Lesson+2+Physical+characteristics+of+the+US

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Learning Objectives

 * Be able to fluently use these terms: ** place **, **physical characteristics**, and ** landforms **.
 * Be able to define and know the difference between different landforms in the U.S.

Introduction
In class, we discussed and defined the term physical characteristics. Physical characteristics are geographical features that were not made by humans (i.e. lakes, rivers and mountains). Check out the graphic organizer below to see if you can remember the definitions of the LANDFORMS and PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS of the U.S.



Lesson
Watch these two videos of two songs that tell about the geography of the U.S. ( **// America the Beautiful //** and **// This Land is Our Land //** ). Though these songs may differ in style and word choice, they both describe the physical characteristics of the U.S. Listen carefully to the lyrics, and come to class with a list of the physical characteristics listed in each song. Be ready to discuss them when you come to class!

Use this interactive map to find out where the different landforms are in the United States. Click on the landforms in the key. Then answer the questions below. You can check your answers when you finish.
 * Optional: **

Assignment
Look at this shaded relief map of Michigan. Make a new document in Google Docs and be sure to share it with Mrs. Wever. Title the document "Physical Characteristics of Michigan". On the document, you will make a list of which physical characteristics you can see are part of our state. For each physical characteristic you name, you will need to tell me how you can tell it is that landform. For example, you could have a list like this:


 * // There are mountains. I can tell because the map looks like it is raised really high in certain areas. There may be a mountain range in the middle of the state. //

That was just an example. //Hint: there are NO mountains in Michigan.//

Make sure you go through the graphic organizer above to make sure you have listed all of the physical characteristics you can see in Michigan (//not every physical characteristic is in MI, but there are quite a few//). Don't forget to share the document with Mrs. Wever in Google Docs and fill out the Assignment Drop Box.