Name __________________ Date ____ Class ____ _

Earth's Physical Geography

DiHerentiated Instruction

Naming Earth's Land and Water Forms Earth has a total surface area of 196.8 million square miles (510

million sq. km). Landforms occupy about 57.3 million square miles (148 million sq. km) of Earth's surface, whereas water covers roughly 139.5 million square miles (361 million sq. km). Just about every part of that surface area-from the smallest creeks and gentlest hills to the great oceans and continents-has been given a name.

Many parts of Earth are named after people. The table below lists 10 people who have the most square miles of Earth's surface named after them. Study the table, and then answer the questions that follow.

"

- Square Miles Honoree ' "Occupation (sq. km)

Amerigo Vespucci Italian explorer 16,243,000 (42,069,180)

Victoria British queen 1,196,410 (3,098,690)

Maud Norwegian queen 1,102,000 (2,854,170)

James Weddell British hunter and explorer 1,080,000 (2,797,190)

Abel Janszoon Tasman Dutch explorer 925,100 (2,396,000)

Christopher Columbus Italian explorer 920,150 (2,383,180)

Vitus Bering Russian explorer 879,000 (2,276,600)

Ibn-Saud Saudi king 865,000 (2,240,340)

Charles Wilkes U.S. naval officer 660,000 (1,709,390)

Willem Barents Dutch explorer 592,000 (1,533,270)

Source: David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace, The New Book of Lists (New York: Canongate, 2005), pp. 6-7.

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions.

1. Drawing Conclusions Why do you think these people have large parts of Earth named after them?

2. Calculating What percentage of Earth's surface consists of water? What percentage consists of landforms?

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--Teaching Strategies for Different Learning Styles

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The following activities are ways the basic lesson can be modified to accommodate students' different learning styles.

English Learners (EL)

Ask students to explain in their own words what the table is about. Then ask them to identify which of the people in the table are women and which are men. Finally, ask them to share with the class some interesting or unusual place names from their native country.

Linguistic/Verbal; Intra personal

Ask students to write a biography of one of the people listed in the table, paying particular attention to the events in the persor:t's life that resulted in regions of Earth being named after him or her.

Log ical/Mathematical

Have students expand upon the table by adding a column listing the specific areas of Earth's surface named after each person, and the square miles of each of these areas. Advise students that some people in the table have more than one area named after them.

Visual/Spatial

Have students select an explorer from the table and construct a map showing the path of one of his voyages. Display the maps in class.

Kinesthetic; LinguisticNerbal; Interpersonal

Assign pairs of students to research how a nearby landform or body of water got its name. Each pair should produce a brief report on the topic and create a model of the land­form or body of water to show to the class.

Advanced Learners

Share with students the following quote from Mark Monmonier, author of a book about place names in America: "How a nation manipulates and preserves its place and feature names says a lot about its respect for history, minority rights and indigenous culture." Then tell students that in recent years, many place names in America have been changed because certain groups have found the names offensive. Ask students to research some instances of this, and describe the process and final result. Also, ask students what Monmonier' s quote means to them. A two- to three-page paper should result from students' research and reflection.

Below Grade Level

Ask students to find different ways to arrange the information in the table. For exam­ple, they might calculate the total square miles named after royalty, or women, or people of various nationalities.