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Before
You Watch
Before viewing
the video programs for Workshop 4: Latin America, please read
the National Geography Standards featured
in this workshop. You may read the standards here on the Web,
in your print guide, or in Geography
for Life. We encourage you to read Geography for Life
in its entirety as you move through the workshops. It contains
further background on the National Standards, numerous examples
and rich illustrations aiding interpretation, valuable tools for
strengthening and developing lessons, and additional insight on
geography's significance to our daily lives.
The National
Geography Standards highlighted in this workshop include Standards
4, 7, 9, and 15. As you read the standards, be thinking about
how they might apply in lessons you have taught.
Also, prior
to attending the workshop, you should explore the associated Key
Maps and Interactive Activities and read the Video Program Overviews
below, paying close attention to the Questions To Consider.
Video Program
Overviews: Russia
Part 1.
St. Petersburg: Russia's Window on the West
As part of the vast, geographically diverse Russia, St. Petersburg
has had a tumultuous history. Czar Peter the Great selected St.
Petersburg as capital, building it up from the marshes of the
Neva River delta due to its proximity to Europe and its potential
as a port city. But with the Revolution in 1917, Lenin named Moscow
capital and changed St. Petersburg's name to Leningrad. Since
regaining its original name in 1989 with the end of the Soviet
era, St. Petersburg has struggled with the changes from a communist
system to that of free market capitalism.
Although the
city streets now teem with commerce, many industries and individuals
have had difficulty weathering the transition. An increased cost
of living is just one of many adversities facing residents today.
However, St. Petersburg's rich history, well-educated population,
and plans to develop a new harbor contribute to its potential
for regaining a strong position in the world economy. This case
study provides insight into the factors influencing city location
and the relationships among politics, economics, culture, and
geography.
The classroom
activities for this segment follow Judy Ware's seventh-grade world
geography class as they analyze Russia's topographical features
in determining where they would build a city.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
-
explain
why places have specific physical and human characteristics;
-
identify
how patterns of economic interdependence influence the development
of urban centers;
-
adapt
inquiry learning and constructivist approaches for teaching
students about patterns and functions of urban settlements.
-
Describe
evidence used in the case study and lesson to assess the influence
of physical and human characteristics in shaping St. Petersburg's
development as an urban center.
-
How
does St. Petersburg exemplify the influence of economic interdependence
in the development of urban centers?
-
How
does teacher Judy Ware promote student understanding of urban
development by using inquiry learning in combination with
a constructivist philosophy?
Featured
Educator
Ms. Judy
Ware, seventh-grade world history teacher, Crossroads School,
St. Louis, Missouri
Judy
Ware serves as program director for the Missouri Geographic Alliance.
She presented on AP human geography at the 2001 National Council
for Social Studies Conference. Her inquiry-based lesson on Russian
cities accompanies the case study on St. Petersburg.
Part 2.
Dagestan: Russia's Southern Challenge
Since the
breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has faced many geographical
challenges, ranging from a lack of infrastructure in its frozen
Siberian wilderness to upheavals in its Muslim Republics. However,
in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan, dozens of ethnic groups,
the so-called "nationalities," co-exist despite their
differing cultural traditions, craft specializations, and dialects.
Despite nationalist rebellions churning in the region surrounding
Dagestan, the people here continue to maintain their membership
in the Russian federation. What factors keep this mostly Muslim,
non-Russian population a member of the federation? As our case
study shows, part of the answer lies in Dagestan's reaction to
the tragic example of conflicts in neighboring Chechnya.
This program
also features a classroom segment in which Connie Hudgeons's 12th-graders
explore the role that ethnic identity plays in creating solidarity
as they engage in a mediation exercise between two opposing ethnic
factions.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
-
explain
how culture influences each group's unique view of itself and
others;
-
analyze
how changes in the use, meaning, and distribution of resources
influence the stability and future of a region;
-
describe
how using simulated decision-making activities in the classroom
engages students in critical thinking and understanding geographic
concepts.
-
How
have cultural, economic, political, and physical characteristics
in Dagestan and neighboring countries resulted in cooperation
or conflict?
-
How
have historic and geographic factors resulted in rebellion
among nations in Russia's southeastern region?
-
Describe
how teacher Connie Hudgeons uses decision-making simulations
to promote critical thinking and geographic understanding
in her classroom.
Featured
Educator
Ms. Connie
Hudgeons, 12th-grade AP economics teacher, Cibola High School,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Connie
Hudgeons has been teaching since 1978 and at Cibola High School
since 1987. There, she has taught a variety of courses. She has
served on the Character Counts Committee, the North Central Steering
Team, the Curriculum Committee, and as special education coordinator.
Additionally, she has been a teacher consultant for the New Mexico
Geographic Alliance since 1993. In connection with the Dagestan
case study, her students participate in a role-playing lesson
on land division.
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