Lesson 7: The Treeless Grasslands: The Prairies
Lesson Plan
Suggested time: 5-6 periods (40 mins each)
Content
Objectives
Tools/Materials used
Introducing the
Lesson
Methodology
• The location, climate, vegetation and wild life in the Grasslands
• Agriculture, cattle rearing and minerals found in the Grasslands
• Life of people and the economic activities in the Grasslands
To enable students to:
• define grasslands
• identify the major grasslands of the world and mark them on a map
• locate the prairies on a map of the world
• describe its climate, vegetation and wild life
• describe the life of the people living here
• appreciate the system of agriculture and animal husbandry practiced there
Timeline 5, map of the world showing the natural vegetation, the political
map of North America, pictures of the prairies and mechanised farming in the
prairies, map of the USA showing the rivers Mississippi and Missouri, chalk
and board.
Use the Let’s begin… as a warm up to introduce the lesson. Ask the students
to tick the food items made from wheat grains in the exercise on page 51.
Teaching the lesson
• On the blackboard write the different names by which the grasslands are
known in different countries. Look at the map on page 52 to know the
location of the grasslands.
• Discuss the location of these grasslands.
• Describe the climate, vegetation and wild life of the prairies.
• Explain the term humus and its importance to agriculture.
• On the physical map show the students the rivers Mississippi and Missouri.
Bring in pictures of wheat cultivation to show how it is done on a large scale
in the grasslands
• Discuss how European settlers came to settle in the grasslands. Speak about
the animals that originally lived in the grasslands. Tell the students that the
governments of most of these states have created sanctuaries to protect
animals like the bison. Show pictures of bison.
• Talk to the students about the big ranches and how machinery is used for
wheat cultivation. Compare the above to the small time farmers of India who
still do cultivation manually.
• Explain the term ranches, combined harvesters, homesteads and silos. Tell
the students how rearing cattle is a major industry in the grasslands of North
America.
Let’s answer…
Students can complete Exercises A, B, C, D and E on pages 55-56 orally. They
Lesson 7: The Treeless Grasslands: The Prairies
Lesson Plan
Suggested time: 5-6 periods (40 mins each)
can write the answers in their notebooks, at home. Ask the students to finish
the multiple choice Questions and call out the answers in class.
Let’s do…
• Map Work
(F) The students are required to mark the given grasslands on the world map.
• Project Work
(G.1) Ask the students to make a report on the advantages and disadvantages
of mechanized farming and compare it with the kind of farming done in India.
(G.2) The students are required to make a PowerPoint presentation on the
lives of various tribes found in different grasslands.
• Debate and Discussion
(H) Debate and discuss the case of bison, the extinct animal of Prairies and
relate it with the disappearance of animals like dinosaurs.
HOTS
The HOTS question on page 56 can be discussed in class.