Indian+Subcontinent

//Lesson Title:// **How many North Carolinas can fit into India? An introduction to India** //Instructor:// Jesse Gore //Subject//: 7th Grade Social Studies //Class Period//: 60 minutes //Location//: India //Introduction/Context//: India is a country with a vast history, culture, and geography. An entire unit is devoted to India in the seventh grade curriculum. After talking with my cooperating teacher, we decided that the unit that I will be teaching in the spring is India. When teaching about India, I will be teaching about the history of ancient India from 2300 BC-AD 500. This portion of the unit will introduce the early Indian civilizations, origins of Hinduism and Buddhism, Indian empires, and Indian achievements. Students will also be introduced to the Indian Subcontinent and its physical geography, history and culture, and some of India’s neighbors. For the purposes of this assignment, I will use this lesson as my first day of the India unit. In this unit, I will start with the physical geography of India and its relationship to the United States and more specifically, North Carolina. //Plan Number//: Day 1 in a series of 20 //NC Standard Course of Study Objective//: (2.01) Identify key physical characteristics such as landforms, water forms, and climate, and evaluate their influence on the development of cultures. //Goals//:  As a result of today’s lesson, students will be able to:   · Locate India on a map in relation to the United States and North Carolina   · Compare and contrast the area and populations of India to the United States and North Carolina   · Define subcontinent   · Label the physical features of India on a map, including the mountains, rivers, plains, and other features   · Draw inferences about the effect on life of the physical features, climates, and natural resources of India //Materials/Technology Resources Required//:  · Smart Board   · Map of the World   · Map of the Indian Subcontinent for each student   · Pictures of the cultural figures, physical features, climates, and resources of India   · Seventh Grade Textbook (Chapter 21): Salter, Christopher L. //Eastern World: Africa, Asia, and Australia.// Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2008. Print.  · White computer paper  · Poster-size map of India //Procedures//:  1. //Bell Ringer// (5 minutes):  a. Two pictures will be on the Smart Board. One will be a map of the world and the other will be an enlarged map of India.  b. Students will answer: “How many North Carolinas can fit into India? Come up with a hypothesis to answer this question in terms of land area and in terms of population.”  2. //Hook// (10 minutes): <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> a. Students will get to guess how many of the state can fit into India  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> b. A new page will be brought up on the Smart Board that will show 23.58 North Carolinas inside the country of India  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> c. Next, India will be compared to the United States, showing how India can fit into the United States only 3 times  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> d. Populations of both countries will be introduced as well  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> e. Further explanation will follow with more specific numbers for the students to see the comparison between NC, India, and the United States  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 3. //Picture Analysis// (10 minutes): <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> a. Each table will receive a page of pictures (some cultural pictures, but mostly a mix of the physical features of India, including the climates and resources)  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> b. As a table, the students will make inferences about the physical geography of India  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> c. The tables will share their findings  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 4. //Physical Geography of India—Part 1// (20 minutes): <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> a. Using the textbook, each table will be assigned a physical feature, a climate, or a natural resource to read about in Chapter 21  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> b. Students will research their assignment and will illustrate their part on the poster-size map of India (positions do not have to be exact); each group will have 3 minutes with the map  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> c. Groups will research the following: (1) Mountains, pgs 542-43; (2) Rivers and Plains, pgs 543-44.; (3) Other Features, pg. 544; (4) Climate Regions—first 2 paragraphs, pg. 545; (5) Climate Regions—final 2 paragraphs, pg. 545 (6) Natural Resources, pg. 545 <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> d. Once a group has finished researching and illustrating, they will start to make their physical geography foldables; they will make a trifold (called “Physical Geography of India) and label the flaps: Physical features, climates, and natural resources  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 5. //Physical Geography of India—Part 2// (10 minutes): <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> a. Teacher will introduce the idea of a subcontinent  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> b. Teacher will go over the map the class created while presenting the mini lecture on the physical geography of India  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> c. Students will use their foldables during this lecture, as well as illustrate all of the features on their individual maps (both will be turned in to be checked for completion)  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> d. The lecture will highlight the physical features: Himalayas, Mt. Everest, Ganges River, Indus River, Deccan, and Great Indian Desert  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> e. The lecture will highlight the climates and resources: tropical climates, monsoons, fertile soil and goods, and mineral resources  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> f. The lecture will discuss the effects on life of the physical features, climates, and natural resources  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 6. //Closure// (5 minutes): <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> a. We will do a quick review of the class  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> b. As a closing question, students will be asked: “What physical features in the Indian Subcontinent would you most want to visit and why? <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 7. //Homework:// “How do India’s physical features compare to the physical features in the United States, and more specifically to North Carolina? What climate similarities or differences are there? Do we have the same natural resources as India?” //Assessment Strategies//: My students will have a daily participation grade which will run on a 4-point scale (1 = no participation, 4 = great participation). Students will give themselves a self-evaluation and then I will grade them as well after each class period. Participation for today’s lesson will be graded on contributions during the bell ringer and the hook sections and participation during all group work (picture analysis and physical geography of India—Part 1). I will also collect the students’ foldables and their individual maps for a classwork completion grade. These grades will be on a check scale. Homework will be graded on the 100-point scale. //Disclaimer//: There is a lot included in this lesson. Based on the participation/interest level with my students, we may have to push the lecture off until the next school day. It is included here, however, in case we have enough time. = = = // Lesson Narrative: // =

