curriculum.naf.orgcurriculum.naf.org/packaged/assets/downloads... · web viewstudents will need...

AOHT Geography for Tourism

Lesson 6Physical Geography and Tourism

In this lesson, students consider how physical geography shapes a destination’s culture, history, and tourist offerings. They practice working with this concept via case studies of US destinations. Then they apply it to the first phase of their culminating project, which is to write about the ways physical geography has molded their project country’s culture and history, as well as its opportunities for tourism.

Advance Preparation Students will need access to computers for Internet research and with word processing software

(at least two per project group) for Class Periods 4, 5, and 6, as well as a printer (optional).

Review Teacher Resource 6.2, Guide: Culminating Project, and begin the process of contacting local professionals to participate in the project.

Prepare Teacher Resource 6.3, Email: New Country Profiles Needed, to reflect the number of countries and project groups you will have.

Decide how you want to create the culminating project groups—whether you will allow students to self-select or whether you want to have more input to ensure that the culminating project is a meaningful experience for all students.

Gather magazines, newspapers, and books for students to use to practice citing sources. This lesson is expected to take 6 class periods.

Lesson FrameworkLearning ObjectivesEach student will:

Describe the major geographic features of a particular country Evaluate the relationship between physical geography, culture, history, and tourism at a particular

destination Compare and contrast features of different travel websites Identify the characteristics of successful travel websites*

*This is one of the 16 key learning objectives assessed by the NAFTrack Certification end-of-course exam for this course.

Copyright © 2007–2016 NAF. All rights reserved.

AOHT Geography for TourismLesson 6 Physical Geography and Tourism

Academic StandardsThe relevant Common Core State Standards are too extensive to list here but are an important basis for this lesson. For details, please refer to the separate document “Correlations to the Common Core Standards” (available in the Course Planning Tools section of the course materials).

Evaluate the nature and scope of the Hospitality & Tourism Career Cluster™ and the role of hospitality and tourism in society and the economy (Common Career Technical Core 2012, Hospitality and Tourism cluster, HT-2)

Apply information about time zones, seasons and domestic and international maps to create or enhance travel (Common Career Technical Core 2012, Hospitality and Tourism cluster, HT-TT 1)

Analyze cultural diversity factors to enhance travel planning (Common Career Technical Core 2012, Hospitality and Tourism cluster, HT-TT 3)

Use common travel and tourism terminology used to communicate within the industry (Common Career Technical Core 2012, Hospitality and Tourism cluster, HT-TT 6)

Explain how physical or human characteristics interact to change the meaning and significance of places (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 4.2.B)

Describe and explain the processes that have resulted in regional change (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 5.2.A)

Explain how and why people view places and regions differently as a function of their ideology, race, ethnicity, language, gender, age, religion, politics, social class, and economic status (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 6.1.A)

Explain and compare the factors that contribute to the growth or decline of settlements over time (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 12.2.A)

Explain how people may view the physical environment as both an opportunity or a constraint depending on their choice of activities (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 15.1.A)

Analyze and explain the connections between sequences of historical events and the geographic contexts in which they occurred (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 17.1.A)

Analyze and evaluate the connections between the geographic contexts of current events and possible future issues (National Geographic Standards, 2nd ed. 2012, 18.1.B)

AssessmentAssessment Product Means of Assessment

A written introduction to a country from a tourism perspective for the culminating project (Student Resource 6.6)

Assessment Criteria: Country Introduction (Teacher Resource 6.4)

Prerequisites Competence in reading maps Comfort with map terminology Understanding of the six components of travel geography Experience using computers and the Internet for research Familiarity with location of major regions of the world

Copyright © 2007–2016 NAF. All rights reserved. 2


Instructional MaterialsTeacher Resources

Teacher Resource 6.1, Sample Map (separate PowerPoint file) Teacher Resource 6.2, Guide: Culminating Project Teacher Resource 6.3, Email: New Country Profiles Needed Teacher Resource 6.4, Assessment Criteria: Country Introduction Teacher Resource 6.5, Key Vocabulary: Physical Geography and Tourism Teacher Resource 6.6, Bibliography: Physical Geography and Tourism

