Lesson

Title/Focus

Lesson 1:
Chapter 4 Intro: How did the
Geography of Japan Affect Its
Worldview?

Subject/Gra
de Level

7/8 Social Studies

Unit

Japan Worldview

Date
Time
Durati
on
Teache
r

March 8, 2016

40 minutes
Jo-Anna Meurs

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General
Learning
Outcome
s:
Specific
Learning
Outcome
s:

Through Examination of Japan, students will demonstrate an understanding

and appreciation of the ways in which beliefs, values, and knowledge shape
worldviews and contribute to a societys isolation or adaptation.

8.1.1 appreciate the roles of time and geographic location in shaping a

societys worldview.
8.1.2 - appreciate how a societys worldview can foster the choice to remain
an isolated society
8.1.5.4 analyze the effects of cultural isolation How did the physical
geography of Japan impact it worldview?
8.S.3.3 construct and interpret various maps to broaden understanding of
given topics.
8.S.3.4 define geographic problems and issues and pose geographic
questions
8.S.3.5 use geographic tools, such as Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) software, to assist in preparing graphs and maps
8.S.3.6 access and operate multimedia application and technologies from
stand-alone and online sources, e.g., GIS
8.S.8.2 use skills of informal debate to persuasively express differing
viewpoints regarding an issue.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Develop an interest in learning how Japan responded to intercultural contact during
the Edo period
2. Learn how to participate in an informal debate
3. Locate Japan in the world and consider how its location and geography influences
the worldview of the people.
4. Locate use maps on the Internet

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:

Informal Discussion
Watch as students maneuver through Google Maps

Key Questions:
Products

How did Japans geography contribute to its isolation?

What are the main features of Japans geography?
Geography Hunt

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Alberta Social Studies Program of Studies
Nelson - Our Worldviews Textbook
Nelson Our Worldviews Teacher Resource

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Our Worldviews Textbook one for each
student
Student notebooks
Chrome books
Notes Handout
Textbook & Maps Hunt Handout

PROCEDURE
Prior to lesson

Advance
Organizer/Agend
a

Expectations for
Learning and
Behaviour

Make sure students have their textbooks with them.

Print handouts
1.
2.
3.
4.

Introduction
Definitions
Informal Debate
Japan Geography PowerPoint
Japan Geography Hunt

We have a lot to get through today as we begin the

Japan Unit! So, what I need from you is focus and
attention. There will be a handout at the end of the
lesson. My goal is that everyone will have it finished
before class is over. Im going to need your cooperation
to meet that goal! If it doesnt get finished, then it will
be assigned as homework.
Transition to
- Have students open their books to p. 124
Body
- Hand out the definitions worksheet
- Students will need this for the rest of the unit.
- Have students write down the definitions on p. 124 on
their worksheet
Body
Learning Activity Informal Debate:
#1
- Read the first paragraph and question 1 from page 127.
Have students discuss the positive and negatives of
living on an island.
- Read and discuss question 2a as a class.
- Pose this question and project it on the SMART board:
Imagine you are a leader of an island and you need to
decide whether or not you want to allow these
newcomers to stay on your island. Do they stay? Or do
they go?
- Give students a few minutes to think about their position
1 reason why they made that choice.
Explain the rules of an Informal Debate:
- The class will be split into their table groups.
- Go around in a circle and allow everyone a chance to say
their positions. NO INTERRUPTIONS!

Time

N/A

20
seconds

30
seconds
Time
15
minutes

- Once you have gone around the circle one time, open up
the discussion to the whole group. Explain your
reasoning!
- Remind students that there is no right answer, so they
should be respectful of the students whose opinions
are different than theirs!
Teacher Notes:
- Listen to students answers during class discussion. Are
Assessments/
they coming up with insightful answers? Are all
Differentiation
students answering? Or only a select few?
- Walk around classroom during informal debate listening
to students reasoning and positions.
- Watch as students carry out the informal debate. Are
they able to stay on task? Are they able to express
their viewpoints respectfully?
- Allow enough time for all students to write down their
reasoning for why they chose their positions.
Learning Activity
Geography of Japan PowerPoint
#2
- Hand out the worksheets students will use to take notes.
- Pull up the PowerPoint onto the SMARTboard
- Tell students that they will need to follow along because I
am having them fill in the blanks. Remind students
that these notes will be helpful when it comes time to
write the Unit Test.
- Go through PowerPoint, allowing students to ask
questions as you go.
- Write down responses to how geography contributed to
isolation on the Whiteboard.
- Make sure students put their Notes in a safe place so
that they dont lose them!
Teacher Notes:
- Pay attention to any questions that are being
Assessments/
asked. Make note of any that you cant answer
Differentiation
right away.
- Observe and listen as students answer the final
question in the Presentation? Are they able to
draw conclusions, knowing about the geography
of Japan.
- Make sure to include David. Ask if he agrees?
Learning Activity
Geography of Japan Hunt
#3
-Have students grab their chrome books
-Hand out the Geography of Japan Hunt worksheet
-Tell students that they will need to use both Google
Maps and their textbooks to answer the questions.
-Tell students that if they do not finish the assignment
today, it will be due on Friday and taken in for marks.
- Students can work together to find and discuss
answers, but they need to hand in their own worksheet
and they cannot just copy off of anyone elses work.
-Remind students to keep the noise level to a minimum
-If students need help, they can raise their hand
Teacher Notes:
-Watch as students maneuver through Google Maps. Are
Assessments/
they able to interpret the graph to further their
Differentiation
understanding of Japan?
-Take in worksheet as notes
-Let David look through Japan on Google Maps with a
partner.

N/A

8
minutes

N/A

15
minutes

N/A

Closure
Consolidation of
Learning:
Feedback From
Students:

Have students call out one thing they learned today!

Time
10 sec

Transition To
Next Lesson

Listen to student responses when they call out what

they learned!
Thank students for working hard. If students finished
worksheet, they can hand it in. Remind students that if
its not complete, it will be due on Friday.
Make sure students have their notes in a safe place! Let
students get ready for science.

Sponge
Activity/Activities

If students finish handout early, challenge them to find Mt. Fuji on

Google Maps.

Feedback To
Students

N/A
10 sec

Reflection:
For a first lesson, I think this went pretty well! I noticed that during bigger
class discussions, there were only a few students who were eager to
participate, but during smaller group discussions, everyone was able to
discuss amongst their table the topics at hand. For future lessons, I will try to
incorporate more group discussion. Also, the way the informal debate was
set up allowed for each student to say something.
I did find that my beginning activity regarding writing down the definitions
was time consuming, and not helping the students really grasp or
understand the vocabulary. Ive decided to scrap my initial idea to have the
students write down all the vocabulary, but instead create a handout that
has all the definitions on them. In this way, students can spend more time
understanding the vocabulary, and less time writing it down.
I do think that students enjoyed the Google Maps and Textbook Hunt
activity, but I did not leave a lot of time for them to work on it. I also noticed
that students were getting sidetracked when it came to Google Maps. This is
something I will be more conscious of in future lessons that involve the
internet. I will make sure to leave more time for students to complete tasks
as well. I dont want to have to give a lot of homework in social studies!
Things that I think went well in this lesson, were that students were
interested and engaged throughout the direct instruction portion. My goal
during direct instruction is to make it more of a conversation, allowing
students to ask questions and give input! I think this was accomplished

during todays lesson as the students began to open up to my teaching. I

also think giving individual work was a good way to make sure that I help the
students who may have needed a little more guidance in the activity. There
was one student in particular who needed a little more help with the
questions. Since the other students were able to work individually, I was able
to give this student a little more attention.