Topic: Major geographic regions and population of the United States of America

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XVI. Selected problems and geographic regions of North and South America: meridional extent and surface formation ... situation of indigenous people; slums in big cities; megalopolis, Silicon Valley as an example of technology

Student:

5. assesses the situation of indigenous people and explains the reasons for the disappearance of primary cultures on the example of North or South America;

General aim of education

The student will learn about the great regions of the USA and characterize the population of the United States.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• point large regions on the map of the United States;

• exchange the main population groups living in the United States;

• identify the causes of disappearance of the native cultures of the indigenous population of America.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• exposing

  • film.

• 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;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• recording of abstract „Major geographic regions and the United States of America”.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• The teacher asks the selected student or students to familiarize themselves with the material of the abstract and to prepare the illustrative material for the lesson „Major geographic regions and population of the United States of America”.

• Volunteers prepare papers dedicated to issues included in the abstract.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

• The teacher asks the student to launch the Google Maps on the interactive whiteboard and display the area to be covered by the lesson in the satellite view. Students analyze the photo together.

• Volunteers present their papers. If necessary, the teacher completes the student's statements.

• Students interpret the cover illustration, indicating its relationship with the subject and goals of the lesson.

• Selected students present the illustrative material prepared by them before the lesson. The teacher encourages the class to ask questions to the presenters, e.g.

  • Why did you choose such examples?

  • What does this photo involve?

  • What does this illustration tell us?

  • Why is this scheme important?

Realization

• The teacher displays a map from the e‑textbook. The surface structure of the United States, from which students read objects that make up the vertical shape of the earth's surface. The teacher draws attention to the meridional arrangement of great forms - geographical regions.

• The teacher displays on the interactive whiteboard the North American terrain profile along par 40. Interpretation of the scheme by the whole class team.

• The teacher displays a map from the e‑textbook North America - physiographic regions. Joint analysis of the entire class team regarding the location of large regions, their heights and characteristics. Students use textbooks and geographical atlases, reading the characteristics of the regions.

• Work in groups. Students using source materials such as the geography book, the e‑textbook, the historical atlas and the internet, work on a drawn thematic area. Students share tasks within the group. Representatives of each group discuss the elaborated information. After each presentation, willing students complete the mind map on the board, which is a common note from the lesson for the whole class.

• The teacher uses the recording „Major geographic regions and the United States of America” to work in pairs or in groups according to the following steps: 1) listening to the recording, 2) asking the questions, 3) listening to the recording, 4) a summary of its parts, 5) repetition or listening to the recording.

• Work of the whole class team. Students stand in a circle. The teacher encourages them to play: throws a ball or mascot to one of the students, saying the English word or notion learned in the lesson. The student gives the Polish equivalent, mentions another word in English and throws a ball or mascot to a friend or colleague.

Summary

• The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer? If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

• The teacher asks the students questions:

  • What did you find important and interesting in class?

  • What was easy and what was difficult?

  • How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?

  Willing/selected students summarize the lesson.

Homework

• 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

Major geographic regions and population of the United States of America

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world, with a surface area of 9,526,5 thousand sq. km, and the third most populous one, with 322 million inhabitants in 2010. This vast country is made up of continental states that lie in the central part of the North American continent, between the 25th parallel north and the 49th parallel north. Two more states, Alaska in the northwest extremity of North America and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, are located outside the main part of the United States. One of the crucial features of the natural environment of the United States is the meridional layout of its major geographic regions, which differ in altitude above sea level and landscape. Terrain and climate variations influence also other aspects of the natural environment of each region. In the past, the natural boundaries of those regions created barriers to further settlement on the continent. Even today they have a significant effect on the economic development of certain areas.

East and south coasts of the United States are covered by coastal plains: the Atlantic Plain with numerous lower sections of rivers, bays and marshlands in the east and the much broader Gulf Coastal Plain in the south. The central part of the Gulf Coastal Plain is where the growing Mississippi River Delta lies. The Atlantic Plain is bordered to the west by the Appalachians – fold mountains with glacial landforms in the northern part. The section going through the United States is about 2300 km long. The highest peak of the Appalachians is Mount Mitchell, located in the southern part of the range. Its elevation is 2037 m a.s.l.

To the west of the Appalachians there are Inner Plains also known as Central Plains. In the northern part of the region there are 5 Great Lakes, which are the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. In the middle part there is a karst carving with numerous caves. The northern part of the region was glaciated up to the valleys of the Ohio and Missouri rivers, the tributaries of the Mississippi River, which drains waters from this region to the Gulf of Mexico. Moving west, we encounter the Great Plains, also called Plains, stretching from the border with Canada to the border with Mexico. The terrain rises here gently to the base of the Rocky Mountains. It is dissected by numerous deep river valleys with a latitudinal course whose rivers drain water to Missouri and Mississippi. The western part of the country is occupied by the young Cordillera Mountains. To the east are the Rocky Mountains, and to the west along the Pacific there is a band formed by the Coastal Mountains, Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Between them there are plateaus and basins: the Colombian Upland, the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau. The Cordilleras belt in the west of the USA is about 1700 km wide. The peaks of the Rocky Mountains and other bands reach over 4,000. m.a.s.l. Whitney's highest peak (4418 m above sea level) is located in the Sierra Nevada. 

The territory of the United States lies in 4 different climate zones:

• the north coast of Alaska is characterised by a polar climate, whereas its central part is dominated by a subarctic climate and the south coast by a cool temperate climate;

• the latitudinal strip of land along the Canadian border is characterised by a warm temperate climate;

• further to the south, the belt stretching from the Pacific Mountains to the Atlantic Plain lies subtropical climate zone;

• the Hawaiian Islands, the Florida peninsula and the southern parts of the Gulf Coastal Plain are located in the tropical climate zone.

The United States of America is the largest immigrant country in the world. People coming to live there originated from diverse national and ethnic backgrounds. Currently the US is inhabited by 322 million people, which makes for 4.4% of the world’s population.

The population of the United States is constantly growing, which sets it apart from other developed countries of the world. This growth is achieved thanks to a relatively high rate of natural infcrease and positive net migration. In recent years, about 1.2 million people have come to the US per year. The estimated number of illegal immigrants is 250 thousand.

Nowadays, the population of United States is composed of several large groups:

• White population – 66.9%;

• Latinos, i.e. people having their origins in Latin America – 14,4% (officially known as the Hispanic population since 2000);

• African Americans – 12.8%;

• Asians and Pacific Islanders – 4,5%;

• Indigenous Americans and the Inuit – 1,0%;

• others – 0.4%; this group includes people of various ethnic backgrounds who do not identify with any of the above groups.

One tendency of the US population structure that has been observed for decades is the constant growth of population originating from Latin America. Due to its ethnic diversity, American society is known as multicultural.

Nowadays, the urban population comprises about 81.6% of the entire population. Population density is significantly higher in the eastern and central parts of the country as well as on its western coast. The most sparsely populated areas are the Cordillera and the Great Plains.
In the United States there are 51 metropolitan areas and cities inhabited by more than 1 million people. The largest one is the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island metropolitan area with a population of 21 million. The second‑largest one is the metropolitan area of Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana inhabited by 14 million people and located on the West Coast.

The employment structure in the US is typical for an economically developed country.

• The United States of America has the fourth largest surface area of all countries in the world. The mainland part of its territory consists of 48 continental states lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in the central part of North America. Two more states – Alaska and Hawaii – are located outside that continuous area.

• The United States of America is the largest immigrant country in the world. People coming to live there originated from diverse national and ethnic backgrounds. It is now the third most populous country in the world.