Student Resources Student Resource 6.1, Case Studies: How Physical Geography Affects Tourism Student Resource 6.2, Notes: How Physical Geography Affects Tourism Student Resource 6.3, Guide: Project Steps Student Resource 6.4, Observations: Travel Website Review Student Resource 6.5, Reading: Citing Sources Student Resource 6.6, Assignment: Country Introduction

Equipment and Supplies Computer with LCD projector to screen sample map Computers with Internet access (at least two per project group) and printer (optional) Maps, travel guide books, and travel magazines featuring popular destinations Magazines, newspapers, or books (to practice citing sources) Chart paper (8–10 sheets) Sticky notes (one stack for each project group, preferably in several different colors) Blackboard, whiteboard, or flip chart



Lesson StepsStep Min. Activity*

CLASS PERIOD 1

1 35 Discussion: Where Would You Settle? Where Would You Visit?In this lesson, students consider how physical geography (with the exception of climate, which students will study later in the course) affects history, culture, and tourism by working with a map of a fictional island to make predictions.

Begin class by projecting Teacher Resource 6.1, Sample Map (separate PowerPoint file). Note: The map will be most effective if students can see it in color.

Ask students what sort of map this is; they should remember that it is a topographical map. Ask students to imagine that this map represents a new island that was recently discovered in the middle of the ocean. It has never been inhabited. Ask students to identify the major geographic features of this island and help them to recognize any unusual or unfamiliar features.

Once students are familiar with the map, pose the following question to them:

If you were going to be one of the first people living on this island, where would you choose to live and why?

Ask students to take a couple of minutes to think it over and write their responses in their notebooks. Invite a volunteer to share where he or she might choose to settle and why. For example, “I would want to live near the river because it would give me fresh water that I could drink.”

After the student explains the choice, ask for a show of hands of how many other students might choose to settle in that same location. Repeat this process until everyone has had the opportunity to vote for a specific location on the island.

Next, ask students to consider the following scenario:

Imagine that this island becomes a tourist destination. It’s in the early phases of development, so there aren’t big cities or shops or amusement parks yet. When you visit, you can only participate in activities based on the geographic features of the island—surf at the beach, fish in the lake, hike on the mountain, take a cruise through the swamp. Based on the physical geography, where would you want to visit on this island? Where would you avoid?

Give students a few minutes to think it over and write their responses in their notebook. Invite a volunteer to share where he or she would visit and why, and where he or she would avoid and why. For example, “I would want to go rafting on the river. According to the map, the water is flowing from the mountains, so it should be moving fast downhill. There are probably rapids, which would be really fun and exciting. I would avoid a cruise through the swamp because the water there is slow moving and full of crocodiles. The one thing I am deathly afraid of is crocodiles.” After the student explains his or her choices, ask for a show of hands of how many other students might choose to visit and avoid those same locations. Repeat this process until everyone has had a chance to vote for specific location preferences on the island.



Step Min. Activity*

Explain that the students have just experienced two of the major ways that physical geography influences tourism. First of all, physical geography influences where and how cities grow. Where the students chose to live on the uninhabited island gives us a sense of where people would really choose to settle, because settlers need fresh water, access to potential safe harbors, and arable land. Cities spring up where people settle, and wherever cities grow, tourist destinations do, too.

Secondly, physical geography affects what activities or experiences a destination can offer, which affects its tourism offerings. The students just demonstrated this effect in their discussion of what they’d want to do and avoid on the island. Their choices were shaped by its physical characteristics. Put another way, people don’t visit the Florida Everglades to snow ski, and they don’t visit Alaska to sunbathe in December.

