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Overview:
In this lesson, students describe and later compare how weather affects human activity in two places on opposite sides of the world. Students first identify the seasons and weather in their community and how human activities are affected by weather. They then cross the globe and compare how the weather of northern Africa impacts human activities there. Students look for a connection between the two environments and conclude that although the weather and activities may be very different in both places, the impact of weather on human activities is a common thread in human communities all over the world.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, science
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
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"
Standard 7: "The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface"
Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface"
Time:
Three 45-minute sessions
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- identify and describe the four seasons;
- discuss how weather affects human activities;
- discuss how weather affects animal behavior;
- identify northern Africa on a world map; and
- view pictures of the Sahara Desert and animals of that region.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring 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:
Guiding Question: How does the weather in two different environments (your home community and the Sahara Desert) influence human activities?
Begin by writing the words winter, spring, summer, and fall horizontally across the board. Ask students which season is their favorite and the reasons why. Show students index cards that have weather words and images on them. These same words should appear in a word bank on the board. Ask volunteers to come and place words under the correct heading. Ask the students if some of the words could describe more than one season. Discuss the kinds of weather in each season. Next, show students pictures with different activities, such as ice skating, going to the pool, having a picnic, raking leaves, building a snowman, playing soccer, swimming, flying a kite, planting, flowers, etc. on them. (You can make these cards by hand drawing activities or cutting and pasting images from magazines.) Add these words to the word bank. Again ask volunteers to place cards under the correct heading. Ask students if some of the activities can be done in more than one season. Discuss why some activities can be done only in one season—for example, sledding in winter.
Development:
Pass out blank sheets of 8˝x11-inch paper to students. Have them fold the paper so that when opened there are four equal rectangular sections. Ask students to label the top of each rectangular with the name of a season and then draw a picture of what they like to do in that season. Next, show students a map of the world. Point out the United States and northern Africa. For older students, you may opt to distribute copies of the world map and have them identify the United States and northern Africa by coloring each area a different color.
Students should understand that Africa is far from the United States, across the Atlantic Ocean. The Sahara Desert covers most of northern Africa and is the largest subtropical desert in the world. To give students an idea of how big it actually is, tell them that the 48 contiguous states could fit into it easily. Show students pictures of the Sahara Desert by clicking through images at National Geographic Magazine: Surviving the Sahara, National Geographic News: Sahara Salt Trade Camel Caravans and other African desert photographs. Ask students to describe what they see in the photos. What is the weather like there? How would you describe it? What are the people doing in the pictures? Which of the activities that you do in your hometown could the people who live in northern Africa also do? What kinds of animals are in the pictures? What are they doing? After viewing the pictures of the Sahara Desert and then discussing them, ask the class to come up with a definition of a desert. (Note: Students at this age should understand that deserts are extremely dry places. The Sahara, as a subtropical desert, is very hot but can get very cold at night. Older students may know of cold deserts, but for the purpose of comparing their own living environment with that of people in northern Africa, they should agree on a basic definition of a desert as a hot place.)
Closing:
Ask students to first describe the weather in northern Africa, and then ask them to compare the weather there to the weather where they live, taking into account any seasonal changes in weather conditions. In what season is the weather where they live most like the weather in northern Africa? Ask the students what they think would be the advantages and disadvantages of living where the weather is hot all the time. Would they rather live in a place where the weather changes with the seasons or stays the same? On the back of the paper where the students drew pictures of activities they do in each of the seasons, ask them to draw a picture of a person or people living and doing an activity in or near the Sahara Desert. Have them use words from the word bank to describe the weather and activities people could do there.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask the students to pretend that they work for an adventure company that provides activities for people all over the world. As employees of the company, it is their job to create posters advertising activities for where they live and activities for northern Africa. Highlight any activities that are the same.
Extending the Lesson:
Inquiry Extension
Have students compare the weather in the Sahara Desert to a desert environment that is always cold, like the North or South Pole.
Cross-Curricular Extension for Further Explanation:
Investigate what plant life can survive in the Sahara. Why are those particular species able to thrive in that environment? (Science) What is the distance to the Sahara Desert from your school? (Math)
Try This at Home
Visit a local zoo. As you walk around looking at the animals, read with the student any information the zoo provides about the environments that form the animals’ natural habitats. How are the habitats different? Are any of the animals from a desert? If so, what physical features do they have that help them live in that environment?
Adaptations
For classes that are in areas of the United States that are similar to the Saharan climate, do the comparison exercise using the tropical rain forest in the Congo. Use images from the National Geographic Magazine: Megatransect—Across 1,200 Miles of Untamed Africa on Foot to guide students through the comparison of the environment and how people interact with it.
Students may work in pairs or small groups to complete the season/Sahara Desert comparison.
Give some students handouts that are already divided into the seasons. Ask them to draw what the weather is like in each season.
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