China

China is a land of great geographical diversity, with climate zones ranging from alpine and subarctic to tropical, with the world's highest mountain and the world's second lowest desert depression, with three of the world's longest rivers and one of the world's driest deserts. It has the world's largest and highest dry plateau, and two of the world's largest fertile river basins. The landscape of China includes areas of spectacular, wild natural beauty; it also contains vast areas that have been completely transformed from their natural state by the agricultural labor of a hundred generations.

The total and area of China is roughly the same as that of the United States. That equal amount of land, however, must provide food for nearly five times as many people. The problem is even more severe than this simple comparison would suggest, for China has significantly less land than the United States that is suitable for agriculture.

Unit Description:

Students, in groups of 4-5, will be given seven blank maps of China and will create the following maps using geographical resources in class:

        1.Land Use

        2. Population Density

        3. Agricultural Regions and Crops

        4. Climatic Regions

        5. Major Land Regions

        6. Location (cities, rivers, mountains, etc.)

        7. China's Place in the World

Students in their textbook: World History Connections to Today will read pages 12 & 13 which explain how geography helped to shape early Chinese civilizations

As a class the students, using their seven maps will hypothesize how geography has affected China in the past, present, and how it will be important in the future.

Links:

http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/deall/jin.3/c231/handouts/h1.htm

http://www.chinaplanet.com/about/geography/

http://www.chinaplanet.com/about/geography/

http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/general/geography.htm

http://www.sh.com/china/travel/chtour.htm (Chinese scenery)