Note that climate is part of physical geography. The students will learn about climate later in the course. For now, let students know that they will continue to explore how physical geography affects tourism in the next activity.

2 15 Homework: How Physical Geography Affects TourismThis reading helps students look further into the impact of physical geography as they make connections between physical geography and the culture or history of a specific destination.

Explain that for homework, students are going to learn more about how geography impacts culture, history, and tourism in a specific destination. Ask students to read the headings in Student Resource 6.1, Case Studies: How Physical Geography Affects Tourism. Point out that each section is about a place somewhere in the United States. Explain that each student will be assigned one of these sections to read for homework, so they don’t have to read it now. Instead, look at Student Resource 6.2, Notes: How Physical Geography Affects Tourism. Give students a few minutes to read the directions and the example. The example shows the students the level of detail they should provide as they fill in their section of the notes.

Tell students to pair with a neighbor and ask each other questions about the assignment. Next, ask pairs to bring up questions for the class. Clear up any confusion about the homework. Finally, assign each student one of the case studies. Tell the class that they need to fill in their section of the notes by the next class period, because they will be explaining their case study to their classmates. If time allows, students can start their homework in class.

CLASS PERIOD 2

3 50 Homework Review: How Physical Geography Affects TourismStudents share with classmates what they have learned about physical geography’s impact on tourism. This activity focuses on the following college and career skills:

Demonstrating teamwork and collaboration Utilizing time efficiently when managing complex tasks



Step Min. Activity*

Begin class by forming students into homogeneous groups based on which case study they read. Depending on class size, you may wish to create two or three smaller groups for each case study.

In these groups, ask students to compare their answers to the homework. Encourage students to revise their answers as necessary based on this discussion. Circulate among the groups and clear up any misunderstandings.

Then form new heterogeneous groups. Each new group should have at least one representative of each destination (in other words, at least one student who read about New Orleans, one who read about Chicago, etc.).

Ask students to work together in their new groups to discuss what they learned about each destination. Students should complete the rest of Student Resource 6.2 based on the information they learn from their group mates.

Give students most of the rest of the class period to share their thoughts. When about 10 minutes are left, ask them to copy down these prompts in their notebook and to think about them in preparation for the next class:

In your own words, how would you describe the impact of physical geography on the place in your case study?

Of the case studies you learned about, which city do you think is most affected by its physical geography: New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boulder, or Miami?

Can you think of other US cities that have similar physical geography to one of the case study cities?

Keep in mind that you can combine this step with Lesson Step 4 if your students work through the review quickly.

CLASS PERIOD 3

4 20 Homework Review: Physical Geography and US DestinationsIn this activity, students discuss what they learned about the impact physical geography has had on US destinations.

Before class, post the questions students copied down at the end of the previous class period on the board or a sheet of chart paper:

In your own words, how would you describe the impact of physical geography on the place in your case study?

Of the case studies you learned about, which city do you think is most affected by its physical geography: New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boulder, or Miami?

Can you think of other US cities that have similar physical geography to one of the case study cities?

Place students in groups of three or four and ask them to share their thoughts on these questions with each other. After a few minutes, ask each group to share on one of the prompts. You may want to gauge student understanding by assessing students’ notebook entries on a credit/no credit basis. If time allows, you may wish to have



Step Min. Activity*

students suggest other cities within the United States that have a culture or history that has been impacted by geographic location.

Explain that they will continue to explore the link between a place’s physical features and its attractiveness as a tourist destination in other ways in the coming lessons.

5 30 Culminating Project Launch: Working for Globetrotters Travel, Inc.In this activity, students move on to a new topic: their culminating project. Students receive their launch letter and learn about the goal of the project.

Before beginning this part of the lesson, make sure you have made all necessary preparations:

Read Teacher Resource 6.2, Guide: Culminating Project, which will provide an overview of this entire process.

Prepare Teacher Resource 6.3, Email: New Country Profiles Needed, to hand out to students. Include enough countries in the “email” to assign one per group, and include a due date at the bottom. Make one copy for each student.

