Overview of Lesson		Materials
Connection to the Curriculum,Standards and Skills		Body of Lesson - Procedure & Assessment
Grade Level		Activity One and Student Assessment
Purpose of Lesson		Activity Two and Student Assessment
Primary Geographic Question		Assessment of Lesson
Secondary Questions		References

Overview of the Lesson

You’ve heard the phrase, “Location matters.”  This lesson illustrates why this is so.  An examination of places that have a similar latitude to Alabama will reveal the importance of a location’s site versus its situation.  Upon completion of the lesson, the importance of taking into account the totality of a location’s geography should be clear.

Geography Standards

Standard 1:  How to use maps and other geographic representations,    tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Standard 4:  The physical and human characteristics of places.

Standard 9:  The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth’s surface.

Standard 15:  How physical systems affect human systems..

Alabama Course of Study:  Social Studies Content Standards (Grade 7)

Standard 1:  Explain map essentials: type, size, shape, distance, direction, location, scale, symbols.

Standard 5:  Locate selected countries, cities, and physical features on maps, globes, and satellite images.

Standard 8:  Compare the physical and human characteristics of places using observation data and geographic resources.

Standard 11:  Explain patterns in the physical environment within the context of physical processes.

Standard 13:  Describe ecosystems and why they differ from place to place.

Standard 17:  Relate economic activity of a region within its geographic context.

Standard 19:  Discuss major industries in the United States from the perspective of how geography and the factors of production helped determine the location of manufacturing plants.

Standard 20:  Identify major agricultural and urban settlement types and the geographic reasons for their location.

Geographic Skills

Acquiring geographic information: analyze maps, charts, and graphs to determine patterns: identify major settlement types and the geographic reasons for their location: explain how the characteristics of different physical environments affect human activities; understand interaction between humans and the physical environment.

Grade 7

To analyze maps to find places of similar latitude to Alabama, and to determine whether or not they share similar physical and human characteristics.

What is the difference between ‘site’ and ‘situation’?  How do site and situation affect the totality of an area’s geography?

How does the location of a body of water affect the weather/climate of an area?

Does the proximity of  a body of water affect agriculture, industry, settlement patterns, etc.?

What can be said of the similarity of places sharing the same latitude?
 

• Atlas
• World Map
• Markers
• Chart Paper

 

Activity One

Explain to the students that site is defined as the specific place where something is located  including its physical setting, while situation is defined as the general location of something in relation to other places or larger features.

Ask the students to start with the latitudinal area of a place such as Florence, Alabama ( 34.46^o N).  Suggest that a globe is utilized first to see what areas appear to be of similar latitude then use the atlas for specific locations. Some suggestions:  Abu Kamal, Syria, 34.45^o N; Akashi, Japan, 34.38^o N; Gavdhos Island, Greece, 34.48^o N.

Divide students into small groups, assigning each group one area of similar latitude.  Using chart paper, have each group list pre-determined characteristics of each location chosen.  Consider using industry, agriculture, population density, settlement patterns, etc.

When each group has completed their portion of the assignment, have the groups come together to determine whether areas of similar latitude share other characteristics.

Assessing Student Learning: Activity One

Have each group display their chart.  They should be able to explain how they obtained and interpreted their data, as well as how they selected their location to study.

Activity Two

• Specifically consider Alabama’s site (near a major body of water, at a mid-latitude location, relatively even terrain, etc.)
• How do the sites of the latitudinally similar places compare?  What effect does this have on climate?  Have students use data found in atlases to answer these questions.

Assessing Student Learning: Activity Two

Students should be able to enumerate the differences they find, and hypothesize about why these differences exist.

Students should now be able to articulate the difference between site and situation, and be able to determine spatial patterns from the data they collected and compared about areas of similar latitude.  Ask students to write a paragraph in response to the primary question.

 Goode’s World Atlas (Rand McNally)