Topic 1: Germany in the World

Lesson Objective

The student will describe the climate and topography of Germany.

The student will explain the relationship between climate and location.

Materials and Resources

Teacher Resource 3 - “Latitude of Major Cities”

Atlases

Worksheet 4 - “The Four Seasons”

Worksheet 5 - “Daily Temperatures”

Strategies

Both location and climate have significant influence on people. Make a transparency of Teacher Resource 3, “Latitude of Major Cities” and project the map for all students to see. Ask “Which U.S. city and which German city is located at about the same latitude?” [Answer-Seattle or Duluth in the north of the US are about the same latitude as Stuttgart or Munich in the south of Germany]. Ask, “Because Germany is so far north, what do you think the climate is like in Berlin?” The teacher should explain that the climate of Germany is much milder than that of most places, such as Canada, found at the same latitude. The mild climate is caused by the nearby Atlantic Ocean. A strong, warm ocean current called the Gulf Stream flows from America toward Europe. [NOTE: The United States lies far more to the south than most of the European countries, and Central and Northern Europe lie above, often far above the U.S./Canadian border. Refer again to the globe to show that Miami lies about 300 miles south of the pyramids at Gizeh; that Boston lies on a similar latitude as Rome.]

Germany experiences a full range of seasons, although the seasonal temperatures are relatively mild (average approximately 66° in summer and 30° in winter). Distribute Worksheet 4, “The Four Seasons” and have students familiarize themselves with the landscape of Germany by correctly identifying the season (Frühling=spring, Sommer=summer, Herbst=fall, and Winter=winter) depicted in the photograph.

As a reinforcement activity, ask students to use the daily newspaper to record the daily temperature in a German city (Berlin is generally listed) and make a line graph comparing the temperature in the German city to the daily temperature in your city. Worksheet 5, “Daily Temperatures” may be used for this activity.

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