Recall and define the following terms: peninsula, harbor, bay, island, coast, boundary, valley, desert, prairie, plateau.
Recognize the following geographical water features: delta, isthmus, strait, channel, reservoir.
Classroom-size world map
Classroom-size U. S. map
Geographical feature dittoes (included)
Baker, Sanna Anderson. Mississippi Going North. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Comp., 1996. (0-8075-5164-3)
This beautifully illustrated picture book tells about the sights and sounds experienced by a family as they travel north on the Mississippi in a canoe.
This lesson refers to information included in this month's history lessons, so this lesson should be taught after the history lessons are completed.
Tell the students that although the Spanish explorers de Soto and Coronado did not find the riches they were searching for, they both discovered two important geographical features in the United States. Ask: What is the name of the geographical feature that de Soto found? (the Mississippi River) Coronado? (the Grand Canyon)
Review with the students other geographical terms that were discussed in this month's history lessons and from past grades. Show the students the geographical features on the classroom size U. S. or world maps as you ask the questions.
Peninsula: Ask: What present-day state in the southeastern United States is a peninsula? (Florida) What is the definition of a peninsula? (A piece of land that extends out into a body of water.)
Isthmus: Direct the student's attention to the world map. Point to the country of Panama. Ask: Is the country of Panama a peninsula? (no) Why? (Because it is attached to land on two sides.) Tell the students that a piece of land that joins two larger pieces of land is called an isthmus. Write the term on the chalkboard. The country of Panama is an isthmus that joins North America to South America.
Bay and harbor: Direct the student's attention to the U. S. map and the state of Maryland. Tell the students that the Atlantic Ocean has an inlet in between the western and eastern shores of Maryland. Ask: What is that body of water called? (the Chesapeake Bay) Explain that part of the bay near the city of Baltimore is referred to as Baltimore Harbor. Ask: Has anyone ever visited the National Aquarium or the Maryland Science Center? Explain that both of these places are located by the Baltimore Harbor. Explain the difference between a bay and a harbor. A bay is an inlet of the ocean that is partly surrounded by land and a harbor is the part of a bay that is along the shore and is deep enough for a ship to enter and anchor.
Island: Ask: What is the definition of an island? (An area of land that is surrounded by water.) Display the classroom-size world map. Direct the class' attention to the islands south of the United States. Tell the students that these islands are located in the Caribbean Sea.
Coast: Tell the students that the coast is land that is next to a sea, and is also called the seashore. Ask: On which coast of the United States do we live? (east or the Atlantic)
Boundary: Direct the student's attention to the classroom U. S. map. Ask: What states share a border or boundary with Maryland? (Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and Virginia)
Next, ask the students to recall the following land features: valley, desert, prairie, plateau. Show the students each of the included pictures of geographic land features, asking them to identify the type of land shown. You may wish to provide hints such as, notice the land shown is at the base of the mountains (valley). Also, ask the students to point out some of the characteristics of each land feature shown, e. g. desert - cactus, prairie - flat grasslands.
Valley: The low land between mountains or hills.
Desert: A land area having little or no moisture or vegetation.
Prairie: An area of flat grassland.
Plateau: A flat-topped piece of land that rises sharply above the surrounding land (looks like a table).
Tell the students that the features we just looked at were land features. They are now going to learn about some geographica