Introductory Lesson
Title: What do you Know?
Overview: This lesson is for students to think of:
x what they already know of Russia
x to share information about Russia in a small group setting
x to have clarification on some of their questions
x to learn some new facts about Russia
Lesson Focus:
x The 5 themes of Geography as they relate to Russia
x Strand II of Geographic Perspective, “Students will use knowledge of spatial patterns
on earth to understand processes that shape human environments to make decisions
about society.”
Materials:
x overhead map of Russia
x teacher created facts of Russia
x paper
What to Do:
1. Teacher asks students to write down any facts they know about Russia.
2. Round Table (Kagan Cooperative Learning Structure)
x Students sit in groups of 4.
x One piece of paper is needed per each group of 4.
x Each student at the group writes down one fact about Russia and passes
the paper.
x Continue this process till teacher calls time (3-4 minutes).
3. When time is up, one student at each group of 4 reads the statements to the group.
Students clarify statements and discuss.
4. Teacher calls on a few students and clarifies or emphasizes a fact.
5. Teacher shares information (facts) with students. Students are to take notes.
See teacher fact sheet for information on the 5 themes of geography.
Lesson created by Carol Mohrlock
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Teacher Facts
Facts based on the 5 Themes of Geography
Location
x located on continent of Europe and Asia
x largest country in area in the world (17,075,400 sq. km)
x European Russia is separated from Asian part of Russia by Ural Mountains
x deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal (5,315 feet deep)
x St. Petersburg is a city on the Baltic Sea
Place
x most Russians live west of the Ural Mountains
x Slavs are the largest ethnic group in the region
x most people speak a Slavic language (such as Russian)
x most Slavs are of the religion known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity
x 3 climate regions are in Russia
o subarctic = very cold and bitter winters, temperatures are above freezing
during summer.
o humid continental = short hot summers and long cold winters
o steppe = dry grassland area which gets more rain than deserts (10-20
inches a year)
Movement
x Volga River (2,193 miles) is an important river for water and transportation in
European Russia
x natural gas, oil and coal are minerals which are exported
x music by many composers has been and is listened to many people all over the world
o Tchaikovsky
o Stravinsky
o Rimsky-Korsakov
x dance
o St. Petersburg’s Kirov Ballet; Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater (ballet)
x Russian literature is read all over the world
o Pushkin (19th century)
o Tolstoy, (19th century)
o Dostoyevsky (19th century)
o Gorky (20th century)
o Solzhenitsyn (20th century)
x painting
o Hermitage Museum goes on display
o Malevich and Kandinsky are famous modern art painters
Lesson created by Carol Mohrlock
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Region
western part of Russia located on the North European Plain region
x eastern part of Russia located on Siberian Plain
x use to be part of communist government, now moving toward free enterprise system
and a capitalist country
Human Environment Interaction
x most of the population lives close to cities
x majority of Russians live west of the Ural Mountains
x most Russian live in European Russia because the temperature is not sub-arctic
Lesson created by Carol Mohrlock
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