Decide how you want to group the students. They will be working together for many weeks on a long and complex project, so the makeup of each group is very important.

Begin this lesson by telling students that they have now polished their geography-related skills and developed enough background knowledge of travel geography to begin work on their culminating projects.

Hand out Teacher Resource 6.3, Email: New Country Profiles Needed. You may wish to explain to students that this “email” is not as formal as some business emails they might see or send in the real world. Point out that internal emails (within a company) that are exchanged between people who know each other (like a supervisor and an employee) can be more casual. However, emphasize that these internal emails are still polite and avoid slang, abbreviations, or emoticons. A business email sent to a stranger, such as a potential customer, would be more formal.

Give students a few minutes to read the email. While they are reading, prepare to place students in their project groups. You can ask students to write down their top three choices, and use student interest to help form groups; you can decide beforehand who will do what; you can have students pick a country from a slip of paper out of a hat; or you can use a method of choosing groups that works best for your students and circumstances.

Ask students to move into their project groups. Then ask them:

If you received this email, what would you do? What do you need to know?

Instruct students to take a few moments to write down their thoughts at the bottom of the email. Then have them discuss their thoughts with their group mates.

Ask each group to identify one thing they need to do or know and then write down those suggestions on the board; this will be the start of a master list for the class.

Once the list has been created, ask students to compare the class list to Student



Step Min. Activity*

Resource 6.3, Guide: Project Steps. Explain that this graphic identifies each step they need to take to complete the project. Encourage students to refer back to this guide frequently as they complete the project.

Point out that as a starting point they need to familiarize themselves with the different kinds of information provided by these travel websites. Inform the students that they will be doing this in the next class period.

CLASS PERIOD 4

6 30 Culminating Project Work: Travel Website ResearchStudents build understanding of the components of a successful travel website by studying a variety of them in preparation for conducting project research. This activity focuses on the following college and career skills:

Locating, evaluating, and applying information Effectively using technology relevant to a profession Demonstrating teamwork and collaboration

Ask students to move into their project group. Remind students that the first task of their culminating project is to research travel websites to find out what the competition is doing. Review Student Resource 6.4, Observations: Travel Website Review. Explain that by filling out every section of this resource, students will build a thorough understanding of the website they are investigating. Give students about five minutes to read through the whole resource. Tell them to talk to their group mates about questions they have. Then ask each group if they have any comments or questions about the assignment. Use this time to clear up any confusion.

Tell the students that each group will be responsible for reviewing and writing about one of the websites on the list. Explain that they will have a limited amount of time to research these sites and that they will be sharing their information with the rest of the class. The class goal will be to create a description of an excellent travel website. Emphasize that these are websites designed to help people plan vacations, but they are not necessarily sites that sell vacations to people. In other words, their emphasis is on providing information rather than advertising, a distinction they explored earlier in this course.

Assign each group to one of the websites listed on the resource. Allow each group two or more computers, and have them divide the work up based on how many computers are available. As they research, remind them not to get caught up in the country-specific content—this is not the time to plan a dream vacation to Tahiti. Their purpose is to identify the types of content that are available on these sites.

While the students are working, post several sheets of chart paper around the room, each with one of the elements from the resource written on it (First Impressions, Purpose, Organization, Site Features and Design, Travel Tips and Currency Information). Give each group a stack of sticky notes (preferably using a different color for each group). As students study their website according to each category, they should be on the lookout for aspects that their site does really well. Any time they find a



Step Min. Activity*

feature they like, they should describe it on a sticky note and place it on the chart paper for the pertinent category.

For example, on the home page for www.lonelyplanet.com, there are revolving photographs of different places in the world. In the category “Site Features and Design,” students might write, “Clear photographs are good at showing how very different places are from each other and that makes us curious about them.” But in their notes they might also add that the photos revolve too quickly to read the information that accompanies each photo, and that is a flaw.

