Geography of India Lesson and Assessment
A Middle School Public Speaking Project on South Asia
Jul 1, 2009
This project puts students in the role of tour guide on the subcontinent of India. Students will have to use their creativity to design an exciting, engaging tour but will also be learning about the major landforms and features of India through research and writing. Appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, students will enjoy teaching their classmates while the teacher will appreciate having a framework for teaching good public speaking skills.
The Geography of India
The physical geography of this subcontinent is amazing. In the north are the towering Himalaya mountains and the historically important Khyber Pass. From these highlands flow the Indus and Ganges rivers that give life to the valleys and plains below. Further south are the rainforests of the interior. The exotic waters of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal border this country on either side.
For this project, each student will be assigned one of the following geographic features. Students can also work in pairs if the teacher wishes. Each geographic feature should have around the same number of students assigned to it. The geographic features are:
- Himalaya Mountains
- Khyber Pass
- Thar Desert
- Indus River
- Ganges River
- Ganges Plain
- Interior Rainforests
- Arabian Sea
- Bay of Bengal
Research and Speaking Skills
Before students write their tour presentations, they need to research their assignments. The teacher should make time for library and computer use. Two or three class sessions during the week will be enough so long as students use their time wisely. National Geographic and Encarta are great places for students to begin their research. Students should take notes on note cards or in outline format. Five key points that should be included in all presentations are:
- weather
- wildlife
- people and population
- major economic activities
- major historical events
Next, students need to write their tour presentations. One or two class periods will work for this and if any students need more time, they can finish at home. The teacher will pass out note cards and students will use their research as a guide. The teacher should stress that each presentation be engaging and exciting. This means students need to include interesting information in their speeches like record breaking facts or descriptions of exotic items from India. The speeches should also include a little humor and something fun or exciting. Maybe an elephant runs by the tour group or the guide teaches a few Hindi words.
Once the speech is written, students need to practice. The should focus on speaking clearly and loudly but most of all, they should speak with enthusiasm. During this step, the teacher will model for students the difference between speaking in a flat tone and speaking with excitement.
India Unit Assessment Tools
To create the assessment, the teacher will collect the note cards the day before the presentations and create a 20-30 question test covering the material students will be presenting. The teacher should create questions that come directly from the students' speeches. The test should be arranged into sections that correspond with the different tour locations.
On the day of the presentations, the teacher should pass out the speeches and tests then explain that students will be taking each section of the test as the tours for that region are given. The teacher should also stress that in order to do well, everyone will have to pay attention and, most importantly, do a good job giving their speech so students will learn the information they need to do well on the test.
Geography of India Cooperative Learning Options
This project gets students writing and speaking about the geography of India but most of all, it gets students learning from each other about this fascinating topic. Taking about two weeks to complete, students will enjoy the independent research and the chance to create engaging speeches. And the teacher will have a framework in which to challenge students to be excellent public speakers.
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