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Europe BUNDLE
Give your students a solid background in European Geography with the Geography of Europe Bundle.
- 3 Google Slides lessons with note-taking guides: Europe’s Physical Geography, Society and Culture of Europe, Economics and politics of Europe
- 15 Daily Openers with student worksheets
- Activity Packet (print, digital, editable, and answers)
- Intro Diagnostic Activity
- 6 Map Quizzes: Northern, Western, Central, Eastern, Southeastern, Southern and Southwest Europe.
- Unit Project: Standard of Living Country Report Presentation
- Unit Test: regular multiple choice, modified version with fewer choices, answer key and study guide
PLANNING this MINI-UNIT
Society and Culture of Europe is the third mini-unit or topic taught in the “European Geography” unit. This topic covers: cultural regions in Europe, the education system in France, tourist destinations, religion in Europe, Basques, Sami and Romani people, languages of Europe, comparison of Slovenia and Russia, and Universal Healthcare in Europe.
Pacing
Teachers should plan 7-8 days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 4-5 days. During this mini-unit, students will begin working on their Standard of Living Country Report. Students will not finish this project until after the 3rd mini-unit: Society and Culture of Europe. An effective way to structure this unit includes:
DAY #1
- Begin the unit with an opener from a selection of 5 daily openers on the Society and Culture of Europe (more information below). Teachers can also introduce this mini-unit by assigning all 5 openers prior to starting the lecture.
- There are five pages of lecture notes for this unit. Teachers should plan on teaching the first page of lecture notes on the first day. (see Society and Culture of Europe Google Slides)
DAY #2
- Choose another opener in the Society and Culture of Europe section.
- Lecture on the “Society and Culture of Europe” note-taking guide page #2
- After the lecture, have students complete the “Population Analysis” worksheet found in the Europe Activity Packet.
DAY #3
- Choose another opener in the Society and Culture of Europe section.
- After reviewing the opener, continue the lecture, page #3 of the “Society and Culture of Europe” Google Slides.
- For the remainder of the class period, students will continue to work on their Standard of Living Country Report and complete RESEARCH TASK #4 on Travel Advisories.
DAY #4
- Choose another opener in the Politics and Economics of Europe section.
- After reviewing the opener, continue the lecture, page #4 of the “Society and Culture of Europe” Google Slides.
- For the remainder of the class period, students will continue to work on their Standard of Living Country Report. First, review the PRODUCT TASKS section of the instructions, then show the SAMPLE PRESENTATION.
- Students will begin working on their Google Slides.
DAY #5
- Choose the last opener in the Society and Culture of Europe section.
- After reviewing the opener, finish the lecture, page #5 of the “Society and Culture of Europe” Google Slides.
- For the remainder of the class period students should continue to work on their presentation for their country report.
DAY #6
- Day 6 is a work day. Students should complete their Standard of Living project.
DAY #7-8
- Days 7-8 should be dedicated to students presenting their Standard of Living Google Slides.
Finishing the Geography of Europe Unit.
Teachers have a variety of options to end the Geography of Europe Unit.
- There are a variety of map quizzes that teachers can use to assess their student’s knowledge. SEE HERE.
- If teachers plan on assigning the Unit Exam, they should assign the study guide.
Openers
The “European Geography” unit has 15 openers that review the following topics: the European Union, per capita income, travel advisories, population analysis, UNESCO, physical geography and more. CLICK HERE for more information on openers for the “European Geography” unit.
OPENER TOPICS
Politics and Economics
- CIA Factbook: Belarus
- Magna Carta
- The European Union: Strategic Agenda
- Europe’s Per Capita Income
- Travel Advisory: Serbia
Society and Culture
- Italy’s Population Pyramid
- UNESCO Predictions
- The Highland Games (Scotland)
- The Louvre
- Population Growth in Europe
Physical Geography
- Peninsulas of Europe
- The Danube River
- Europe and Movement
- Switzerland Climograph
- Peat in Ireland
Google Slides
GOOGLE SLIDES: After the opener, begin the 
Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides).
TEACHING TIPS
⭐️ TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. Click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide to do this.
⭐️ TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.
⭐️TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their student’s needs and individual learning targets.
Activities
Note-Taking Guides
This Society and Culture of Geography Note-Taking Guide should be paired with Google Slides (see above). Teachers can walk students through these notes or post lecture notes on their chosen platform and have students record the information. Here is a preview of the print and digital versions of the note-taking guides
Student Worksheets & Activities
There are eleven pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Europe mini-units.
- Political Map
- Latitude and Longitude Practice
- Physical Geography Questions
- Physical Geography Labeling and Elevation Coloring
- Data Analysis: Per Capita Income
- World Bank Data: Student-created special purpose map using mapchart.ent with video tutorial
- Population Analysis France and Spain
- Europe’s Green New Deal Reading
- Europe’s Green New Deal Infographic
- 5 Themes of Geography Paragraph
- Current Event Research
UNIT: Introduction Diagnostic Activity
Helpful Videos
Break up direct instruction by showing a video that reviews concepts they just learned.
Key Terms & Vocabulary
PLACES
- Iceland: Northern Lights, Blue Lagoon, Mighty Geyser
- Belgium: Grand Palace, La Roche-en-Ardenne
- Azores, Portugal
- Czech Republic
- Slovenia and Russia comparison
- Population Analysis: Bosnia and Herzegovina
REGIONS
- Catholicism
- Protestanism
- Martin Kuther
- Church of England
- Islam
PEOPLE
- Basques
- Sami
- Romani
OTHER topics
- Education in France: College, Lycee, Universities, Grandes Ecoles, Specialized Schools
- Scandinavian Design
- Italian Fashion
- German Automotives
- Fertility Rate
- Emigration
- Immigration
- Universal Healthcare
LEARNING TARGETS
- Students can identify seven geographic regions in Europe.
- Students can identify and compare and contrast four cultural regions in Europe: Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Alpine and Baltic.
- Students can explain France’s educational system and evaluate its effectiveness.
- Students will be able to describe the following cultural trend-setters: Scandinavia, Italy and Germany
- Students can compare and contrast the following tourist destinations: Iceland, Belgium, Azores, and the Czech Republic.
- Students will be able to outline the three major religions in Europe: Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam.
- Students can explain how religious affiliation in Europe has changed over time.
- Students can describe the following cultural groups: Basques, Sami and Romani.
- Students can explain the significance of language in Europe.
- Students can compare and contrast Slovenia and Russia.
- Students can define Universal Healthcare and explain how Universal Healthcare affects: Physician density, infant mortality and life expectancy.
- Students can analyze the social and economic trade off of Universal Healthcare.
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Thank you for stopping by Teacher Bistro. I created this place as a resource for educators who wanted an easy way to find resources. In my first ten years of teaching, I can’t tell you how many hours I spent gathering lesson plans, video guides, and lectures. Hopefully, you have added this site to your bookmarks, and this place can make teaching a little bit easier.