7 20 Culminating Project Work: Travel Website ComparisonStudents compare the results of their research on travel websites through class discussion.

Assign a group to each of the categories. Ask them to read the sticky notes and to think of one sentence that summarizes what is most effective in that category. After a few minutes, ask each group to state their summary sentence and write it on the board. Ask the other groups if they have thoughts on how to improve the sentence. Go through this process with each category. In this way, the class is creating an overall description of an excellent travel website. Ask students to copy these statements into their notebook as well.

Point out that all of these websites include basic information about the country, frequently in a section called Overview or Introduction. Let the students know that in the next class period they will begin writing the Introduction section for their project country.

At the end of the class period, you may wish to gauge student understanding by assessing Student Resource 6.4 on a credit/no-credit basis.

CLASS PERIOD 5

8 15 Culminating Project Work: Citing SourcesIn this activity, students practice looking for online sources of information and learn the proper way to cite sources as they conduct research.

Prepare for this activity by having a mix of books, magazines, journals, and newspapers on hand for students to use to practice citing sources, enough so that each pair of students receives at least one.

Refer groups to Student Resource 6.5, Reading: Citing Sources. Give groups a few minutes to read through the examples of how to cite sources from different materials. As they read, write these headers on the board:

Author Title Publication URL Place of publication


http://www.lonelyplanet.com/


Step Min. Activity*

Page number Access date Date of publication

Next, tell students that citing sources properly is crucial when conducting research. It gives credit to the writers and publications that made the information available, and it demonstrates that the work the students are presenting has been thoroughly researched via a range of sources.

Tell students to form pairs. Distribute one magazine, journal, newspaper, or book to each pair of students. Tell them to figure out how to cite it properly and to write down their citation.

Next, ask for a pair of student volunteers to come to the board and write their citation. Look at it as a class; is it correct? Have the pair point out each component of the citation, including whether any components are missing (for example, a publication date).

Invite another pair to come to the board and ask:

How would this citation look different if it were an online source? Where would the URL, or website address, go? Where would the access date go?

Go through this process with a few more pairs and answer any questions. Remind students that if they use photographs, maps, or illustrations that they did not make themselves, they need to provide source information for those images as well.

Now is also a good time to remind students to save paper by emailing source links to themselves and their group members instead of printing them out.

9 30 Culminating Project Work: Country IntroductionStudents work together to research and write an introductory report on their project country.

Begin this activity by asking students to move into their project group. Explain that they are going to work together to write an introduction to their country, which will explain the country’s physical geography and identify how that physical geography has affected the country’s history, culture, and tourism.

Go over Student Resource 6.6, Assignment: Country Introduction. Ask a volunteer from each group to read one step aloud. After a student reads the step, ask the class what questions they have about that step. Then ask a volunteer from a different group to give an example of what they would do to complete that step.

Next, ask the groups to read over the assessment criteria at the end of the assignment sheet. Ask each group to discuss the assessment criteria using the following prompts:

The criterion we think will be the hardest is…. One criterion we think we can do well on is…. One question we have is….

Give the groups a few minutes to discuss. Then ask each group to share their response to one or more of the prompts. Use this opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings.



Step Min. Activity*

Then ask students to return to Step One of the assignment and divide up the work as suggested. Once students have divided up the work, identify the computers and other research materials each group may use to complete their research. Instruct students to begin their research for their section of the introduction.

Remind students that their goal should be to complete their research during this class period so they can write their rough draft for homework.

10 5 Culminating Project Work: Rough Draft Writing HomeworkStudents plan to complete a rough draft of their section of their introduction for homework.

When approximately five minutes remain in class, remind students that for homework they need to complete a rough draft of their section. Explain that they will work together to combine their sections at the start of the next class period. If they want to do more research, they will need to complete it for homework as well.

Encourage students to type up their completed drafts and email them to each other or to save them on a portable disk drive to make it easier to combine the sections in the next class period.

