedmay
havedifferentdegreesofflow,dependingprimarilyonthesourceandseasonal
availabilityofwater.ThemajorriversofEurope—Rhine,Danube,Thames,and
Seine—arepermanentorperennialrivers,existinginwell-wateredareasand
flowingthroughouttheyear.Smallerriversmaybeseasonal,dependingon
rainfall.Somesmallerriverbasinsmaybelocatedentirelywithinonecountry.
MostofthemajorriverbasinsofEuropeexistwithinmorethanonecountry.
TheDanubeRiveristhesecondlongestriverinEuropeaftertheVolgaRiverin
Russia.ItssourceliesintheBlackForestmountainsofwesternGermany;it
flowsforapproximately2,850kilometers(1,770miles)toitsmouthattheBlack
Sea.Alongitscourse,theDanubepassesthroughninecountries:Germany,
Austria,Slovakia,Hungary,Croatia,Serbia,Bulgaria,Romania,andUkraine.
PriorKnowledge
[]
RecommendedPriorActivities
None
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
border
noun
naturalorartificiallineseparatingtwopiecesofland.
continent
noun
oneofthesevenmainlandmassesonEarth.
country
noun
drainage
basin
noun
geographicterritorywithadistinctname,flag,population,
boundaries,andgovernment.
anentireriversystemoranareadrainedbyariverand
itstributaries.Alsocalledawatershed.
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Term
highlands
Partof
plural
noun
lowland
noun
mountain
noun
natural
resource
physical
Definition
Speech
plateauorelevatedregionofland.
slow-flowingriverecosystemusuallyfoundinlower
altitudes.
landmassthatformsastectonicplatesinteractwitheach
other.
amaterialthathumanstakefromthenatural
noun
environmenttosurvive,tosatisfytheirneeds,ortotrade
withothers.
noun
naturallyoccurringgeographiccharacteristics.
pollution
noun
introductionofharmfulmaterialsintotheenvironment.
region
noun
river
noun
largestreamofflowingfreshwater.
trade
noun
buying,selling,orexchangingofgoodsandservices.
features
anyareaonEarthwithoneormorecommon
characteristics.Regionsarethebasicunitsofgeography.
transportationnoun
movementofpeopleorgoodsfromoneplacetoanother.
tributary
noun
streamthatfeeds,orflows,intoalargerstream.
watershed
noun
entireriversystemoranareadrainedbyariverandits
tributaries.
ForFurtherExploration
Articles&Profiles
NationalGeographicEducation:Europe—PhysicalGeography
NationalGeographicEducation:Europe—Resources
Maps
NGMapMaker1-PageMap:Europe
NationalGeographicEducation:EuropeMapMakerKit
NGMapMakerInteractive:Europe
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Websites
NationalGeographicEducation:NationalTeacherLeadershipAcademy
(NTLA)
©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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