Lesson plan of Relief: Review

Objectives (5 – 10 minutes)

1. Understand the basic concepts of relief and its cartographic representation, such as relief maps, contour lines and shading.

2. Identify and describe the main characteristics of land relief, such as plateaus, plains, mountains and depressions.

3. Apply the knowledge acquired to interpret and analyze relief maps and images, recognizing the different types of relief and their relation to the formation of geographical space.

Secondary objectives:

• Foster students' observation and analysis skills, encouraging them to question and investigate the subject of relief.

• Develop map and image reading skills, promoting their understanding and interpretation.

• Stimulate students' active participation, through group discussions and practical activities, to promote meaningful learning.

Introduction (10 – 15 minutes)

1. Revision of previous content: The teacher begins the class by briefly reviewing the concepts of physical geography already studied, such as the components of the landscape (relief, climate, vegetation, hydrography) and the importance of studying relief to understand geographical space.

2. Problem situations: The teacher then presents two problem situations to spark students' interest:

• If a group of students need to cross a mountainous region to get to a city on the other side, what difficulties could they encounter?

• If a farmer needs to choose a place to plant in an unknown region, what kind of information about the relief would they need?

3. Contextualization: The teacher explains that studying relief is fundamental to several areas of knowledge and to practical life. It can be applied, for example, in urban planning, in the construction of roads and railways, in agriculture, in weather forecasting, among others.

4. Grabbing students' attention: To arouse students' curiosity and attention, the teacher can:

• Share interesting facts about relief, such as the existence of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, and the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the oceans.

• Show impressive images of the Earth's relief, such as the Himalayas, the Great Lakes in North America, and the Sahara Desert.

5. Introduction to the topic: Finally, the teacher introduces the topic of the lesson, explaining that they will review the concept of relief, learn about the different forms of cartographic representation, and explore the main characteristics of the Earth's relief.

6. Lesson objectives: The teacher informs students about the lesson's Learning Objectives , encouraging them to participate actively and to ask questions throughout the process.

Development (20 – 25 minutes)

1. Practical activity: Relief modeling with Play-Doh (10 – 15 minutes)

• Preparation: The teacher must provide different colored Play-Doh (preferably green, to represent vegetation areas, and brown, for rugged relief areas), barbecue skewers, cardboard and felt-tip pens.

• Dividing into groups: Students should be divided into small groups of up to 5 people. Each group will receive a piece of cardboard and a quantity of Play-Doh.

• Objective: The objective of the activity is for students to create a small-scale relief model, representing different types of relief: plains, plateaus, mountains and depressions.

• Development: Each group chooses a type of relief to represent. They must mold the Play-Doh into the shape of the chosen relief and fix it onto the cardboard using the barbecue skewers. Then, they must paint the relief according to the corresponding color (green for plains, brown for mountains, etc.).

• Discussion: While the groups carry out the activity, the teacher should circulate around the room, assisting and guiding them. It is important for students to discuss the characteristics of the relief they are representing, such as the variation in altitude, the presence of valleys, the slope of the land, among others.

2. Group activity: Reading and interpreting relief maps (10 – 15 minutes)

• Preparation: The teacher must provide different types of relief maps (topographic maps, contour maps, shaded maps) and satellite images.

• Dividing into groups: Students remain in the same groups as in the previous activity.

• Objective: The objective of this activity is for students to learn to read and interpret relief maps, identifying the different forms of relief represented and their characteristics.

• Development: Each group receives a relief map and a satellite image. They must compare the two representations and identify the similarities and differences. Then, they must identify the different forms of relief on the map (plateaus, plains, mountains, depressions) and circle each one. Finally, they must describe the characteristics of each form of relief, such as the variation in altitude, the slope of the land, the presence of valleys, etc.

• Discussion: The teacher should promote a classroom discussion, where each group presents their findings and reflections. The teacher can supplement the discussions with additional information, if necessary.

