Lesson Title: ​Geographic Features and Human Settlements 

Grade Level:​ 3rd grade (ELP) 

Approximate length of time:​ 60 minutes 
Curriculum area:​ Social Studies (Geography) 
Objectives: 
Determine the relationships between human settlement and geography. 
Personal Objectives: 
Essential Question/s: 
Why do people settle in certain places?  
How does geography affect human settlement? 
Materials: ​maps, books, ​worksheets​ (25 of each), ​Create your own community 
worksheet​(25), ​slideshow​, smartboard 
Accommodations: 
Displaying activity instructions on the smartboard. 
Using microphone. 
Using pictures and visuals. 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_ 
Phase I: Engage, Explore (and Explain) (20 minutes) 
1. Ask students “Does anyone remember what we talked about last week?” 
a. Native American tribes and how they used their environment for resources. 
2. “And we talked about how some Native Americans moved around, right? Some 
tribes like the Sioux followed the animals that they hunted, but some of them 
stayed in one area for a long time like the Iroquois.” 
3. “Today we will be talking about geography and human settlements and why people 
build communities in certain places.” 
4. Show population map on the smartboard using this ​link​ (slide 2) 
5. Ask students “Why do you think there aren’t very many dots in certain regions?”; 
write their answers on the board. 
a. Possible answers include:  
i. Jungle 
ii. Cold 
iii. Desert 
iv. Humans can’t live there because of the climate 
6. Review what ​climate​ is 
a. Climate: weather over a long period of time.  
b. It can be hot, warm, or cold. It can be rainy, snowy, or dry.  
c. Even when two communities are both warm, they can have different 
climates. 
 i. They might get different amounts of rain. 
d. What kind of climate does Utah have? 
i. Dry, continental climate (means we have all 4 seasons, hot summers, 
cold winters) 
7. Ask students “What are some basic things humans need to survive?” 
a. Food 
b. Water 
c. Shelter/protection 
8. Ask students “Why do you think people live in certain places? And why are 
communities formed in certain places?”; ​write their answers on the board. 
a. Possible answers include:  
i. Fresh water 
ii. Natural resources (to build shelter) 
iii. Good climate 
iv. Meets their basic needs (food, water, shelter) 
9. “Let’s think about different communities and why people would settle there.” 
10. Why are some communities built near water? (slide 3) 
a. People, plants, and animals need fresh water to live 
b. To grow food 
c. Makes trading easy (using boats) 
d. Fishing (to eat and sell) 
11. Why do people live in mountain communities? (slide 4) 
a. Cut trees for wood  
b. Mining for gold or silver  
c. Skiing  
12. Why do people live in valley communities? (slide 5) 
a. Farming is good 
b. Be close to the mountains 
13. Why do people live in plains communities? (slide 6) 
a. Farmers can grow wheat and raise cattle.  
14. What are some reasons people would want to live in Utah? ​Write answers on board 
a. Mountains, skiing 
b. To mine copper, silver, lead, zinc, etc. 
c. National Parks 
d. Lots of natural resources  
i. Salt from the Great Salt Lake 
ii. Copper from Kennicott Mine 
iii. Trees  
iv. Granite 
 
Phase II: Explore, Explain, & Extend (Guided Practice) (20 minutes) 
1. Tell students they will be doing a short group activity (slide 7) 
2. Let students know you will be grouping them into groups of 3-4. 
3. Give instructions 
a. Give students a specific place (city, country, or continent) and have them 
come up with 5 reasons why someone would want to live there. What makes 
it unique? What resources does that place have? What kind of climate? 
What kind of trading and industries are there?  
4. Model how to do one example. 
a. Place: Southern California 
b. Reasons: it’s warm all year and they grow a lot of oranges 
5. Divide students into groups of 3-4  
6. Distribute worksheets, maps, books about earth, etc. 
7. Display instructions on board so students can refer to them if they need a reminder 
(slide 8) 
8. Give students ​10 minutes​ to talk in their group. 
9. Bring students back together and compare and contrast the places they 
researched; ​write their answers on the board. 
10. Talk about the similarities and differences in the places the groups researched. 
a. Some places might have a lot of natural resources. 
b. Some places might have a good climate.. 
Phase III: Extend/Explain/Evaluate (Independent Practice/Assessment) (20 minutes) 
1. Have students do this ​worksheet​ (page 2) independently to assess if they learned 
anything from the lesson 
2. Let students know that if they finish, you have another independent activity for 
them. 
3. Explain activity 
a. Students will think about making their own communities; what would they 
want it to be like? Would they want it by water? Mountains? What would the 
climate be like? What resources would their community have? They will use 
this ​Create Your Own Community Worksheet