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Course: 7th Grade World Geography
1st Nine Weeks
Foundational Unit: Introduction to Physical Geography
Estimated Time: 15 Days
Instructional Guide
GLE:
3.01 Understand the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools and technologies
3.02 Know the location of places and geographic features, both physical and human, locally, regionally and globally.
3.03 Understand the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of Earth’s surface.
3.07 Understand how physical systems and the physical environment affect human systems.
6.03 Understand how a geographic view is a significant tool in interpreting the present and planning for the future.
Prerequisite Skills:
Acquiring Information: read to gain literal meaning; use chapter and section headings, and topic sentences to select main ideas; detect cause and effect
relationships; use picture clues and picture captions to aid comprehension; read from a variety of sources; use maps, graphs, globes, media and technology
sources. Communication: demonstrate beliefs through multimedia projects; recognize beliefs through simulation and role play. Problem Solving and Analysis
of Data: identify relevant factual material; critically examine data from a variety of sources; note cause/effect relationship and draw inferences from a variety of
data. Historical Awareness: prepare and analyze maps, charts, and graphs; incorporate the use of technological resources
Essential Question: How do Earth’s physical systems make life on Earth possible?
Unit Vocabulary: physical feature, landform, physical processes, topography, tributary, archipelago, basin, contour lines, elevation, fjord, isthmus, ocean
current, permafrost, plate tectonics, steppe, climate, weather, arid, water cycle (hydrologic cycle), weathering, erosion
Checks for
Understanding
 Identify and define
various physical
features (landforms
and bodies of water)
on the earth’s
surface.
State
Performance
Indicators
7.3.spi.2. locate
the Earth's major
physical
characteristics
7.3.spi.9. identify
the location of
Earth's major
landforms and
Assessments
Identify the location of
Earth's major physical
characteristics such as
continents, landforms,
bodies of water, climate
regions, vegetation, and
natural resources.
Instructional Resources
Nystrom Atlas set
Connections
Create student maps illustrating
geographic terminology (e.g. archipelago,
atoll, bay, canyon, cape, continental
divide, delta, estuary, fjord, headwaters,
glacier, gulf, island, isthmus, lagoon,
mesa, ocean currents, peninsula,
plateau, reef, strait.)
bodies of water
 Identify and examine
the physical
processes below and
on the earth’s
surface which impact
change on earth’s
landforms.
7.3.spi.11.
recognize specific
physical processes
that operate on the
Earth's surface
(i.e., erosion,
volcanoes,
earthquakes, wind
and water
currents, plate
tectonics, and
weathering).
Identify types of Earth's
physical processes such
as tectonic activity,
changing landforms.
Consider the effect of
weathering and erosion,
the hydrologic cycle and
climate change.
Analyze physical
patterns and ecosystems
found locally, regionally,
and globally.
Examine the
consequences of a
specific physical process
operating on Earth's
surface.
Create a bar graph
showing the various
physical processes
Diagram or reconstruct
the movement of
continents and tectonic
plates
USGS website: www.usgs.gov
Natural Disasters: Exploring Plate
Tectonics Lesson:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpe
ditions/lessons/07/g68/noaadisaster.ht
ml
Language Arts/Science: Research past
geographic phenomena and their impact
on societies (e.g., volcanoes, earthquake,
hurricanes, flooding, typhoons, etc.)
 Identify the factors
that influence
weather/climate (i.e.
ocean currents, wind
currents, geographic
location, landforms,
etc.) and define
climate regions.
 Identify and describe
the earth’s major
vegetation regions
and their relation to
climate and
geographic location.
7.3.spi.10 identify
the characteristics
that define a
region
geographically.
Holt World Geography pp. 50-65
7.3.spi.13.
recognize the
definitions of
modifications on
the physical
environment
(i.e. global
warming,
deforestation,
desert,
urbanization).
Geography’s Impact: World Geography
Video Series (Ch. 3: Impact of
Weather)
7.3.spi.10 identify
the characteristics
that define a
region
geographically.
Geography’s Impact: World Geography
Video Series (Ch. 2: Impact of Water
on Earth)
Science: Research local weather
patterns and forecast the weather.
National Weather Service Website:
www.weather.gov
PBS Video: Global Warming: The Signs
and the Science (2005)
Identify the location of
Earth's major physical
characteristics such as
climate regions and
vegetation.
Identify the spatial
distribution of major
ecosystems such as
tropical rainforest,
desert and grassland.
Holt World Geography, pp. 50-65
Science: Analyze ecosystems through
the use of posters and illustrations.