1.6 Overview Social Studies SOL

1.6 OVERVIEW

The student will describe how location, climate, and physical surroundings affect the way people live, including their food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Introduce the term seasons and explain to the students that a season is any one of the four phases of the year (spring, summer, fall, or winter).
Create a graphic organizer by brainstorming about the four seasons on chart paper. A collection of graphic organizers is available at http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer and http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm.
Read a trade book or visit Web sites related to the four seasons. National Geographic has a Web site about the four seasons at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/07/season.html and http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/07/gk2/seasons.html.
Add additional information to the class graphic organizer.
Create a class mural with four sections, one for each season. Students can be divided up into small groups for this or students could work with a buddy to create a mural. Students need to include drawings of people and what they would wear for that particular season. Seasonal activities should also be illustrated in the mural.
Review the lesson on the four seasons. Remind students that the season of the year determines how people choose the clothing to wear. Use the mural created previously to discuss other factors seasons’ influence. Tell the class that seasons aren't the only thing that determines choices we make. Tell students that WHERE people live also determines how people dress, as well as other choices. Introduce the word location (where people live). Add it to the class word list.
Show the students a map of the world or a globe. Locate the United States. Take time to discuss other map or globe features. Be sure to point out the oceans, rivers, continents, other countries, the equator, the north pole, and south pole) Emphasize that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans border the U.S.
Explain to the students how different countries have different kinds of climate. Review the definition of this word. On a piece of chart paper, brainstorm words to describe different kinds of climate. Discuss how different kinds of climate would affect choices of clothing and activities.
Use resource materials to discover how geography affects how people travel from one place to another and determines what is available for recreation. Study other countries and cultures from around the world.
Gather and classify information on climate, location, and physical surroundings and how they affect the way people meet their basic needs, including the food they eat, the clothing they wear, and the kind of houses they build.
Read selected books about location, climate, and physical surroundings and how they affect the way people live.
Use information from print and non-print sources to discover how physical surroundings affect the way people live.
Define climate as the kind of weather an area has over a long period of time.
Have students describe the type of climate where they live.
Have students describe the location of their house on their street or in their neighborhood.
Have students describe the physical surrounding near the school and in the neighborhood.
Have students describe the physical surrounding in stories and places they read about.
Create a collage of pictures that represent the kinds of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation that are prevalent or favored among students and/or their families. As other areas are studied, students could create a collection of other collages that represent the other areas, highlighting the differences.

WEB SITES

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
A collection of graphic organizers can be used with this unit.

http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/textonly/teachers/mapsshow_guide.htm#summary
The U.S. Geological Survey provides a summary of the five geographic concepts.

http://nationalgeographic.com/
The National Geographic Society has a wealth of information.

http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc/education/education.html
Here are some climate games, activities, links, and materials.

http://www.weatherbase.com/
This Web site provides an extensive resource list of the average temperatures, rainfall, etc. of cities and countries around the world.

http://chumby.dlib.vt.edu/melissa/posters/firstposter.html
Social studies curriculum resources poster sets are available for grade one.

LITERATURE LINKS

How does location, climate, and physical surroundings affect the way people live?

Fowler, Allan.
The Top and the Bottom of the World. New York: Children’s Press, 1997.
This book introduces readers to the climate, human life, and animal life of the arctic and Antarctic regions. This provides a springboard for comparison to climate and lifestyles here in Virginia.