Merritt_Topic+1


 * 2.01: Can you see yourself swimming through a waterfall or climbing a large mountaintop in South America? Today we’ll be discovering the physical characteristics of the region.**

In this lesson, students will become familiar with the physical characteristics of South America. Students will gain knowledge on significant island, rivers, and mountains which contribute to the beauty of the area. They will understand each characteristics purpose; along with how this impact the life and culture of the region. First I would teach a lesson introducing the basic definitions of physical characteristics so they are familiar with the terminology. I will briefly touch base on important areas and characteristic with little detail. I will highlight some images of South America and spark student’s curiosity to learn more.

After the introduction to South America and many of the physical features it has to offer, I will place the class into groups of three or four. Each group will randomly be assigned an important island, river, or mountain for the list below:

Students will be given time to compile as much information on their specific physical characteristic. Each group is required to create one poster convincing the entire class that their island, river, or mountain is worth seeing and visiting when traveling to South America. It is the student’s job to make their particular characteristic sound appealing, interesting, and fun. Detailed guidelines will be provided with exactly what students are to include in their presentation to the class.
 * __Island__ || __River__ || __Mountain__ ||
 * The Galapagos Island || The Amazon River || The Andes ||
 * Devil’s Island || The Magdelena River || Bonete ||
 * The Juan Fernandez Island || The Paraguay River || Aconcagua ||

I will be able to tell if students have learned the information based on the information presented to the class and their ability to make their physical characteristic sound convincing. I will grade the presentations based on creativity, facts provided, correctness, effort, and use of valid online resources. An example will be provided to illustrate the expectations. This will take more than one class period. Group evaluations will be distributed to assure each student is playing a role in using primary sources to gather facts.

Ultimately, this lesson allows for students to learn from their peers, along with the chance to become extremely knowledgeable about one particular physical characteristic they are researching as a group.