Geography · Week 1 · Thinking Spatially: Maps, Places, and Regions
Where I Am From
Students sketch a map of the places that matter to them and name the geographer identity they bring to understanding the valley.
- Students will
- Students use a sketch map to explain how the physical and human characteristics of a place are connected to its political, cultural, and economic life (NGS 4 and 6) and write an explanation of how place shapes identity.
- SEL skill
- Name a value or strength connected to a place and explain how it influences a choice
- What it looks like
- Students recognize the emotions, values, and strengths a place gives them and how these influence their choices.
- Content focus
- Becoming a geographer
- Format
- Think write pair share
Self-awareness
Self-awareness means noticing your own emotions, thoughts, values, and strengths and seeing how they influence what you do. More self-awareness activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- NGS.4: National Geography Standard 4
- NGS.6: National Geography Standard 6
- CA HSS Analysis Skill: CST4 Relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of places and regions. (Chronological and Spatial Thinking)
- C3 Framework (national): D2.Geo.2.9-12 Use maps, images, and other representations to explain how the locations of places relate to their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
- Literacy in history: WHST.9-10.2 Write informative and explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events.
More self-awareness activities for Geography
- The Land of the Cahuilla Self-awarenessLearning how the Cahuilla people used palm oases, springs, and seasonal movement to thrive in the desert, and honoring knowledge rooted in a place.
- Earth Shapes the Valley Self-awarenessExplaining how the San Andreas Fault and erosion shaped the Coachella Valley and naming body signals of fear so students can respond calmly in an emergency.
- Trade Networks and Our Food Self-awarenessTracing how Coachella Valley grapes, dates, and peppers travel through global trade networks and recognizing how interdependence connects students to strangers far away.
RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.