A region is a group of places
that are similar to each other in some way
and also are located close to each other.
We can draw a line around the places
and show the resulting area on a map.
The result is a regional map. It is usually easier
to remember a shape on a good regional map
than to try to remember all the individual places.
Day 1. These materials show how four lines can
divide the continent of North America into six regions
that have similar environmental characteristics.
Option: A night-time satellite image can be a good prompt
for questions about the pattern of human population,
either before or after the region activity above.
Day 2-3. Geographers define culture
as the mental rules about appropriate behavior
in specific places (regions!) One aspect of culture,
therefore, consists of the tools that people use
to do things in a particular place (and the mental rules
about how those tools should be made and used –
we even speak of “the Hopewell culture” or
“the steppe culture” when what we are really describing
is the collection of tools and artifacts that archaeologists
have uncovered and analyzed in that place.
To explore the idea of cultural appropriateness
in a non-threatening way, put students in the role
of pioneers trying to decide what tools to take
as they load their wagon in order to move
from a log cabin in the rainy East (or Europe)
to a new homestead in the semi-arid
(and therefore treeless) Great Plains region
(and/or, they can choose equipment
for the Lewis and Clark expedition,
which was venturing into an unknown region):
Day 4 Option: A match-climagraphs-with-places activity
can serve as a review of the regions of North America
and an introduction to a powerful kind of graph.
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- BI0C Climagraph Questions handout teacher background
- BI0C Reading a Climagraph handout a simple summary
Another Option. A comparison of beach temperatures
on the east and west coast of the United States offers
an engaging way to get into a discussion about ocean
currents and their effects on climate (this could also go
in the Europe unit on sea trade and colonization, or
the South America unit on immigration).
Extension. A more elaborate comparison of climagraphs
from similar places in China and the United States
can introduce the powerful idea of geographic analogies.
Geographic analogies are places that are located
in similar positions on other continents
(or other states, or cities, or watersheds, etc.)
and therefore often have similar conditions.
Alternatively, save the analogy activity for later,
when you get to the Unit about China.
Another activity that has its focus on the idea of region
deals with the areas in North America claimed by various
European colonial countries in the 1600s and 1700s.
BI2E N America Colonies activity set
BI2E N America Colonies clickable map 8×11
Summary. At the end of this unit about North America,
students should view regionalization as an analytical tool
that they can use to help organize their knowledge
about any part of the world they happen to be studying.