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Beyond Mountains & Rivers?

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Lesson Plan

Beyond Mountains & Rivers?

Students will be able to identify and describe various lesser-known landforms, recognizing their unique characteristics and geographical significance.

Understanding diverse landforms enriches students' global awareness, helps them interpret maps more accurately, and highlights the incredible variety of Earth's natural landscapes beyond the most common examples.

Audience

7th Grade Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through engaging visuals and guided discussion, students will explore unique landforms.

Materials

Google Slides presentation: Beyond Mountains & Rivers? Slide Deck, Individual handouts: Landform Scavenger Hunt Activity, Writing prompts: Landform Reflection Cool Down, and Discussion prompts: Landform Warm Up

Prep

Review Materials & Setup

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Think-Pair-Share

5 minutes

  • Begin with the Landform Warm Up activity.
    * Display the prompt on the board/slide:
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Slide Deck

Beyond Mountains & Rivers?

What are some of Earth's other amazing landforms?

Welcome students and introduce the lesson's exciting question. Explain that today we're going beyond the usual mountains and rivers.

Warm Up: Landform Brainstorm

Think-Pair-Share!

  1. Think: What are 3-5 different landforms you know?
  2. Pair: Share your list with a partner. Did you think of any similar or different ones?
  3. Share: Be ready to share one unique landform your pair discussed.

Introduce the Warm-Up activity. Give students a minute to think individually, then two minutes to discuss with a partner. Bring the class back together for a few shares.

Fjords: Nature's Deep Cuts

What are they?

  • Long, narrow, deep inlets of the sea
  • Formed by glaciers carving through valleys
  • Steep sides, often with dramatic cliffs

Where can you find them?

  • Norway, New Zealand, Chile, Alaska

Introduce the first 'new' landform: Fjords. Use a striking image and explain its formation and key characteristics. Emphasize their location (Norway, New Zealand, etc.).

Mesas & Buttes: Flat-Topped Wonders

What are they?

  • Mesa: A flat-topped mountain or hill with steep sides (larger than a butte)
  • Butte: A smaller, isolated hill with steep, often vertical, sides and a small, flat top
  • Formed by erosion of softer rock layers around a harder caprock

Where can you find them?

  • Southwestern United States (e.g., Arizona, Utah)

Introduce the second landform: Mesas and Buttes. Explain the difference between the two and their formation process (erosion). Show a visual contrast.

Atolls: Coral Rings of Paradise

What are they?

  • Ring-shaped coral reefs, islands, or island chains
  • Surround a lagoon, often formed on top of submerged volcanoes
  • Made of coral polyps building up over thousands of years

Where can you find them?

  • Pacific Ocean (e.g., Maldives, Marshall Islands)

Introduce the third landform: Atolls. Explain their coral formation and connection to volcanoes. Show images of their characteristic ring shape.

Geysers: Earth's Steamy Show

What are they?

  • A hot spring that periodically ejects a column of hot water and steam
  • Caused by geothermal heating, where groundwater is heated by magma deep within the Earth

Where can you find them?

  • Yellowstone National Park (USA), Iceland, New Zealand, Russia

Introduce the fourth landform: Geysers. Explain their geothermal nature and the science behind their eruptions. Mention famous examples like Old Faithful.

Landform Scavenger Hunt!

It's time to explore!

Using your Landform Scavenger Hunt Activity sheet, work to identify and briefly describe the landforms mentioned today. If you finish early, try to find one new unique landform not covered in class!

Transition to the activity. Explain the instructions for the 'Landform Scavenger Hunt' and distribute the handouts. Emphasize that students will use what they just learned and potentially research a bit more.

Cool Down: Reflection

On your Landform Reflection Cool Down sheet, answer the following:

  1. What was the most surprising or interesting landform you learned about today?
  2. Why do you think it's important to study diverse landforms?

After the activity, bring the class back together for the Cool Down. Students will reflect on their learning. This can be done individually or as a quick share-out.

Earth's Amazing Diversity!

The world is full of incredible places and unique natural features. Keep exploring and asking questions!

Conclude the lesson by reiterating the variety of Earth's landforms and encouraging continued curiosity.

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Warm Up

Landform Warm Up: Think-Pair-Share

Instructions: Follow the steps below to activate your knowledge about landforms.

Step 1: Think (1 minute)

Individually, brainstorm and write down 3-5 different landforms you already know. These can be anything from mountains to oceans, or even smaller features.



Step 2: Pair (2 minutes)

Turn to a partner and share your lists. Discuss:

  • Did you both think of similar landforms?
  • Were there any landforms one of you thought of that the other didn't?
  • Choose one unique or interesting landform from your combined lists.

Step 3: Share (2 minutes)

Be ready to share with the whole class one interesting landform your pair discussed.

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Activity

Landform Scavenger Hunt!

Instructions: Using what you learned today and your own geographical knowledge, identify and briefly describe the landforms below. If you finish early, try to find one new unique landform not covered in class!

  1. Fjord

    • Description:





    • Where can you find it?


  2. Mesa

    • Description:





    • Where can you find it?


  3. Butte

    • Description:





    • Where can you find it?


  4. Atoll

    • Description:





    • Where can you find it?


  5. Geyser

    • Description:





    • Where can you find it?


Bonus Challenge:

  1. Find a NEW unique landform! (e.g., a
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Cool Down

Landform Reflection: Cool Down

Instructions: Please answer the following questions to reflect on what you learned today.

  1. What was the most surprising or interesting landform you learned about today, and why?











  2. Why do you think it is important to study diverse landforms beyond just mountains, rivers, and oceans?












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