Virtual Atlas education

http://www.evergreen.edu./user/virtatpnw/

Lesson Nine

Comparing Cities

Purpose:

To take a look at two communities in different geographic regions and start to grasp how the land and people interact and change one another.

Objectives:

1. To begin developing an understanding of the activates and attitudes of people that live within communities as local geography
2. To start learning the art and science of conducting research on the Internet
3. To expand comprehension of the Pacific Northwest as a region
4. To develop communication and teamwork skills

Related Washington State EALRs:

Geography

3.3 examine cultural characteristics, transmission, diffusion, and interaction

2.1 describe the natural characteristics of places and regions and explain the causes of their characteristics

National Geography Standards:

4. The physical and human characteristics of places

Curriculum Connections:

Cultural geography, history, economics, meteorology, biology, phiseography,

Length of Time Required:

This lesson can be used as a brief one-hour glimpse at cities in the PNW or an extended research project.

Key Vocabulary:

Boundary – something that serves to mark the limits of an ares; the limit itself; the dividing line.

Cultural – the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior…

Cultural boundary – A boundary defined by human cultural factors

Community – a people with common interests living in a particular area;

Materials:

1. Computers with Internet access.
2. Copies of questions and request provided in the comparing cities lesson.
3. The names of two cities in the PNW, supplied in the lesson.
4. A writing instrument.

Procedure:

Step 1: A short discussion of the interesting features in different cities and the lifestyles of the people in them. Visual images and examples of music or other performing arts should be shared to spark interest.

Step 2: Hand out the questions provided and a pair of cities for each student or team of students. A list of cities in WA, state is provided but substations could easily be made.

Step 3: Log on to the Internet and go to the Virtual Atlas home page. Click on "Links to Other Resources on the Web." Some exhalant sits to begin with are found there. Also try the Virtual Atlas home page and click on "other map links" try "Enviromapper".

If students wander to far afield as often can happen on the Internet, returning to the Virtual Atlas will help to center and refocus. Our students worked in pairs so that there was a city for each pair. Have fun with it.

Conclusion:

A comparison of communities helps us understand the influence and interaction of people and the land.

Go To Student Worksheet