The World's Greatest Places


Lesson Plans for Science (7th Grade)

Water Resources



  1. Students will study rainfall, rivers / systems, glaciers, and aeolian landscapes in depth. Students will identify those Places on a photograph, in a slide presentation, or in the Animax film of The Greatest Places in the World . Worksheets will be made available.

  2. Students are to be given a list of latitudes and longitudes and will be able to plot the seven Greatest Places. Students will identify the hemisphere in which each location is found ( N, S, E, W). Bonus: In what hemisphere do you live?

  3. Simulate a search for an item lost near one of the Greatest Places as a cooperative learning experience using Geography Informational Science (GIS) software.

Altitude



 Students will be given tabletop maps from which to draw inferences about climate.
Notes are expected to be kept on climate and altitude. Maps will be made using data collected about The Greatest Places in the World.

  1. Students are to study the effect of altitude on climate:
    Where is the highest altitude in the world? What is its climate like?
    Where is the lowest altitude in the world? What is its climate like?
    Are there deserts at high altitudes? What are the climates like?
    Are there any lakes at high altitudes? What are the climates like?
    Bonus: Are there any salt lakes at high altitudes? If so, where? If not, why not?
    2) Using the colors given, plot on a world map the following items of The Greatest Places in the World:
    *Using light green, the deciduous forest regions in these seven "Places"
    *Using dark green , the evergreen forest regions
    *Using brown , color the area that no longer has trees due to extreme altitude
    Bonus: At what altitude do trees stop growing? Write the number on your map.
    *Using light blue , the lakes in these seven "Places"
    *Using yellow , the glaciers found in these "Places"
    *Using red , color in the low altitudes of The Greatest Places in the World.


Field Trip Experience: Along with the viewing of the slides, the Animax presentation of The Greatest Places in the World , and the learning of the various geographical features featured in the Omnimax film of the same name, a cooperative effort between the Aliquippa School District and the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will be implemented. During a field trip students will use the resources of the Science Center to learn more about the interaction of Western Pennsylvania's physical geography with human activities. Students will visit the miniature railroad and Village, Ports of Discovery which has exhibits on water - erosion table and an exhibit on dune formation, and will visit the Creative Technology Center to use GIS software where they can explore data sets superimposed on maps to see various parts of the world. A review of location, movement, and human interaction will be observed using Carnegie's miniature railroad, the riverbank, and the flow of the Ohio near Pittsburgh's Point.