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Overview:
What is a cultural landscape? Many of us have seen photographs in National Geographic magazines but have never really asked ourselves, "What do these photographs reveal about the local culture?" This lesson uses photographs to create an understanding of cultural landscapes.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, language arts, logical analysis
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Time:
One hour
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Pairs of photographs from National Geographic magazines or National Geographic's Photography guide. Each pair should offer geographically diverse looks at a similar theme. For example, you might match an Asian temple with an American church, or a street in Miami with one in Mexico City.
Objectives:
Students will
- understand the human characteristics of places;
- analyze photographs from around the world; and
- make hypotheses about the similarities and differences of cultures, based on the photographs they look at.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
With the help of the class, craft a definition for "cultural landscape." Example: "A cultural landscape is the human imprint on the physical environment—the landscape as modified by people. People and the plants they grow, the animals they care for, and the structures they build make up a cultural landscape. Even a deserted area could be a cultural landscape if its being vacant had been determined by humans."
Development:
Explain to the students that they will be examining pairs of photographs. During the examination they should observe similarities and differences between the cultural landscapes depicted in each pair of pictures. Do not give students information about the images.
Students should take notes on the similarities and differences shown in the pairs of photographs. Have them compile a list of topics, such as
- buildings or other structures and their characteristics;
- people and their characteristics;
- means of transportation;
- signs; and
- pollution.
Once the students have made a complete list of similarities and differences, conduct a large-group discussion focused on the cultural landscape of each picture. Can the students give the general geographical location of the image? Ask such questions as
- Do the people look similar to or different from one another? Identify features to back your statement (e.g., clothing, skin color, hairstyle).
- Do you see evidence of structures used for religious worship?
- Look at buildings. What are the structural similarities or differences?
- How do the overall differences in each image reflect culture?
For example, when viewing a street scene in Miami and a street scene in Mexico City, students might see people who look similar in terms of both physical features and dress. In both pictures they might also see advertisements in Spanish. In the Miami picture many signs will also be in English. Automobiles might be similar, but students might expect to see more American cars in Miami. Pollution may be quite visible in Mexico City and much less so in Miami. (There are far fewer cars in Miami and a much smaller population.) Students should then hypothesize why these two images are so similar. Miami is a city with many Latin American immigrants. It is only natural that their culture should be reflected in the Miami street scene.
Closing:
Have students write a journal entry that provides a definition of cultural landscape. It should clearly identify examples from the activity and discuss how each is directly a reflection of the culture. It should be noted that cultures could have similar features in addition to their unique traits.
Suggested Student Assessment:
To assess the success of this lesson, give students pairs of photographs that show contrasting landscapes and have them do cultural analyses. The student who understands the concept of cultural landscape will be able to report the similarities and differences shown in the pictures and explain them in connection with the respective cultures.
Marc E. Dastous of Estrella Middle School in Phoenix, Arizona, contributed classroom ideas for Standard 4.
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