south america lesson
DESCRIPTION
Introductory lesson to South America for middle school students.TRANSCRIPT
BELL WORK
What can you predict about the people who live in the city in the image above?
I can examine the Geography of
South America and write about my
findings.
7.3.10 Identify the characteristics that
define a region geographically.
POD TALK:
1. What type of map is this?
2. How do you know?
The Countries
of South
America
Geography of South America4th largest continent in size
5th largest continent in population
Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (East) and the Pacific Ocean (West)
The geography of South America is dominated by the Andes Mountains
Features the Amazon River which is the second longest river in the worldWhat type of map is this?
How do you know?
Atacama Desert-Located in the northern Chile-One of the driest places on Earth-In some places rain has not fallen for centuries.
The Pampas-Huge area of grasslands as well as areas of sparse vegetation-Located in the center of the northern part of Argentina
2 Major Landforms
Describe it! Draw it! See it! Pampas in Argentina
Persons 2 & 4: Look away from the screen with a piece of paperPersons 1 & 3: Look at the image and describe it to persons 2 & 4
Describe it! Draw it! See it! Patagonia in Argentina
Persons 1 & 3: Look away from the screen with a piece of paperPersons 2 & 4: Look at the image and describe it to persons 1 & 3
Based on what we have learned about religions,
why would people in South America be Roman Catholic or
Protestant?
Oldest Civilizations of South America
One of the oldest civilizations of South America is the Inca civilization.
The capital of the Inca civilization was the city of Cusco in the Andes.
The ruins of the Inca civilization suggest that cities were built with unmatched stonework and with great precision.
Look Familiar?
The Fight of Freedom The colonies gained
independence in the 1800's with the help of leaders such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin.
As a result, much of South America still speaks Spanish and Portuguese is the primary language of Brazil.
Jose de San Martin
Simon Bolivar
Amazon River & Rainforests• The Amazon River is the
lifeline of the rainforest• Most of its water comes from
the snow melt in the Ander in Peru.
• The Amazon River originates high up in the mountains and is formed by the join efforts of the Ucayali and Marañon rivers.
Amazon RainforestAmazon rainforest is home to many strangest looking, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on Earth.
What would happen if the Rainforests
were chopped down for timber?
Climate of South America
Use one word adjectives and nouns to describe the
climate in South America based on the chart above.
Natural Resources of South America
coffee beans
cocoa beans
bananas
timber
rubber
gold
spices
salt
What types of jobs can you predict the people of South America have based on the
natural resources listed above?
Giant TortoiseSouthern Right Whale
Anaconda
Capybara
PiranhaAndean Condor
The Unique Animals of South America
What types of physical features are located in South America based on the unique animals shown above?
South America has Earth’s longest mountain range, driest desert, biggest rain forest, and 2nd largest river. South America also has multiple climates and many valuable natural resources.So…Have you mastered the objective?I can examine the Geography of South America and show masteryof the material with 100% accuracy.
Lesson Summary
Dear Journal,1. Pretend you have
just taken a vacation to beautiful
South America.
2. Write a journal entry describing the trip using examples of physical features,
rainforests, and animals that you
saw.