Unit 7, Lesson 10: Geography and Civilization
Learning Target: I can explain the importance geography on the earliest civilization
Class Activities:
1. Students came in and took a "Geography & Civilization" handout. They got to work on the do now, which asked two T/F questions. The answers are:
FALSE-- Hunter/gatherer humans are not a different species than farming humans. They're both humans!
TRUE-- Symbolic language helps us explain things that we cannot immediately point to.
2. Students completed the review, part 1. The answers are:
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about Big History. So let’s review our modern-day origin story, all the way from the beginning. 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang happened, and the universe itself was created. There was nothing but blackness, with a hazy fog of the simplest elements, hydrogen and helium. Eventually, these formed into dense clouds called nebula. The temperature began to rise and pressure increased, causing the hydrogen atoms to collide. This released photons, which are a form of light energy. We call it a star.
When stars run out of hydrogen, gravity causes the star to collapse on itself, again increasing pressure and temperature until it begins to fuse a heavier element and burns photons again. Sometimes elements are so heavy that incredibly intense heat and temperatures are required. These intense temperatures and pressures can only be found in supernovae. In this way, all the elements were created. Examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, and iron.(tons of right answers)
Around these stars were flat, cloudlike discs of dust and dirt. The dust and dirt spun around the stars, running into each other. As more particles ran into each other, the chunks got bigger, in a process known as accretion. Dust became rock, then meteoroids, then asteroids, and eventually, this process formed all eight planets in our solar system, including Earth.
Earth is unique for a few reasons. One reason is plate tectonics, basically our crust shifting and “surfing” over the hot liquid mantle. These can cause geographic features like mountains and volcanoes.
The first form of life was probably bacteria, found near the ocean vents. Slowly, over millions of years, life became more complex. Single-celled bacteria eventually became multi-celled bacteria, and then developed brains. Land mammals were the last the evolve. They were more complex than aquatic animals because they had to adapt to different biomes.
This evolution never stopped. Animals kept evolving and adapting to be best fit for their biomes. Examples of biomes are tundra or desert. Humans are no exception. We were once the same as apes, and only recently have we evolved to become a different species. One example of how we’ve evolved is opposable thumbs.
Humans spread all over the world, figuring out how to use their environment to their advantage. For a long time they were nomadic, simply hunting and gathering their food. One of the most important changes in human history was the Neolithic Revolution.
If that didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have cities, complex culture, etc.
3. Students worked in small groups to complete the chart on the back (Part 2). The four physical features you should use are rivers, mountains, rain forests, and deserts. Some students were also able to complete part 3, but most students were too chatty and wasted their time.
Papers handed in today:
Late homework. Today was the last day! If you complain that you didn't know, I'm going to point you right here.
Homework:
FInish Geography & Civilization worksheet
Class Activities:
1. Students came in and took a "Geography & Civilization" handout. They got to work on the do now, which asked two T/F questions. The answers are:
FALSE-- Hunter/gatherer humans are not a different species than farming humans. They're both humans!
TRUE-- Symbolic language helps us explain things that we cannot immediately point to.
2. Students completed the review, part 1. The answers are:
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about Big History. So let’s review our modern-day origin story, all the way from the beginning. 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang happened, and the universe itself was created. There was nothing but blackness, with a hazy fog of the simplest elements, hydrogen and helium. Eventually, these formed into dense clouds called nebula. The temperature began to rise and pressure increased, causing the hydrogen atoms to collide. This released photons, which are a form of light energy. We call it a star.
When stars run out of hydrogen, gravity causes the star to collapse on itself, again increasing pressure and temperature until it begins to fuse a heavier element and burns photons again. Sometimes elements are so heavy that incredibly intense heat and temperatures are required. These intense temperatures and pressures can only be found in supernovae. In this way, all the elements were created. Examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, and iron.(tons of right answers)
Around these stars were flat, cloudlike discs of dust and dirt. The dust and dirt spun around the stars, running into each other. As more particles ran into each other, the chunks got bigger, in a process known as accretion. Dust became rock, then meteoroids, then asteroids, and eventually, this process formed all eight planets in our solar system, including Earth.
Earth is unique for a few reasons. One reason is plate tectonics, basically our crust shifting and “surfing” over the hot liquid mantle. These can cause geographic features like mountains and volcanoes.
The first form of life was probably bacteria, found near the ocean vents. Slowly, over millions of years, life became more complex. Single-celled bacteria eventually became multi-celled bacteria, and then developed brains. Land mammals were the last the evolve. They were more complex than aquatic animals because they had to adapt to different biomes.
This evolution never stopped. Animals kept evolving and adapting to be best fit for their biomes. Examples of biomes are tundra or desert. Humans are no exception. We were once the same as apes, and only recently have we evolved to become a different species. One example of how we’ve evolved is opposable thumbs.
Humans spread all over the world, figuring out how to use their environment to their advantage. For a long time they were nomadic, simply hunting and gathering their food. One of the most important changes in human history was the Neolithic Revolution.
If that didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have cities, complex culture, etc.
3. Students worked in small groups to complete the chart on the back (Part 2). The four physical features you should use are rivers, mountains, rain forests, and deserts. Some students were also able to complete part 3, but most students were too chatty and wasted their time.
Papers handed in today:
Late homework. Today was the last day! If you complain that you didn't know, I'm going to point you right here.
Homework:
FInish Geography & Civilization worksheet
9global_geography___civilization_handout.pdf | |
File Size: | 120 kb |
File Type: |