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Overview:
This lesson has students consider the ways in which historical events and processes have been affected by geography. For example, the Lewis and Clark expedition was affected by many geographical phenomena, such as rugged mountains and strong river currents. Students will read historical features on the Internet, explain how geography affected those historical events or processes, and write stories describing how geographic variations might have led to different outcomes.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, earth science, history
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 17: "How to apply geography to interpret the past"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Writing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- list the geographical features related to an historical event they have studied;
- read an historical account on the Internet, and list the ways in which geography affected the activities and processes they have read about;
- write stories imagining a geographical variation in one of the historical accounts they have read and explaining how this variation could have affected the outcome of the historical event or process; and
- discuss their stories and the ways in which geography can affect the outcome of events.
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:
Ask students to think about an event they have learned about in their history studies. Have students list all the things they remember learning about the geography of the region in which this event took place. For example, what do they know about the geography of New England, where the Revolutionary War was fought? Then discuss as a class the ways in which geography might have contributed to the outcome of this event.
Development:
Have students browse one of the following National Geographic interactive features:
Lewis & Clark Megasite
The Underground Railroad
The Land of Genghis Khan
As they browse, ask students to list the ways in which geography affected the activities and processes discussed on these sites. For example, Lewis and Clark's expedition was hampered by the ruggedness of the Bitterroot Mountains and the northern climate (they encountered a September blizzard).
Closing:
Discuss students' findings. How did geography affect the outcome of the historical accounts they investigated?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students look closely at the lists they made when browsing through the Web sites, and ask them to think of one way in which a variation in a geographical feature might have given the story a completely different outcome. Ask them to write stories pretending that something about the geography had been different and giving a new ending to the historical event. If there is time, they can conduct further research on the topic to find out more about the geographical influences on the events.
Discuss students' stories as a class, and ask them what they have learned from this activity. How can geography affect the outcome of the things we do? How has geography affected events in history? Why is it important to study geography in order to understand what happened in history?
Extending the Lesson:
Have students read a section from a history textbook or another book that they might be using in their history classes. Ask them to pretend they have been hired to write a sidebar to this section of the book that explains the role of geography in this piece of history. Have them write a one to two paragraph sidebar that uses geographical descriptions (e.g., what the landscape looked like, what the climate was like, or how landscape and climate affected the outcome of the event) to elaborate on the topic in the book.
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