Humans modify the natural environment at many scales, from diverting a tiny stream for better field irrigation to impounding the Colorado River behind Hoover Dam. In this lesson, students will learn about a major event in which humans modified the physical environment in the United States.

Geography, social studies, language arts, science

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet access and/or
• Articles about the Kissimmee River: "Hard Corps Revival on the Kissimmee," Sierra, March 1992; "South Florida Water: Paying the Price," National Geographic Magazine, July 1990
• Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the state of Florida, one for each student
• Map of Florida from a pre-1960 atlas (if available)

Students will

• understand the effects of human modification on the Kissimmee River in Florida; and
• be able to make generalizations about what they have learned and apply them to human actions and their environmental consequences elsewhere on the globe.

Ask students to identify important ways in which humans have used technology to alter the landscape around the world. Write their responses on the board. Give examples, such as the effects of irrigating to increase crop yield or the consequences of building retaining walls to slow beach erosion.

Tell students that geographers are concerned with human modifications of the environment and the consequences of human modifications. Ask students to give examples of how humans modify the environment in intended and unintended ways.

Have students read print articles (see examples in the materials section above) and/or explore the Web sites below that detail changes that were made by the Army Corps of Engineers along the Kissimmee River and the results of these changes on the local environment.

Kissimmee River Restoration Project
Story of the Kissimmee River
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Kissimmee River Restoration

Have students locate the Kissimmee River on their outline maps of Florida. If you have a map made prior to 1960, compare the river's course then with its course today. Students can also view these photographs of the changes.

Ask students to list a number of intended effects of the channeling process. They should also identify and list unintended results.

Ask your students to assume the roles of different people whose lives are in some way connected to the Kissimmee River—housing developers, farmers who live near the river's banks, people who fish, Army Corps of Engineers employees. Encourage a debate about the best ways of managing the Kissimmee or a similar river.

Have students write persuasive essays defending a position on when and where humans should modify the natural environment. In making their arguments, students should be able to apply what they have learned in this lesson.

• Have students interview a local urban planner, or invite one to your class. They may want to ask questions, such as:
  • What steps does an urban planner or an owner of a business have to perform in order to be granted permission to build?
  • Do the steps require an analysis of the impact that construction will have on the natural environment?
  
  
  
• Have students research a business or land development project in their communities. They should research the physical environment of the region before and after construction and make a map of the region. Were all significant environmental consequences anticipated before construction, or were there surprises after the fact? Would students have recommended that the project be allowed if they had been given a voice in the matter? Ask students to write an essay or give a class presentation that details their answers to these questions.

Aaron Doering of Century High School in Rochester, Minnesota, contributed classroom ideas for Standard 14.

Environmental Protection Agency
Kissimmee River Restoration Project
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Kissimmee River Restoration
World Wildlife Fund