As a student teacher in a 7th grade social studies classroom, I will be teaching much of the Asia continent during my student teaching semester in the spring. However, my specific five weeks of full time teaching fall during the unit on India. I have never had a particular interest in India, but I do have an interest in the religions of India, including Buddhism and Hinduism. I decided to use this opportunity (Places in the World activity) to get a start on my unit plan that I will be creating on India. Because of this, I am using the lesson that I am planning as my introduction lesson to India. I wanted to begin with a hook that will get the students interested in India and its relationship to North Carolina. I remember being in middle school and not really being able to make sense about the geographic comparisons between different countries. I always thought that the United States was the biggest country, which is obviously not true. Therefore, I want to start the lesson with the question, “How many North Carolinas can fit into India?” The Smart Board will be on and it will have two pictures. One will be the world map (if my classroom has a world map as well, I will pull that out for a larger reference point). The other picture will be an enlarged map of India. The students will make a hypothesis to answer my question based on land area and based on population. My main focus for the hook, however, is the land area since we will be able to talk about population more when we look at the people of India. I will allow as many students that want to to make guesses about the comparison between North Carolina’s size (139,389 sq km) and India’s size (3,287,263 sq km). I am hoping that the students will underestimate the size of India and believe that the number is lower. I also hope that students will be shocked when they learn that 23.58 North Carolinas can fit into India. If I could figure out how to use a Smart Board, I would want to have another slide that has the world map size of India and the world map size of North Carolina with the map shown to come up with the answer. I would then want to cut North Carolina out and have a slide that shows the 23.58 North Carolinas within India. Another slide will be used to compare India to the United States, with India be slightly more than one-third the size of the United States. At this point, I would introduce the population of India (1,156,897,766) and the United States (307,212,123). While I will not discuss this much, as I said earlier, I will eventually talk to the students about the vast disparities between the ratios of land to people in both countries. I will ask students how India can be only a third of the size of the United States but have almost four people for each person in the United States. After 15 minutes of doing the bell ringer and hook, the class will spend the remainder of the lesson looking at the physical geography of India. This corresponds with objective 2.01 (Identify key physical characteristics such as landforms, water forms, and climate, and evaluate their influence on the development of cultures). We will begin this with each table receiving a page of pictures, about four or five pictures on each page. Each set will have only one or two cultural pictures because the purpose of the activity will be for the students to see the different physical features, climates, and resources that India has to offer. Each table will have a mixed set so they may see the diversity of features in India. The tables will spend a few minutes making inferences as a group about the physical geography of India. Students will then share their findings. This portion of the lesson will last 10 minutes. For the next 20 minutes, each group will be assigned a physical feature, a climate, or a natural resource to research. The sections will all be small portions from chapter 21 in the textbook. Students will read the associating paragraph(s) and will then contribute to a classed-size illustration of India. I will have a map of India blown up for this activity. As a team, students will research the mountains of India, the rivers and plans of India, the other features of India, the climate regions of India, and the natural resources of India. All of these will be illustrated on the map, including the natural resources and climates. If the students have a specific physical feature or climate zone, they will try to locate it in the most accurate position possible on the map. For the natural resources, students will generalize where these resources may be found. Each group will have about three minutes with the map since we cannot take too long with this activity. While students are waiting to use the map or they have finished, they will make a trifold for the lecture portion of class. Students will fold a piece of computer paper in half (hamburger style) and then cut three flaps into the front side. The flaps will be labeled similarly to the groups we had earlier: physical features, climates, and natural resources. Once the map is complete, the teacher will spend 10 minutes lecturing on each part. I will begin by introducing the definition of a subcontinent and again resorting to the data from the hook. While presenting my lecture, I will use the class map as a resource to reiterate important landforms or sections. The students will be filling out their foldables during this time as well as illustrating all of the features of their individual maps. In the lecture, I will discuss the Himalayas, Mt. Everest, the Ganges River, the Indus River, the Deccan, and the Great Indian Desert. I will also introduce the tropical climates, monsoons, fertile soil and goods, and mineral resources. More importantly, I will discuss the effect on life of the physical features, climate, and natural resources. Students will turn their foldables and their maps in for a classwork completion grade. Class will end with a five-minute closure, which will consist of a quick review of the class period. The students will also be asked a closing question of, “What physical features in the Indian Subcontinent would you most want to visit and why?” After a few students have answered, it will be time to go. My students will have a daily participation grade which will run on a 4-point scale (1 = no participation, 4 = great participation). Students will give themselves a self-evaluation and then I will grade them as well after each class period. Participation for today’s lesson will be graded on contributions during the bell ringer and the hook sections and participation during all group work (picture analysis and physical geography of India—Part 1). I will also collect the students’ foldables and their individual maps for a classwork completion grade. These grades will be on a check scale. For homework, students will be asked to write a one-page response to the following question: “How do India’s physical features compare to the physical features in the United States, and more specifically to North Carolina? What climate similarities or differences are there? Do we have the same natural resources as India?” These will help guide the lesson for tomorrow.