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Overview:
In this lesson, students will visit the Satellite Spyglass exhibit in Xpedition Hall, where students learn that we can make sense of our complex world by dividing it into different regions.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 5: "That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity"
Time:
Two hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Three pieces of construction paper per student, in three different colors
- Journals (one per student)
Objectives:
Students will
- compare and contrast formal, functional and perceptual regions;
- divide their cafeteria into regions; and
- write about their own perceptions of regions.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
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:
Regions are used to simplify complex spaces so that they are easier to consider. In geography, researchers, cartographers, and engineers may divide spaces as large as the solar system or as small as the palm of your hand into regions so that they can focus on the exact area they want to study without being distracted. A zoologist interested in an animal's diet would not spend a lot of time studying the animal's feet. That is not the region of the body he would want to take notes about!
Development:
There are different types of regions. Some are formal and defined based on cold hard facts, such as population, per capita income of the people who live there, or even temperature. There are also functional regions, which are organized around a focal point, that include areas that are linked to them through communication patterns, transportation routes, or even television broadcasts. Perceptual regions are the third type of region. These regions reflect human feelings and attitudes about areas. These are very subjective, meaning that they are based more on opinions than facts. If you ever hear someone refer to a neighborhood as a place where "most of the people who" are members of an ethnic group, work in a certain profession, or have a certain set of ideas live without having taken a formal poll to determine the facts, they are talking about a perceived region.
Have students learn more about regions by clicking through the Satellite Spyglass in Xpedition Hall. Ask students to focus on the differences between the types of regions at each level.
Closing:
Ask students to think about whether or not their cafeteria is divided into regions. Students may think that such a small space could not be a region, but remind students what the definitions are for each type of region. The doors and the walls mark the line between the cafeteria and the rest of the school, for the formal region. In the cafeteria, there are probably areas where extra tables or chairs are stored, an area for the trash, and an area where the food is purchased or stored. These are regions based on the purpose of the room, but are true for everyone and based on fact. These are functional regions. Ask students to think about how a cafeteria can have perceived regions. Ask for silence while students think about this for one minute.
Suggested Student Assessment:
After the minute has passed, ask students to think about where people sit in the cafeteria, and why. Do all the students in a class sit together? Do students sit together based on common interest? Do boys usually sit on one side, and girls on the other? Where are the teachers? Where do other adults in the cafeteria sit or stand during that period? Have students draw a "perceived region" view of the cafeteria on paper of one color. Once their image is complete, ask students also to sketch out the functional and formal regions. Do the functional and formal regions seem to have any influence over the perceived regions? For example, do certain groups of students tend to sit closer to the doors or further away from the authority figures?
Extending the Lesson:
Ask students to share their perceived region drawings with their peers, so they can discuss similarities and differences. In a journal, ask students to write about why how they think of their school may have influenced their perceived region drawing. For example, a student who is not very studious may notice that all of the students in honors classes sit together; whereas, a student in that group may say that people who participate in an after school activity sit together. Ask students to consider what it would take to "rearrange" their perceived regions.
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