CLASS PERIOD 6

11 30 Culminating Project Work: Putting Together the IntroductionStudents work together to assemble their introduction to their project country.

Ask students to move into their project groups and assemble their introductions. They should be combining the individual sections to create one unified introduction, as well as adding the visuals their group has selected to accompany the introduction. Ideally, one student acts as scribe and creates the final draft on a computer; alternatively, the scribe can write the introduction by hand. The scribe also needs to start the master bibliography for the project by writing down all of the students’ sources, using the proper citation format. Let students know they will have approximately 30 minutes of this class period to finish up their assignment.

Remind students to take another look at the assessment criteria on Student Resource 6.6 and make sure their introduction meets or exceeds those criteria.

12 20 Reflection: Physical GeographyStudents reflect on what they have learned about physical geography and its impact on culture, history, and tourism.

When approximately 20 minutes remain in class, post the following prompts on the board or a sheet of chart paper and ask students to discuss three of them in their project group:

The best-known physical geographic feature of our country is….



Step Min. Activity*

Our favorite physical geographic feature of this country is…because…. One way the physical geography has affected the culture in our country is…. One way the physical geography has affected the history of our country is…. One way the physical geography affects the tourism of our country is….

Give the groups a few minutes to discuss the prompts they chose. Then ask each group to share their thoughts on one or more of these prompts. Make sure each group has an opportunity to share.

Point out to students that the more they know about geography, the more valuable they will be in any tourism-related industry and the more interesting their own travels will be.

At the end of the class period, collect the assignment and assess it using Teacher Resource 6.4, Assessment Criteria: Country Introduction. You may also choose to gauge understanding by assessing each student’s contribution to the assignment on a credit/no-credit basis.

ExtensionsEnrichment

Compare degrees of formality in business emails by evaluating the email Su Jin sends, which is an internal email between people who already know each other and are comfortable working together, with an email that might be sent to an outside party. Evaluate the differences between these emails and ones that friends send each other. Discuss the importance of maintaining a degree of professionalism in all work emails.

Professional geographers make a distinction between “site” and “situation” in physical geography. Site refers to the characteristics of a particular site or a specific place that influences how it developed; for example, being on a river often causes a city to grow larger on one side (with higher ground) than the other side (that is prone to flooding). Situation refers to the relative location of a place to other places. Being near a major transportation route, such as a river, gives a site/place potential access to migrants and goods. Those characteristics are external to the site itself. When students analyze the physical geography of a particular US city, ask them to include an analysis of its site versus situational characteristics. This will help them see that tourist attractions are based on site characteristics, whereas tourist markets are based on situation characteristics.

Technology Integration Have students develop a rating system for travel websites and then rate the website they visit

during this lesson. The rating system should be based on their analysis resource (Student Resource 6.4, Observations: Travel Website Review). The class can work together to create an overall rating chart, which can then be used to guide other research in this course or in other AOHT courses. It can also be used as a guideline for students when they write their own website information for their culminating project.

Ask students to compare one of the travel research sites (such as Lonely Planet or Let’s Go) to a travel sales site (such as Expedia or Orbitz). Ask students to complete a Venn diagram or other



compare/contrast tool to help them identify the similarities and differences of the two different types of sites. Lead a class discussion on this topic and ask students to think carefully about why certain types of information appear on one type of site and not the other type.

Cross-Curricular Integration Social Studies: Have students evaluate the role that physical geography played in the history they

are currently studying. For example, the United States got involved later than European countries in both World War I and World War II. That is because our country’s geographic location made it safe from invasion and relatively safe from attack (until Pearl Harbor). The physical geography of regions in Africa and Asia made them more attractive for colonization, because the physical geography included minerals, plant life, and so forth that European countries did not have readily available at home.


curriculum.naf.orgcurriculum.naf.org/packaged/assets/downloads... · web viewstudents will need...

Documents