[Cynthia Jackson]

Thinking in terms of the two themes of geography that you mentioned, movement and human environmental interaction, I thought another interesting thing to look at could be how the shifting of the Yellow River over time has caused fluctuations in the settlement of nearby populations and changes in the way local towns and cities developed. This could be a two part lesson that has students create an interactive timeline that tracks the path of the Yellow River over a certain amount of time. Like Clayton showed us that graph with its various paths, studying a visual representation and creating one are powerful learning experiences. I wonder if students were told to choose five random years during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, if they could draw and save photos of the Yellow River’s course each of the years they chose and plot where populations were located around the river. They could also save photos of new architectural developments in these towns for the years they chose. In a final reflection, students could analyze how changes in the physical landscape can prompt human migrations and how humans change their environments to fit their needs.

[Cynthia Jackson]

I teach 7th Grade World Geography. Discussing how water resources are renewed, drawing connections between access to water and other resources and higher quality of life, and deciding who is responsible for managing water resources are some of the essential topics for our Model United Nations unit provided by the United Nations Association of Greater Boston. Since my partner and I will teach Asia before this unit, it would be a good idea to focus on how resource scarcity can affect countries and entire regions. I would want to teach ancient civilization in this area first and then build their foundational skills to understand the same regions today. I am interested in using several of the topographical maps we saw in this lecture, especially the ones showing North and South Korea’s, Japan’s, and China’s physical landscapes, in a lesson. Students would analyze these maps and images of some of the physical features described by these maps to make hypotheses about these countries' access to resources. We would then analyze population density maps to identify where most people live in this region. Lastly, students would be asked to consider the topographical maps and the population density maps together, to draw conclusions about where most people in East Asia’s countries live and explain the relationship between access to resources and population density. This would require students to be able to read special purpose maps, form hypotheses, and draw reasonable conclusions supported by evidence, skills that are currently being taught in our first unit.

[Cynthia Jackson]

Hi! My name is Cynthia Jackson and I am a 7th grade World Geography teacher in Waltham, Massachusetts. This is my second year of teaching- a kind of crazy time to enter the field but also a crazy time to be in the field in general. My school is mostly remote and wants to move forward with SEL initiatives, the district needs our department to align curriculum across our two middle schools, and we're also transitioning our curriculum to meet the state's newest standards. A lot of things are happening but they allow me to create some exciting learning opportunities for my students whom I already enjoying getting to know. My advice and goal for the year is to take things one step at a time. I'm looking forward to learning beside all of you this Fall while I bake, curriculum plan, and get outside- my favorite ways to enjoy my favorite season!

 

 

 

 

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