1. FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment
Lindsey LaBarge
FRIT 7430: Instructional Design
Stage 3, Understanding by Design
Fall 2010
Title of Unit Geography of Grade Level High School
Settlements 9th-12th

2. FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment
Content Standards:
SSWG1 The student will explain the physical aspects of geography.
a. Describe the concept of place by explaining how physical characteristics such as landforms,
bodies of water, climate, soils, natural vegetation, and animal life are used to describe a place.
b. Explain how human characteristics, such as population settlement patterns, and human
activities, such as agriculture and industry, can describe a place.
c. Analyze the interrelationship between physical and human characteristics of a place.
SSWG2 The student will explain the cultural aspects of geography.
a. Describe the concept of place by explaining how the culture of a region is a product of the
region’s physical characteristics.
b. Explain how cultural characteristics of a place can be used to describe a place.
c. Analyze how physical factors such as mountains, climate, and bodies of water interact with
the people of a region to produce a distinctive culture.
d. Explain how the development of customs and traditions help to define a culture and a
people.
SSWG6 The student will describe the interaction of physical and human systems that
have shaped contemporary Europe.
a. Describe the location of major physical features and their impact on Europe.
b. Describe the major climates of Europe and how they have affected Europe.
c. Analyze the importance of Europe’s coastal location, climatic characteristics, and river
systems regarding population, economic development, and world influence.
d. Describe the various ethnic and religious groups in Europe and the influence of geography
on those groups and their major customs and traditions.
e. Explain why Europe has a highly integrated network of highways, waterways, railroads,
and airline linkages.
f. Analyze the impact of geography on Russia in terms of population distribution, trade, and
involvement in European affairs.
g. Analyze the environmental issues associated with industrial and natural resource
development in Europe, including Russia.
Students will understand that:
● There is a relationship between the physical and human characteristics of every
place.
● There are describable landforms in every area and that there are certain desirable
aspects.
● Customs and traditions can be formed by the physical aspects of geography.
● People interact with the physical aspects of the region they live in.
● Physical aspects determine certain factors of any given culture such as population

3. FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment
density and placement and trade.
● Natural resources determine how involved and given country can be involved in trade.
Related Misconceptions:
● Less than favorable geographical features always make people not willing to settle
in that area.
● Geographical features are the main focal point in any regional culture.
● Natural resources are the sole way a region can become involved in trade.
Essential Questions
Overarching Questions: Topical Questions:
What types of physical aspects of geography What are some specific physical aspects that
attract people to settle in a certain area? attracted many ancient civilizations to settle in
one area and become agricultural societies?
How is a culture developed by geography?
Why is access to water such an important
aspect of any civilization?
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences
Week 1
1. This week should begin with a hook question. Some examples of appropriate hook
questions are: “Where is Timbuktu?” or “What is a mesa?” The students should be
encouraged to discuss these questions and answer to the best of their ability. If no
students guess the correct answers, Timbuktu should be shown on a globe in relation
to the United States. There should also be a picture slide presentation with pictures of
Timbuktu and a mesa.
2. Next, the essential questions should be introduced and displayed in a prominent
area in the classroom. Also, the performance task should be introduced and the
rubric should be handed out. This performance task should be worked on by the
students throughout the three weeks and turned in at the very end.
3. A vocabulary list should be passed out to the students. This list will contain key
geographical features and their definitions. For those features with unclear
definitions, a picture will be provided on the vocabulary list. The first assignment is

4. FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment
for students to find and take pictures of at least 5 of those features near their home.
Examples of this could be a creek, a pond, a spring, and so on.
4. Explain to the students that we live in a piedmont area. Define piedmont for them
as the area extending from the base of a mountain to a flat area. List some key
features that can be found in a piedmont area. Describe the normal weather patterns
that can be found in a piedmont and how geography affects weather.
5. After the introduction of the piedmont, the students should make a poster of a
piedmont. After drawing what a piedmont looks like, they should label the key
geographical terms from their vocabulary list on their poster. This poster should be
displayed in the classroom.
6. Give quiz on the vocabulary terms and a short answer questions about piedmonts.
Week 2
1. Review piedmonts and vocabulary terms. Question: “What geographical areas are
like piedmonts?” The answer is a valley. Discuss some well known valleys and how
their geography, weather and vegetation differs from our area.
2. The students will be divided into groups. They will discuss some of their favorite
places in the world and what type of geography they have. If a student says that they
love Los Angeles, they must discuss how there are beaches and yet it is a desert. How
does that affect the weather and the culture in the area? If another student mentions
St. Petersburg, they must discuss how weather and the culture are affected by the
geography of the area.
3. Have the students discuss their pictures that they took of the five features off the
vocabulary list. These pictures should be taken up and used as a participation grade.
4. The students should vote on a geographical region of Europe to watch a video
about. If they vote on Germany, a video will be shown that shows and explains key
geographical features in Germany. The students will be required to take notes on
features not listed on the vocabulary sheet and include at least two in their
performance assessment.
5. One of the foreign exchange students will come to the class and present about their
country. Milos Vasic is a student from Serbia and he present about the geography of
his country and how is affects the culture. He mentions that Serbia does not have
access to any waterways, so their tourism and trade are affected adversely. This does
not help with Serbia’s relations with the other countries in the area that do have
access to waterways (Montenegro, Croatia and Albania). Especially since they all used
to be one country, Yugoslavia. The students are to listen carefully to the cultural
implications of geography in Serbia. They are to include a similar report in their
performance assessment.

5. FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment
6. The students are provided a worksheet with a map. They are to label all of the
geographical features on the map. Also, they are going to explain the cultural
implications that a country with that geography might have.
Week 3
1. The students are required to turn in their performance assessment. The first part is
to trade their project with another student in the class. They will grade each other’s
project using the rubric provided at the beginning of the unit.
2. The students turn in their written report explaining the culture of their country.
This includes at least one myth that they developed based on the geography.
3. At this point, the students will self grade their project using the rubric provided.
Their grade and their peer review grade will be considered in their final grade for the
performance assessment.
4. The last part of the unit is to have each student present their country to the class
and tell at least one myth or fable about their country.
Notes to the Instructor
1. The main purpose of this unit is for students to learn about the geography of
Europe. By learning this, they get to learn about the geography of Georgia and how
that applies to them. The will build their understanding of the world.
2. They are provided ample time to reflect and review the parts of this unit that they
are required to learn.
3. They must use technology to take pictures of the vocabulary terms. They must also
use technology to help research for their performance assessment.