Physical Patterns

1. Challenges and Opportunities

• What Have We Done?! - Describe one way in which people have responded to the physical environment...

  • building dams, levees, or dikes to contain water and/or reclaim land

  • building terraces or irrigation systems to permit farming on inhospitable land

  • designing buildings suited to local climatic conditions or natural events such as earthquakes

  • specialized economic development such as resource towns in areas rich with ore, or tourism in areas of natural beauty or with a desirable climate

• ...and explain the short- and long-term effects of these responses.  For example:

  • water pollution from industry and agriculture

  • loss of animal habitat and wilderness areas as human settlement expands

  • deforestation and its consequences

  • the development of provincial or national parks to protect wilderness areas

• Describe the differing perspectives on the challenges and opportunities presented by the natural environment for one of the topics below:

  • Indigenous peoples living on the land

  • organic versus large-scale farmers

  • industrial and agrarian societies

  • owners of resource-extraction companies

  • environmental organizations

  • land developers

• Which environment has the greatest impact on people?  Rank the following, with explanations for each ranking:

  • deserts

  • tropical rainforests

  • mountains

  • volcanic islands

  • cold climate regions

  • floodplains

  • coastal regions

• Describe how people have responded to the challenges and opportunities presented by one of the environments below, and assess the sustainability of their response:

  • land reclamation and flood control in low-lying areas such as the Netherlands, the Mississippi delta, the Mekong River

  • nomadic lifestyles of peoples in the Gobi or Sahara Deserts versus extensive irrigation to create cities such as Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert

  • the development of ecotourism in the Costa Rican rainforest versus the clear-cutting of rainforests in the Amazon or Madagascar

2. Impacts on the Natural Environment

• Pick a situation from the list below, and devise high-level inquiry questions (using the bottom right hand corner of the Question Matrix - see below) that would guide investigations into your situation:

  • the social, political, economic, and environmental impact of natural events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, drought, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, or tsunamis

  • the economic and environmental impact of industrial pollution on a river system

  • the social, economic, and environmental impact of agricultural practices

  • the social, political, economic, and environmental impact of land-reclamation projects

  • the political, economic, and environmental impact of transportation systems

• Continuing with the same situation you picked in the task above, gather and organize information about the impact of your situation on the physical environment, ensuring your research reflects at least two different perspectives.  For example:

  • data and information as well as online maps on climate change from the International Panel on Climate Change and the United Nations

  • digital representations showing changes to a river system as a result of irrigation, data on agricultural productivity on irrigated lands, and information from wildlife advocacy groups on the impact of the loss of wetlands 

  • data and information from the U.S. National Hurricane Center on the number and severity of hurricanes over the past few years, documentaries on the impact of Hurricane Katrina, and photographs of New Orleans before and after the hurricane

• Continuing with the same situation you have been working with for the last several tasks, create a map showing the spatial boundaries of your situation (consider using Google My Maps).  For example:

  • location of pollution along a river system and the communities that rely on the water source

  • thematic map to determine the interrelationship between soil erosion and loss of habitat in some parts of the world

  • select appropriate data for a Geographic Information System that shows areas that may be affected by rising sea levels

• Continuing with the same situation you have been working with for the last several tasks, interpret and analyze information and evidence relevant to your investigation.  For example:

  • analyse photographs and thematic maps to determine the impact of invasive species in Australia

  • interpret graphs, charts, and/or diagrams in order to extract data on changes in agricultural production and population patterns as a result of long-term drought in Africa

  • interpret information from a Geographic Information System to determine potential population shifts in response to rising sea levels

• Continuing with the same situation you have been working with for the last several tasks, evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about the differing perspectives on your situation.

• Continuing with the same situation you have been working with for the last several tasks, communicate the results of your inquiry using appropriate vocabulary (climate, land use, landforms, vegetation, drought, flood, climate change, agriculture, ecotourism, land reclamation) in an appropriate format.  For example:

  • an editorial outlining the impact of increasing settlement on a floodplain and arguing for or against increased settlement

  • an oral presentation or photo essay for a specific audience about how the construction of a dam affected a river system

  • a newspaper article for the local or school paper on the impact of pollution on their local community

3. Earth’s Features 

• Describe the location and physical characteristics of each of the following (see the Geography Terms posters below): 

  • mountains

  • plateaus

  • plains

  • valleys

• Describe the forces that creating and change landforms:

  • tectonic forces

  • weather and erosion

  • deposition

  • glaciation

  • mining

  • land reclamation projects

• Using LEGO, cardboard, plasticene, or another similar substance, create a 3D model of a feature based on a portion of a topographic map (see photo example below).

• Describe the patterns and physical characteristics of different types of water bodies (see the Geography Terms posters below): 

  • river systems

  • drainage basins

  • lakes

  • oceans

• Describe the natural or human activities that create and change water bodies and systems:

  • changes in rainfall

  • melting of glaciers

  • erosion

  • rising sea levels

  • climate change

  • constructing dams

  • irrigation

  • bottling water from aquifers

• Describe patterns and characteristics of the major climate regions around the world:

  • tropical

  • dry

  • temperate

  • continental

  • polar

• Describe the natural or human activities that create and change climate patterns:

  • latitude

  • ocean currents

  • wind systems

  • elevation

  • relief (landforms)

  • nearness to large bodies of water

  • deforestation

  • human activities that result in greenhouse gas emissions

• Interpret and create climate graphs to represent climate patterns for different locations.  For example:

  • Singapore

  • Khartoum

  • Warsaw

• Describe patterns and characteristics of the major natural vegetation regions around the world:

  • grasslands

  • boreal forests

  • tropical rainforests

  • tundra

• Describe the natural or human activities that create and change natural vegetation patterns:

  • natural and human-influenced climate change

  • erosion of top soil

  • deforestation

  • the use of chemical fertilizers and practice of monoculture

  • grazing of domestic animals

  • activities that introduce invasive species into an environment

• Describe how different aspects of the physical environment interact with each other in two or more regions of the world.  For example: 

  • vegetation, landforms, and climate in deserts

  • landforms and vegetation in a volcanic region

Resources for this Unit