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Overview:
On the "Afghanistan: Land in Crisis" map (available in print or online), students will review the different groups in "A Patchwork of Ethnic Minorities," one of the inset maps, and examine different ways that people can be organized into groups.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- focus on different ethnic groups on a map of Afghanistan;
- brainstorm ways in which people in their own country could be grouped;
- divide into groups and investigate similarities and differences among group members;
- share how they categorized their groups with the class; and
- as a class, create a list to describe themselves, collectively.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
As a class, look at the "Afghanistan: Land in Crisis" map (available in print or online). Ask students to focus on "A Patchwork of Ethnic Minorities," one of the inset maps. Ask students to count the number of groups (such as Pashtun, Uzbek, and Pamiri) represented on the map. Remind students that these are only a sampling of the many different groups in this region.
Challenge students to think about how many "groups" live in their own country. These groups can be based on religious affiliation, language, race, or nationality. As a class, create a long list, encouraging students to think of different ways people might describe themselves, such as hearing impaired, or as a musician.
Development:
Ask students to break into small groups of three or four. From the list created, as well as from their own ideas, each group should think of traits that all of the individuals in the group have in common. Have one student in each group record their findings.
To make the record, divide a piece of paper into two columns; list the traits group members share in the first column and the differences in the other column. For example, everyone in the group might like the same sport or might have read the same book; but perhaps group members celebrate different holidays.
Each group should strive to find two or three similarities, as well as to learn more about individuals in the group. (Tell students there's no "prize" for the group with the most shared traits.)
After each group has finished its list, have students create a name for their group, based on their similarities; for example, the "Red-headed Left-handers" or the "Baseball-and-Comic-book Fans."
Closing:
Have each group tell the entire class their group name and explain why they chose it. Each group should also report two or three differences that make their group unique. Then, as a class, create a list of ways they could describe themselves, collectively.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students review "Culture Goggles" by entering the Xpeditions Hall and clicking on II—Places and Regions. Have them pay attention to the way different groups may see the same territory. Ask students to describe in a journal how their group might see the classroom. For example, are there enough left-handed scissors for left-handed students in the class? As an individual, how does each student categorize the class? How is this perception unique? Students should share what they have written in their journals with their group.
Extending the Lesson:
Using the map "A Patchwork of Ethnic Minorities," have students count the number of ethnic minorities listed. Compare the number of ethnic groups with the list of ways students described their class; have students graph the results. Or, have students research the characteristics of the Pashtun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Students should then list characteristics that describe themselves or their families (for example, ethnic heritage, major language, holidays celebrated, literacy rate, jobs, hobbies). Have students graphically organize the differences between themselves and the Pashtun.
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