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Overview:
This lesson asks students to learn about the problems in the Aral Sea region and to discover how the sea's water loss is affecting specific groups of people, such as babies and fishers. They will work in groups to prepare statements that these people might make, and will present their statements to a mock United Nations panel.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, earth science, environmental studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"
Time:
Three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Wall map of the world
- Blank white paper
- Writing and drawing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- draw pictures comparing the Aral Sea in 1973 and 1999, using satellite images as references;
- visit Web sites about the Aral Sea and take notes on how specific groups of people are affected by the sea's retreat;
- prepare statements that specific groups of people might make about the situation in the Aral Sea region; and
- pretend to present their statements to the United Nations, explaining what they hope will be done to improve conditions in the Aral Sea region.
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:
Introduce students to the Aral Sea by pointing out its location on a world map (between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the former Soviet Union). Explain that the sea has shrunk by more than 60 percent in over 30 years because water flowing into the sea for cotton farming.
Development:
Closing:
Hold a class discussion asking students to explain how each of the above people might be affected by the situation in the Aral Sea.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Divide the class into five groups and assign them the following roles: babies, women, farmers, fishers, and doctors. Ask the groups to write statements that the people they are assigned to might make with regard to the Aral Sea situation. If they are assigned to babies, they can speak as older children or adults on behalf of the babies. Their statements should explain how these people are affected by the shrinking of the Aral Sea and what they think should be done about the situation.
Next, ask the groups to pretend they are attending a hearing at the United Nations. Have each group read its statement, making sure to emphasize the things it thinks should be done to remedy the situation. After all groups have read their statements, hold a class discussion asking students to state whether they think the solutions they have proposed are realistic and whether they think there is any hope for the Aral Sea.
As an alternative assessment activity, have students research the situation in Mono Lake, California, to find out why this lake has been endangered for several decades and to learn what has been done about the situation there. Have them write paragraphs comparing and contrasting the situation in Mono Lake with that in the Aral Sea. They might want to begin their research at the Mono Lake Web Site.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students research a local lake and take notes on how this body of water is important to the local ecosystem and the people who live near it. Then ask them to imagine that this lake is beginning to recede and might, within 50 years or so, completely disappear unless something is done to save it.
- Have the students write two- to three-page reports explaining how, if this lake were to shrink, people, animals, and plants would be affected. Their reports should also compare this hypothetical situation to the real problems in the Aral Sea region; what similarities and differences can they think of?
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