| Materials Needed: Explore Geography
Picture Dictionary (one per student or student group) and Explore
the Ancient World Activity Sheet : "What Am I Thinking Of?" |
| Note: This activity can be used as a review toward
the end of the school year. It could also be used as part of the student's
performance assessment. |
| Teacher Directions: The activities
in this lesson help students review content and develop critical thinking
skills. |
|
"Fill in the Grid!": Ask students
to name the regions they have studied. Write these on the board
in a column. Next, ask students to name geographical features, characteristics
of climate and vegetation, and people they have studied. Write these
across the top of the board. Draw horizontal and vertical lines
to form a grid as shown below. Ask students to identify the geographical
features associated with each region and make an X in the appropriate
box of the grid.
Example:
| |
Himalayas |
Sinai Desert |
Confucius |
| India |
X |
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"What Am I Thinking Of?": Write the words YES and NO on the board.
Tell students that you are thinking of something. They are to guess
what it is, but they have to give the clues. You will tell them
if one of their clues describes what you are thinking of or not.
Ask students to name states, geographical features, characteristics
of climate and vegetation, or people they have studied. These are
the clues. As students name each clue, write it under either YES
or NO. At any point, students can guess what you are thinking of.
Example:
| India |
| YES |
NO |
| Himalayas |
Sinai Desert |
| Ganges River |
Yangtze River |
| Asoka |
Confucius |
|
| After students have guessed correctly and they understand the activity,
organize them into small groups. Hand out Explore the Ancient World
Activity Sheet: "What Am I Thinking Of?" The students will complete
their own grid and have fellow group members guess "what they are
thinking of." Make sure students understand what they are to do. |
 |
Make it Easier: For
"What Am I Thinking Of?" give the clues yourself, rather than having
students give them. |
 |
Make it Quicker: Do
just one of the activities. |
 |
Make it More Fun:
Let the student who correctly guesses the region think of a region
and write the clues under YES or NO. |
 |
Make it More Challenging:
Omit the grid activity. Or have students explain why the clues describe
a particular region and not another. |
