Topic: The lay of the land in Asia

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XIV. Selected problems and geographical regions of Asia: Asia as a continent of geographical contrasts; pacific „ring of fire”; monsoon climate in Southeast Asia; Japan – economy on the background of natural and socio‑cultural conditions; China – population distribution, demographic problems and importance in the global economy; India is a country of great development opportunities and social and economic contrasts; Near East – culture of the region, oil, area of armed conflicts.

Student:

1) shows, on the basis of general geographical and thematic maps, that Asia is an area of great geographical contrasts;

General aim of education

The student will discuss the Asian hypsometric profile. and will indicate the largest forms of Asian surface design.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• discuss the relationship between the terrain of Asia and the geological structure;

• you will analyze the hypsometric profile of Asia;

• you will show on the map the largest forms of shaping the surface of Asia.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher informs students about the goals of the lesson.

• He asks students to mention surface forms classified as the land surface. Next, the students explain what the terms: lowland, highlands, mountains, depression and cryptodepression mean. They can use source materials: the Internet, a handbook for teaching geography.

Realization

• Work in pairs. The students on A4 pages create a map of thoughts on which they divide the vertical formation of Asia. They write examples of the largest forms: mountains, highlands, lowlands, depression. They use geographical atlases.

• Discussion of mind maps. The teacher draws attention to the surface of uplands, which constitute about 55% of the continent's surface.

• The teacher asks you to search for the Tibetan Plateau on the hypsometric map of Asia and read the altitude on which it is located. The teacher asks the question: Why is Tibet high when it is at high altitudes? Discussion and presentation of applications.

• The teacher asks for the highest summit of Asia and the world at the same time. Students also point out countries on whose border lies Mount Everest.

• The teacher chooses short excerpts from the YouTube video about climbing Mount Everest. He mentions Polish climbers: Wanda Rutkiewicz, Leszek Cichy, Krzysztof Wielicki and Jerzy Kukuczka.

• Students, using geographical atlases, the internet and a geography textbook, determine the relationship between the terrain of Asia and the geological structure. They indicate the mountains formed during the tectonic movements: Caledonian, Hercegovian and alpine.

• Students analyze the Asian hypsometric profile. Students discuss and present conclusions.

• Eager people check their orientation from the shape of vertical Asia. The student indicates on the wall map geographical objects given by classmates. With a very good knowledge of the map, the teacher should put the highest mark.

• Eager people check their orientation from the shape of vertical Asia. The student indicates on the wall map geographical objects given by classmates. With a very good knowledge of the map, the teacher should put the highest mark.

Summary

• At the summary of the lesson, students perform interactive exercises on the interactive whiteboard.

• The teacher assesses the students, taking into account the contribution and their possibilities.

Homework

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

• Make at home a note from the lesson using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The lay of the land in Asia

Warm‑up task. Using the available materials, write down a definition for each word.

• Asia is dominated by upland and mountain areas. They cover 3/4 of the continent. Asia is the highest of the inhabited continents. The average land height is 990 m above sea level.

• The highest mountain range on Earth – the Himalayas; the highest point – Mount Everest which is 8850 m above sea level. Other names of this peak are Chomolungma, and Sagarmatha.

• The deepest depression can be found in the Dead Sea depression and reaches about 403 m below sea level (depending on the level of water).

• In the central part of Asia, there is a great, vast, upland area formed by the Tibetan Plateau – the highest upland in the world (4–6 thousand meters above sea level), and the Mongolian Plateau which turns into the Central Siberian Plateau in the north.

• Extensive lowland areas: The West Siberian Plain and the Turan Depression in Central Asia. The lowlands formed by rivers are of great significance. These include: The Mesopotamian Lowland, the Indus Lowland, the Ganges Lowland, and the North China Plain.

• Belts of young, fold mountains arranged latitudinally, surrounding the upland areas in south‑western and central Asia. Only this continent has peaks that exceed 8 thousand meters above sea level, 10 of which are located in the Himalayas, and 4 – in the Karakoram.

• A large number of old mountain ranges lying in the north‑eastern part of Asia, e.g., the Sayan Mountains, the Chersky Range, and the Altai Mountains.

• The lay of the land in Asia is characterized by great variation in height and in the extensiveness of the landforms.