Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 2, Lesson 1

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 2, Lesson 1: Interacting with the World (pp. 26-33)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Interdependence People and their environments are deeply interdependent.

Discuss with students how different physical features and climates can affect where and how people live. For example, deserts might not be an easy place for people to live because of the heat and lack of water. People can also change deserts by using aqueducts. Be sure to include a variety of other places in your discussion, such as mountains, plains, and forests.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students analyze the topography and climate of their community. Have them record the daily temperatures and weather conditions over time and consult a physical map to see the topographical features of the community. Then have students write a paragraph on how these features affect how people in your community live. Encourage them to write about how the ways people dress, work, and move around might be connected to the topography and climate.
Have students create dioramas showing people interacting with a variety of different environments. You might want to divide the class into teams and assign each team an environment. Some ideas are rain forest, desert, coastal areas, river banks, mountains, and tundra.

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