Students in these grade levels should be able to compare the physical characteristics of different regions and to understand the significance of one region to an adjoining area (such as the Blue Nile and the Nile in Egypt). In this lesson they will learn about the differences in precipitation levels and elevation in the regions of the Nile and its source rivers (the White Nile and the Blue Nile) and will explain the importance of the source rivers to civilization in Egypt.

Geography, geology, earth science

Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographical representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective"
Standard 3: "How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface"
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"

Three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Large wall map of the world
• Blank Xpeditions outline maps of Africa, one for each student
• Writing and drawing materials

Students will

• read about the Nile's importance to ancient Egypt;
• read about the Nile and its source rivers, and map important locations;
• create online maps showing elevations and precipitation levels in Africa, and compare the regions of the White Nile, Blue Nile, and Nile delta;
• look at pictures of the Nile and its source rivers; and
• write letters to friends describing a fictitious trip along the Blue and White Nile rivers.

Ask students if they have ever heard of the Nile River. They may know that it is the world's longest river and that it is the site of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Tell students that they are going to be learning about the two rivers, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, that come together to form the Nile River in Egypt. If they are unfamiliar with ancient Egypt, briefly introduce them to this topic by pointing out Egypt on a map and showing them some pictures of ancient Egyptian sites.

Tell students that for centuries the Nile has supported Egyptian agriculture and civilization, thanks in large part to the river's annual flooding. Have them read the information at The Gift of the Nile.

Give each student a blank outline map of Africa from the Xpeditions Atlas and ask them to label Lake Victoria, the Victoria Nile, the White Nile, the Blue Nile, Lake Nasser, and the Nile River Delta. They can refer to the wall map or another atlas to see the places they are mapping.

Have students go to the MapMachine and create elevation zones and precipitation maps of Africa. As they create each map, ask them to compare it with their outline maps to answer the following questions (make sure students realize that they can zoom in to see the maps more closely):

• Which region is most mountainous: the Blue Nile, the White Nile, or the Nile River Delta?
• Which regions get the most and the least rain: the Blue Nile, the White Nile, or the Nile River Delta?
• Which region has the highest population density: the Blue Nile, the White Nile, or the Nile River Delta?

If students find these questions difficult, help them read the maps, pointing out that these are thematic maps whose colors represent the amount of rainfall, the locations of mountains and other landscape features, and the numbers of people who live there. You can also have them skip questions two and three and just focus on question one, about mountains.

If there is time, have students continue their research into the Nile by looking at books and magazines, particularly ones that have photographs of different parts of the Nile, the White Nile, or the Blue Nile. Ask students to try to figure out what it looks like in different places they have seen on their maps. The following Web sites have pictures of the Blue Nile:

National Geographic: The Blue Nile—Photo Gallery
Nile Basin Photo Gallery
Photographs of Ethiopia
Wild Egypt—Nile Tour

Students can also learn about the Nile crocodile and/or research other animals that live in and around the Nile River.

Write "Blue Nile," "White Nile," and "Nile River Delta" on the board, and have the class list words to describe the landscape and climate along these parts of the Nile River system.

Have students imagine that they have just returned from a long vacation to northeastern Africa, where they visited the Blue Nile, White Nile, and Egypt. A friend has asked them why they went so far upriver from the pyramids and other tourist spots of Egypt. Have students write short letters describing to their friends what they saw along the Blue and the White Nile and explaining how different these regions are from each other, and draw pictures to illustrate their main points. The letters should conclude by explaining the reasons why the Blue and White Nile are important to the people of Egypt.

• Have students research the earliest European explorations of the upper reaches of the Nile, including Lake Victoria. Ask them to write journal entries from the point of view of an explorer describing what he or she is seeing and from the point of view of an African seeing a European for the first time.
  
  
• Have students return to the MapMachine and create elevation and precipitation maps for North America. Ask them to compare these maps with the ones they saw for Africa. Are there any North American regions that appear similar to areas of Africa in their elevations and precipitation levels?

National Geographic: Ethiopia's Sacred Waters—The Blue Nile
National Geographic: MapMachine
Photographs of Ethiopia
Wild Egypt—Nile Tour