Unit Plan 2 (Grade 7 Social Studies): Geography Shapes Culture
Explain how landforms, rivers, and climate shaped medieval settlement, farming, and trade—and how societies adapted or modified environments to support cultural growth.
Focus: Explain how landforms, rivers, and climates influenced early medieval settlement, agriculture, and trade, and how people adapted to and modified their environments.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Social Studies (World Geography • World History • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students investigate how physical geography channeled people, products, and ideas in the medieval world. Using maps, short texts, and visuals, they analyze how river deltas, coastal plains, mountain passes, deserts, and monsoon patterns shaped population density, farming systems, and trade corridors. They close with a comparative case study that argues how environment + human choices produced distinct cultural patterns.
Essential Questions
- How did landforms and water systems steer where people lived, worked, and traded?
- In what ways did medieval societies adapt to (e.g., terrace farming, irrigation) and modify (e.g., deforestation) their environments?
- What evidence helps us explain connections between geography and culture?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain how landforms, climate, and resources influenced regional development and interaction (e.g., river deltas → ports/trade, oases → caravan routes).
- Analyze human–environment interaction in medieval societies, evaluating adaptations (terraces, irrigation, water wheels) and consequences (soil loss, forest clearing).
- Gather and organize information from maps, documents, data sets, and visuals to build an evidence-based explanation.
- Communicate a comparative claim linking physical geography to cultural patterns (settlement, agriculture, exchange).
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 7.C3.Geo.3: Explain how landforms, climate, and resources influenced regional development and interaction.
- 7.C3.Geo.4: Analyze human–environment interaction in medieval and early modern societies.
- 7.C3.Inq.2: Gather/organize information from multiple types of sources (maps, documents, data sets, visuals, digital).
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can show how a landform or climate factor led to a settlement, farming, or trade pattern.
- I can describe a clear adaptation (e.g., terraces, irrigation) and evaluate its effects.
- I can organize map + text + data evidence to support a comparative claim.