Lesson Title: The Amazon River

Day Number: 12
Author: Bradley Strathmeyer
Unit: 3
Grade level: 3rd
Background information:
This lesson teaches the students about the Amazon River. In groups,
students will compare and contrast the Amazon River with the
Mississippi River using a Venn diagram. They will read an article
online, and use facts and pictures to describe both rivers.

Duration of the lesson- 45 minutes

Content/Concepts
o Mississippi River
o Amazon River
Skills
o Comparing
o Contrasting
o Using a Venn diagram
o Collaboration/teamwork
o Making predictions
Vocabulary
o River- A flowing, moving stream of water that usually flows
into another body of water (ocean, lake, river, etc.)
o Source (of a river)- The original point from which the river
flows

Integration of Learning Outcomes

Students will collaborate on the information read in the articles
by working together on a Venn diagram.
Students will learn about the Amazon River by reading an article
online and comparing it to the Mississippi River.
Students will compare and contrast the Mississippi River and the
Amazon River.
Standards:
PA Standards
Geography CC.7.1.3.B: Identify and
locate places and regions as defined by physical and human
features.

Geography CC.7.2.3.A: Identify the physical characteristics

of places and regions.
NCSS
People, Places, and Environment NCSS.1.3.A: Enable
learners to construct use and refine mental maps of locales,
regions, and the world that demonstrates their understanding of
relative location, direction, size, and shape.
People, Places, and Environment NCSS.1.3.D: Help learners
to locate, distinguish, and describe the relationships among
varying regional and global patterns of geographic phenomena
such as landforms, climate, and natural resources.
Anticipatory set:
The teacher will put pictures of the Mississippi River and the Amazon
River on the board. The teacher will then ask the students to write
down a list of describing what they see in the pictures. This could
include what they see in the river, what is around the river, the size or
color of the river, etc. After seeing each picture one by one, the
students will turn to a neighbor and share the characteristics they
came up with. Once the students are done collaborating, the teacher
will ask students to share what they see.
Procedures:
The teacher will review the Mississippi River briefly, talking about
the purpose and importance of the river
Next, the teacher will introduce the Amazon River and give
background small background information on it
The teacher will model how to use a Venn diagram by drawing
one on the board. When explaining how to use the Venn
diagram, the teacher will explain both the similarity section and
the difference section. For an example, the teacher will use dogs
and cats
The teacher will split the class into small groups of no more than
3 students per group, and give each group a large piece of paper
and markers
The teacher will ask the students to pull out their iPads, and go
to designated websites provided by the teacher
The students will read about the Mississippi and Amazon River on
the websites provided
Once finished, the students will draw a Venn diagram on the
paper

Collaborating about the articles read on the websites, the

students will compare and contrast both the Mississippi River and
the Amazon River on the Venn diagram
When each group is finished, the teacher will hand out a bag that
contains pictures of both rivers. The students will have to try
and match each picture to the designated river

Differentiation:
Upper level- the teacher will give a list of items that the students will
compare, like length, major cities it flows through, etc., not just any
facts from the article, which is what the rest of the class will be doing.
Lower level- the teacher will provide a sheet with key words and
phrases, to help the students in deciding which part of the Venn
diagram to place each fact.
Closure:
The class will come together at the end, and share the facts of each
river based off of their Venn diagrams. The teacher will ask one group
at a time to give one fact in each section of their Venn diagram. Once
the class is finished with the descriptions, the teacher will go over the
answers to the picture-matching portion of the activity.
Formative/Summative Assessment:
Formative
o The teacher will walk around the room during the small
group activity, making sure the students comprehend the
activity while participating with their group members
(learning objective 1 and 3).
o The students will turn in the Venn diagram at the end of
the activity for a grade based off of correctness (learning
objective 2).
Summative
o No summative assessment
Materials/Equipment:
Projector
White board
Dry erase markers

Tablets (iPads)
Large pieces of paper
Colorful markers
Bag of pictures
Reading material
o Amazon Riverhttp://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/geography/amaz
onriver.htm
o Mississippi Riverhttp://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/geography/missi
ssippiriver.htm

Technology:
Projector
Tablets (iPads)
Websites (links above)
Reflection on Planning:
Dont forget to ask for predictions, promote reference of
Mississippi in comparison to Amazon
Walk around classroom during small group time and ask why
students put each fact in specific column, or ask why they
matched a picture in the specific column
Have website links at the ready for kids, and directions on how to
get to the sites if the link doesnt work
Have extra bags of pictures in case more groups are needed
Content Outline:
a) Land of the Amazon
i) Ancestor relative who was born long ago
ii) Generation people born and living at the same time
iii) Brazil is largest country in South America
iv) Natural Resources: coffee, sugar, soya beans, timber,
and metals such as gold, nickel and platinum
v) Culture

(1) The culture of Brazil is very diverse like the US,

there were massive Portuguese settlements in the 16th
17th and 18th centuries, thus leading to the main language
being Portuguese, bug importance of family and religion,
majority Roman Catholic (http://www.brazil.org.za/brazilculture.html )
vi) Landscape
(1) Rain Forests: covers 60% of Brazil, biggest is the
Amazon Rainforest, Brazil is home to of the worlds
rainforests, home to 1,700 bird species, 695
amphibian species, 578 mammal species and 651
reptile species
(2) Amazon River: Like St. Louis, Brazil has one of the
most extensive river system in the world, making
transportation easier in the 1800s because one could
easily travel by boat
(3) (http://www.brazil.org.za/rainforests-ofbrazil.html)

Cut out the pictures below. Decide where each picture goes by placing
it on the Venn diagram. The pictures are of either the Amazon River or
the Mississippi River.

Compare and Contrast these specific items:

What nationality were the explorers who found

the rivers
Where the name of the river comes from
The source of the river
Where does it fall on the list of longest rivers in the world? For
example, the Nile is the #1 longest river in the world
When were the rivers first encountered?

***** This is the differentiation for the UPPER level students