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GEOGRAPHY of LATIN AMERICA BUNDLE
Give your students a solid background in the Geography of Central America and the Caribbean with the Geography of Latin America Bundle.
- 2 Google Slides lessons with notetaking guides: Central America and the Caribbean and South America
- 15 Daily Openers with student worksheets
- Activity Packet (print, digital, editable, and answers)
- Intro Diagnostic Activity
- 5 Map Quizzes: The Caribbean, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, all of Latin America
- Unit Test: regular multiple choice, modified version with fewer choices, answer key and study guide
PLANNING this MINI-UNIT
Central America is the first mini-unit taught in the “Geography of Latin America” unit. This topic covers major land and water features, climate, environmental issues such as deforestation and poaching, tourist destinations, the Panama Canal, historic events, Aztecs, Maya, America’s relationship with Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and development in Haiti.
This mini-unit covers the following fourteen countries:
- Mexico
- Belize
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Cuba
- Jamaica
- The Bahamas
- Puerto Rico
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
Pacing
Teachers should plan three to five 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 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:
Openers
The “Geography of Latin” unit has 15 openers that review the following topics: Population distribution, per capita income, government, travel advisories, deforestation, physical geography, flags, political stability and more. CLICK HERE for more information on openers for the “Geography of Latin America” unit.
OPENER TOPICS
Central America and the Caribbean
- Suffrage in Latin America
- Population Distribution Country Match
- Per Capita Income Analysis
- Types of Government
- Travel Advisory: Nicaragua
Physical Geography
- Panama Canal
- Lake Nicaragua
- Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
- Hydroelectric Power
- Andes Mountains
South America
- Population Pyramid: Brazil
- Argentina’s Flag
- Climograph: Colombia
- Uruguay and Paraguay Comparison
- Political Stability in Peru
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 Geography of Central America and the Caribbean 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 ten pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Latin America mini-units.
- Coloring the political map of Latin America
- Latitude and Longitude practice
- Physical map of Latin America questions
- Labels and coloring of Latin America physical map
- Population pyramid analysis
- Urbanization graph comparison and analysis
- Ancient empire reading and questions
- Travel poster
- 5 Themes of Geography: Latin America paragraph
- Current even research
UNIT: Introduction Diagnostic Activity
Prior to teaching your geography unit on the United States and Canada, discover what your students already know about the geographic region.
This activity asks students to name countries, place physical features on a map and answer critical thinking questions.
WHAT COMES WITH THE DOWNLOAD:
1. Teacher tips and lesson plans for the activity
2. Student Worksheet
3. Answer Key
UNIT: Map Quizzes
"Latin America Map Quizzes" is a quiz bundle that offers quizzes on each of the regions of Latin America, as well as a cumulative map quiz with all regions combined.
1. THE CARIBBEAN
Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
2. CENTRAL AMERICA
Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
3. SOUTH AMERICA
Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru
Each quiz includes the following:
1. Quiz without countries listed
2. Quiz with countries listed
3. Answer Key
4. Print and Google Form versions
Helpful Videos
Break up direct instruction by showing a video that reviews concepts they just learned.
Key Terms & Vocabulary
COUNTRIES of CENTRAL AMERICA and the CARIBBEAN
ANCIENT EMPIRES
CLIMATE and the LAND
- Mexico
- Belize
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Cuba
- Jamaica
- The Bahamas
- Puerto Rico
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
- Aztec
- Maya
- Chichen Itza (Maya)
Other Key Terms
- Poaching
- Mexico City
- Megacity
- Panama Canal
- Rio Grande
- Yucatan Peninsula
- Sierra Madres
- West Indies
- Hispaniola
- Rainforests
- Ecotourism
- Hurricanes
LEARNING TARGETS
- Students can identify the fourteen countries of Central America and the Caribbean.
- Students can argue what factors distinguish Central America and the Caribbean as regions.
- Students can analyze the significance of tourism in Central American and Caribbean countries in terms of economy and ecology.
- Students can compare and contrast the climates and environmental hazards of Central American countries and the Caribbean.
- Students will be able to explain how natural hazards and human activity affect the environment in Central America and the Caribbean.
- Students can trace the historical developments in the construction of the Panama Canal and analyze the canal’s significance in world trade.
- Students can argue about the effectiveness of how the Aztecs interacted with the environment hundreds of years ago.
- Students will be able to argue how the Spanish-American affected America’s relationship with Cuba and Puerto Rico.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast America’s relationship with Cuba and America’s relationship with Puerto Rico.
- Students will be able to describe how government corruption and natural disasters affect Haiti’s level of economic, political and social stability.
- Students can evaluate the countries of Central America and the Caribbean’s level of economic stability using key economic indicators to justify their response.
- Students can identify and locate major land and features in Central America and the Caribbean.
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