Topic: Southern Europe - features of the natural environment

Target group

VIth grade of primary school

Core curriculum

VII. Geography of Europe: the location and boundaries of the continent, the main features of the natural environment in Europe. Agriculture, industry and services in selected European countries.

13 . Shows the relationship between the development of tourism in Southern Europe and natural conditions and the heritage of Mediterranean culture.

General aim of education

The student will learn the characteristics of the natural environment of Southern Europe.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to determine the geographical location of southern Europe;

• to discuss the Mediterranean landscape and indicate its main components;

• to characterize the climate and vegetation of southern Europe.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• exposing

  • exposition.

• 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;

• physical map of Europe;

• LearningApps;

• geographical atlases;

• projector.

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.

• Begins classes using the LearningApps program - the „Hangman” application, the password to guess the Mediterranean maquis.

• Talk.

Realization

• The teacher launches on the multimedia board a map from the Shaped e‑textbook and the location of Southern Europe. Students determine the geographical location of this part of Europe. They point on the map of the sea, bays, straits, peninsulas, islands and archipelagos classified as Southern Europe. Students search for countries that are included in Southern Europe, read mountain ranges located in their area. The indicated students point to the wall map of Europe.

• The teacher asks pupils to remind them about the climate zone and the types of climate prevailing in the countries of Southern Europe. Students use geographical atlases (the European climate map) and source materials to provide the characteristics of the climate.

• On the basis of photographs, the teacher discusses Mediterranean vegetation called mace. It indicates the characteristics of plants that have adapted to the prevailing climate.

• The teacher emphasizes that the Mediterranean Basin is an active seismic area. He asks students to work out in pairs to develop a scheme on the causes and effects of earthquakes and volcanisms. Students use source materials - they can eat the Internet on mobile phones. The forums are discussed in the forums.

• The teacher displays a map on the interactive whiteboard from the Southern Europe e‑textbook - Seismic areas. Joint analysis of the distribution of active volcanoes, dormant and extinct volcanoes.

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.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Southern Europe - features of the natural environment

Southern coasts of Europe are surrounded by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This region consists of three massive peninsulas: Iberian, Apennine and Balkan. Together with some large islands – Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete – and the archipelagos of the Balearic Islands, the Cyclades and the Sporades they form the megaregion of Southern Europe.

The Iberian Peninsula is located in the west part of the region. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the east.

The central part of Southern Europe is where the Apennine Peninsula lies. It is approx. 1000 km long and its width ranges from 125 to 220 km. The interior of the peninsula comprises young fold mountains: the Apennines. The highest peak of the range is Corno Grande in the Central Apennines. The three largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea are located in close vicinity of the peninsula: Sicily to its south and Sardinia and Corsica to its west.

The eastern part of the region consists of the Balkan Peninsula, which is connected to the mainland by a wide stretch of land. Its northern boundary is defined as a line going from the Istrian Peninsula in the Adriatic Sea through the valleys of the Sava and the Danube to the Black Sea.

You already know the features of the humid subtropical climate, or the Mediterranean climate found in Southern Europe.

Let’s sum up what we know about the climate of Southern Europe.

Climatic winter is virtually non‑existent in the region, whereas climatic summer is about 6 months long. The annual precipitation pattern is very characteristic, with particularly dry summers and relatively heavy rainfall in the cooler season. In July or August, temperatures rise to as much as 45°C, and even up to 50°C in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. Between summer and winter, there is also a short transitional period around October. The two factors that promote vegetation growth, namely heat and adequate humidity, in general do not occur at the same time. Vegetation in the region mainly consists of evergreen shrubs, also known as maquis. Here and there, the tangled shrubs are interspersed by trees that grow up to 10 metres. On hot days, plants forming the maquis secrete essential oils, saturating the air with a strong aroma. The shrubland consists of holly oak, myrtle, oleander, pistachio and laurel. These plants are perfectly adapted to the long, dry summer season. Many species have very complex roots that go deep underground. Other species grow rapidly during early summer, when there is still much moisture in the soil. In addition, people brought some alien plant species to the Mediterranean Basin, such as agave, prickly pear or eucalyptus. Vegetation on mountain slopes is characterised by altitudinal zonation.

The Mediterranean Basin and the surrounding areas are often affected by earthquakes. In other words, they are earthquake zones. Earthquakes are caused by sudden movements of rock inside the Earth’s crust.

In Southern Europe, there are also some active volcanoes. Descriptions of volcanic eruptions date back to Ancient history. The most famous active volcano is Vesuvius, which lies near Naples in the Apennine Peninsula. Other active volcanoes can be found on many islands of the Mediterranean Sea.