Middle School Geography of the World: Part 2 Europe Landforms & Culture

This multi-day course is designed  to help middle schoolers and geography-motivated pre-middle schoolers apply their map reading skills  (see Part 1 in this series) to the continent of Europe, and acquire new skills and vocabulary to understand physical and cultural aspects of this small but varied continent. using engaging material, and encouraging student academic confidence with  positive challenges.  After finishing Part 2,  students will be able to  demonstrate their familiarity with the map of Europe and major landforms, compare selected political, economic and cultural features. Students will be offered the opportunity to choose one country for their focus. The goal of this class is to provide students with skills and challenge them to apply these skills to increase their understanding of the world beyond their own experience.  

National Geography Standards addressed in this course:
  Students will demonstrate thinking skills:  chronology, statistical analysis and source analysis.

4	The physical and human characteristics of places	Places and Regions
5	That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity	Places and Regions
9	The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface	Human Systems
11	The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface	Human Systems
13	How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface	Human Systems
15	How physical systems affect human systems	Environment and Society
18	How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.	The Uses of Geography

 I am certified as a Social Studies Teacher in my state, and have taught Social Studies (including World Geography) for over 18 years.  My classes have had lots of fun and engagement with European countries, delving into the wonders of 'oh so slightly' familiar cultures, and engaging in special projects, Kahoot Challenges, interactive games and other teaching practices designed to help our students become a master of their own learning. Master's Degree (Public Policy), Bachelor's Degree (History), Teaching Certificate (State of Maryland)  Social Studies, History, Middle School Language Arts, 30 credits beyond Master's Degree.

Students are encouraged to complete modest independent projects.  Projects are designed to give students an opportunity to practice skills we addressed in class. These can serve as portfolio projects to demonstrate learning.  Estimated time for independent work after each class:  30 minutes.  We will set aside some class time for students to begin their homework project in class.  In this way, students can  easily ask clarifying questions as they proceed.  We also encourage students to practice with an online interactive puzzle game to review the names and locations of European countries. They should also review the key terms list each week to prepare for our dazzling Kahoot in Week 4.

A student-completed map of Europe,  2  independent projects and Kahoot quiz at the end of this mini-course will demonstrate mastery.   We will provide a list of vocabulary and concepts, defined, to show scope  of the Kahoot in-class quiz. . Student score on the Kahoot quiz is also available.

50 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.

CIA World Factbook Maps  https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/static/1c51b75f0974399446a7c1a067fa8974/europe_pol.jpg 
Europe Maps Interactive Puzzle (Owl & Mouse) http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_eur.htm   
Smithsonian Open Access. https://www.si.edu/openaccess 
Library of Congress.  Prints and Photographs  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/ 
Historic England Images https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/