These fun and practical activities aim to facilitate the understanding of the concepts of relief, as well as stimulate students' collaboration and active participation. In addition, they allow students to apply the knowledge they have acquired in a meaningful way, through the manipulation of concrete materials and the resolution of problems.

Feedback (10 – 15 minutes)

1. Group discussion (5 – 7 minutes)

• The teacher should gather all students for a group discussion. They should ask each group to share the conclusions or solutions they found during the practical activities.

• Each group will have up to 3 minutes to present their findings. It is important for the teacher to encourage respect and attention from the other students during the presentations, so that everyone can learn from the different perspectives of relief interpretation.

• During the presentations, the teacher should ask questions to stimulate reflection and deepen students' understanding. For example: "Why did you choose to represent the relief this way?" or "How did you interpret this contour line on the map?".

• After the presentations, the teacher should make a brief summary of the main conclusions and reflections, relating them to the theoretical concepts presented at the beginning of the class.

2. Connection with theory (3 - 5 minutes)

• The teacher should then explain how the practical activities connect with the theory of relief. They should highlight, for example, how relief modeling with Play-Doh helps to visualize the different forms of relief and their characteristics, and how reading and interpreting relief maps allows us to identify and locate the different forms of relief in a given geographical space.

• The teacher can also comment on the importance of studying relief for several areas of knowledge and for practical life, recalling the problem situations presented in the Introduction of the class.

• The objective of this stage is to consolidate students' learning, showing the relevance and applicability of the concepts learned.

3. Individual reflection (2 - 3 minutes)

• Finally, the teacher should propose that students reflect individually on what they have learned in class. They can ask questions such as:

1. What was the most important concept you learned today?
2. What questions have not yet been answered?

• Students should have a minute to think about these questions. After the allotted time, the teacher can ask some students to share their answers with the class. This can help identify possible gaps in students' understanding and provide valuable feedback for planning the next classes.

• The teacher should encourage students to continue thinking about the topic of the class and to bring their questions and reflections to the next classes.

This Feedback stage is fundamental for consolidating students' learning, promoting reflection and metacognition, and for evaluating the effectiveness of the class. In addition, it allows the teacher to make the necessary adjustments in the planning of the next classes, according to the students' needs and difficulties.

Conclusion (5 - 10 minutes)

1. Summary and Recapitulation (2 - 3 minutes)

• The teacher should recapitulate the main points addressed during the class, reinforcing the concepts of relief, their forms of cartographic representation and the characteristics of the different forms of land relief.

• They should refer to the practical activities carried out and how they helped to solidify understanding of the theoretical concepts presented.

• It is important for the teacher, during the summary, to return to the problem situations presented at the beginning of the class and to show how the knowledge acquired can be applied to solve them.

2. Theory-Practice-Application Connection (1 - 2 minutes)

• The teacher should explain how the class connected the theory, practice and application of the concepts.

• They should emphasize how relief modeling with Play-Doh and reading and interpreting relief maps helped to visualize and better understand the theoretical concepts.

• In addition, the teacher should reinforce the importance of studying relief for several areas of knowledge and for practical life, giving examples of real situations.

3. Supplementary materials (1 - 2 minutes)

• The teacher should suggest supplementary study materials to deepen students' understanding of the subject.

• These materials can include books, articles, documentaries, geography websites, educational games, among others.

• It is important for the teacher to encourage students to explore these materials on their own, according to their interests and needs.

4. Relevance of the subject (1 - 2 minutes)

• Finally, the teacher should highlight the importance of studying relief to understand the world we live in.

• They can emphasize how relief influences several aspects of our daily lives, from the climate and vegetation of a region to the construction of roads and the choice of places for agriculture.

• In addition, the teacher can encourage students to think about how the knowledge acquired can be applied in their lives, in their future professions and in their interactions with the environment.

The Conclusion stage is fundamental for consolidating students' learning, reinforcing the connection between the class and the real world, and motivating students to continue studying and exploring the topic. In addition, it allows the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of the class and make the necessary adjustments for the next classes.