Pack Your Geography Terms for a Trip With Maggie and Friends!

Transcription

1 Maggie s Weekly Activity Pack! Name Date Pack Your Geography Terms for a Trip With Maggie and Friends! Do you know where the continents are on the Earth? Are you able to tell which countries are on which continents? Can you point out the spots where lakes and rivers are found? Do you know about the climate and natural resources of different lands? Are you able to tell something about the animals that live in different parts of the world? If you said, Yes! then you know a lot about geography! Close your eyes. Spin a globe. Point to a spot. Where are you? What is that place like? Books, videos, interviewing people, and the Internet can help you find out. In learning about your special spot, you may hear geography terms. Take a look at his glossary. It will help you to discover some of the words that geographers use. Then read the three stories about Maggie and her friends. Put the correct geography term on the line. Archipelago a group or chain of many islands Rain Forest dense, warm, wet forests Veld open country with very little trees in South Africa Cliff very steep, vertical slopes of rock Freshwater without salt

2 Glacier a very large area of slow moving ice Harbor a sheltered area of water where ships can dock or anchor Forest Floor The bottom layer of a rain forest. This ground is home to many animals, especially insects. Peninsula a piece of land that is almost surrounded by water River - a natural stream of water that is larger than a creek. It flows into an ocean or a lake Ridge a long, narrow high piece of land Climate the weather of an area measured over a long period of time Marsh a low water-soaked area with tall grasses Bay a small area of ocean or lake that is partly enclosed by land Dunes small hills of sand Pampas grasslands in South America Prairie grasslands in North America Savannah grasslands in Africa Natural Resources material that occurs naturally and is used by people Tributaries rivers and streams that flow into a bigger river Peak the highest part of a mountain Source the place where a river starts Foothills hills at the bottom of a mountain Maggie Visits North America Maggie enjoyed her recent trip to Lake Superior. This is the largest (without salt) lake in the world. Near the Canadian border is an (group or

3 chain of islands) that is known as Isle Royale. This is a national park with many beautiful forests and beaches. Maggie s boat arrived in the. (sheltered area of water where ships can dock or anchor) Maggie was surprised to learn that some of this national park was formed by (very large area of slow moving ice) thousands of years ago. She loved walking on Greenstone. (a long, narrow high piece of land) She also loved seeing a bull moose in the. (a low water-soaked area with tall grasses) Maggie enjoyed her time on Isle Royale. She is looking forward to taking the boat to Michigan s Upper. (a piece of land that is almost surrounded by water) Maggie plans to visit the famous (small hills of sand) at Grand Marais. She also wants to see the beautiful (very steep, vertical slopes of rock) at Pictured Rocks near Munising. Maggie might think Michigan is fun, but Dude can t wait to run around on the (grasslands in North America) in Kansas. Kuma Visits Africa While Maggie was busy on the continent of North America, Kuma went to visit his family in Africa. His father was working on an elephant project in South Africa. Kuma had been to other African countries with his father many times Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia. He liked the (grasslands in Africa) of this continent. Once he had even been to the (the highest part of a mountain) of the highest

4 mountain on the continent Mt. Kilimanjaro. Kuma s father had been working on the (open country with very little trees in South Africa) and was now going to take a few days off of work. The family was going to a (a small area of ocean or lake that is partly enclosed by land) St. Helena to have some fun. They went at a nice time of year, January. That is the hot season in South Africa. Kuma is amazed that some people don t understand the (the weather of an area measured over a long period of time) of South Africa. It even snows in July. Kuma is always interested in the (material that occurs naturally and is used by people) of a country. He knows South Africa has many of them, including gold and diamonds. Jenny Visits South America Jenny wanted to visit South America. She knew there were (grasslands in South America) on this continent. She was also interested in visiting the second longest (a natural stream of water that is larger than a creek. It flows into an ocean or a lake) in the world the Amazon. Jenny wanted to find the (the place where a river starts) of the Amazon. She hoped to explore the many (rivers and streams that flow into a bigger river) of it. Jenny was also interested in taking pictures of the (dense, warm, wet forests). She especially wanted to see the unusual insects on the. (The bottom layer of a rain forest.

5 This ground is home to many animals, especially insects.) Jenny isn t much for mountain climbing. But she does hope to walk on the (hills at the bottom of a mountain) of the Andes Mountains. Now that you know more about three continents North America, Africa, and South America, you are ready to play the continents game, GeoSpy, found at Your friends at Miss Maggie partnered with National Geographic to bring you this exciting way to identify not only continents, but countries and states and provinces, too! Log onto Miss Maggie. Click the big, red button. When it opens, hit Games. You ll see the featured game, GeoSpy! Just type in your first name. Then pick your game. You can even print out a certificate when you finish.

6 Dear Colleague, I love teaching geography! Each month my class takes a trip to a different country. We even have passports that help us gain entry to that country. I took digital photos of the kids and printed them on official looking paper. I folded heavy blue paper and glued our school name and symbol on the front. We signed our passports, and I stamp them when a new unit begins. This month, we ll have a Russian stamp in our passports! (I had the stamps made at a local stationary store.) As we begin our study of a new country, we first locate the country on its continent. Then we discuss the map of the country. I have my class visualize the map. We draw it in the air. Then I give them a scrap piece of paper. Each child has about three minutes to draw the country. I give them a short amount of time because my goal is not to have a perfect map, but rather I want them to have a rough idea of what the country looks like. The more detailed map will come later on. One of the most popular geography projects I do is to have the children eat the continents. In the beginning of the year, we study the continents and oceans. We imagine the continents as described above. After the kids draw their mental maps, I divide them into groups of seven. (Sometimes a group will need fewer children that s ok.) Each child in the group chooses a country. I tell them they will be responsible for making that country. Each group gets a large sheet of blue paper. Then I pass out the material for making their continents graham crackers! The children gnaw the crackers in the shape of their continent and place it on the correct spot on the blank world map the blue paper. Be sure to have a camera handy you get many funny pictures from this activity! Of course, GeoSpy is a popular game in my classroom. Not only do my children enjoy finding continents, countries, and states, but they love to time themselves. You can keep a Beat the Record chart near your computer if you wish. Take a look at Jean Feldman s Sing to Learn CD. It has a great continents song as well as an ocean song. My class loves to sing these songs. They really make learning fun! You can find this CD at The Tooty Ta has become the signature song of my classroom! Kathy