Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Trechjan.

You've made a great choice to learn geography with me today.

I will be guiding you through every step of today's lesson, and we're going to have a great time learning together.

Are you ready to get started? Great.

Let's start our learning journey.

Welcome to today's lesson from our unit, the Americas.

How diverse are its places and landscapes? This lesson is called Human Geography of North and South America.

Today you'll be learning to describe the key features of the human geography of the Americas, including the population, distribution and major cities.

Some of the learning is brand new, but I'm here to help you.

This links back to previous learning you might have done exploring the continents of North and South America and learning about their diverse climates and physical geography, and that includes types of biomes across the Americas.

I'm really excited to get started.

I hope you are too.

Let's start.

Here are the keywords that we'll be using in today's lesson.

They are settlement population, major city, landmark, and locality.

We'll be using these keywords during our lesson today, and we'll learn more about them later.

Let's do my turn, your turn to practise saying these keywords.

Settlement.

Settlement.

Population.

Population.

Major city, major city.

Landmark.

Landmark.

Locality.

Locality.

Good job.

Well done.

I want you to be using these keywords throughout our lesson.

Let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are the definitions of the keywords.

A settlement is a place where groups of people live and work.

The population is the total number of people living in a particular area.

A major city is a large city with a population of over 100,000 and maybe the largest city in the country.

A feature in the landscape, which has a particular meaning attached to it, for example, to help with directions is called a landmark.

A locality is the small area around the particular position of something on earth.

Here are the learning cycles that we'll be working through in today's lesson.

First, we'll be learning about where people live in the Americas.

Then we'll be learning about where the capital cities in the Americas are.

And finally, we'll be investigating major cities in the Americas.

Are you ready to get started with your learning? Good job.

Let's begin.

A settlement is a place where people live and sometimes work.

There are different types of settlements.

Look at the images to help you.

Do you know what these types of settlements are called? Pause the video now and you can share ideas as a class.

(no audio) How did you get on? The smallest type of settlement is called a hamlet.

Then a small settlement is called a village, and then a larger settlement is called a town.

And finally, the largest type of settlement is called a city.

So the direction of the arrow shows you the types of settlement as they increase in size, and that's based on area and population.

So that means how big a settlement is and how many people there are living there.

So let's have a check here.

We can check our learning so far about settlements by putting these types of settlements in order from the smallest to the largest.

Remember the types of settlements that we've talked about are village, city, hamlet, and town.

Okay, and remember that the direction of the arrow there is showing you the types of settlement as they increase in size.

So they're defined by the area and the population.

Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you order the settlements like this? So the smallest is called a hamlet and then village.

And then we have town.

And finally, the largest type of settlement is called a city.

Well done if you got that right, you can give yourselves a thumbs up.

Okay, let's carry on with our learning.

There are many different types of settlement in North and South America.

These range from tiny isolated hamlets and villages to enormous cities.

Why do you think people settle in different places? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) Great.

I'm sure you had an interesting discussion.

Let's talk more about this in detail.

Where people settle is often affected by the natural resources available there.

These are things that are produced by the environment, things that you can see in these images.

So for example, water, wheat crops, wood and rivers and lakes.

People use natural resources to live, for example, to drink, to eat, to move around, build homes, make things, and generate electricity.

So those are all the reasons why people choose to settle in a particular place.

Let's have another little check here.

So which of these things is not a natural resource? Is it A, air.

B, road.

C, sunlight, or D water? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you say B, road? That's correct.

So road is not a natural resource because it's been built by humans.

Well done.

Different localities have different natural resources available depending on their location, the landscape and the climate.

This affects where people choose to settle.

So I've got two pictures here of two different localities.

Which of these localities do you think would be a better place to settle in and why? Pause the video now and discuss this as a class or a group.

(no audio) How did you get on? I'm sure you had lots of reasons for choosing each place to settle in.

Your discussions could have included the temperature of the place, the soil types, whether or not crops are able to grow, if farming is able to take place on that land and if there were any natural resources available.

So something to drink, something to eat, things to use, to build homes and much more.

Good job.

It is time for another check now.

So this is a true or false question.

You've got to think really carefully about this statement and if it's true or not.

Some localities are more populated than others.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) Did you say true? That's right.

So some localities are more populated than others.

Now let's think about the reason for this and justifying our answer.

So is this statement true because A, where people settle is affected by the natural resources available there, or B, where people settle is not affected by the natural resources available there? Think carefully and pause the video now.

(no audio) How did you get on justifying your answer? Did you say A? That's correct.

So where people choose to settle is affected by the natural resources available there, and that means that some localities are more populated than others.

Good job.

You can give yourselves a thumbs up.

Well done for that learning.

Some areas of North and South America are more densely populated than others.

That means that there's more people living there.

Where in these continents do you think there might be fewer people? Have a look at the map and discuss this as a think pair and share activity.

Pause the video now.

(no audio) So let's have a look at these continents in more detail.

This map shows the population distribution in North and South America.

So that shows you where more people are living and where there are less people living.

The more densely populated an area is, the darker the shading.

So you can see that the key there shows that dark red shows a more densely populated area and white or light pink shows a less densely populated area.

So have a look at this map and think about what patterns you notice.

Pause the video now and discuss this map.

(no audio) So let's look in more detail at some areas from this map.

Greenland is the northern most part of North America and it's very sparsely populated.

That means that there's not many people living there.

It has an arctic climate and tundra.

Why do you think Greenland is sparsely populated? You can look at that image to help you as well.

Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) Did you say that the climate is really cold because Greenland is close to the Arctic circle? That could be true.

Well done.

And I'm sure you said other things as well.

Many of the major cities in North and South America are near rivers or the coast.

Rivers provide an important source of water.

Being near the coast is useful for trade and transportation.

New York is a major city on the eastern coast of the USA.

The Amazon rainforest covers a large part of South America.

It is sparsely populated.

Most people live in a few cities which are located along the Amazon River and other major rivers in the region.

So let's think about the Amazon rainforest.

Why do you think this area is sparsely populated? That means that there's not that many people living there.

Pause the video now and have a think with your partner.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you say that because the Amazon rainforest has a lot of rainfall and that the area is covered in mainly dense rainforest, it could be hard to access from other places? Good job, and I'm sure you had some other reasons as well.

So give yourselves another thumbs up.

It's now time for another check.

So this is another true or false question.

So you have to again, think really carefully about the statement and if it's true or false.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most densely populated regions of South America.

Is that true or false? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you say false? That's correct.

So now we've got to think about why this statement is false and justifying our answer.

So is it false because the Amazon rainforest is sparsely populated, most people live in a few cities or along the major rivers, or B, there are many plants and animals in the rainforest, which makes it a good place to settle? What do you think? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) Did you say A, the Amazon rainforest is sparsely populated because most people live in a few cities along major rivers? So that's correct.

Well done.

It's now time for our first task.

So what you have to do is you have to look at these four pictures that are labelled from A to D.

Each of these pictures is from a different locality in North or South America.

Which locality do you think would be the best to settle in? You've got to pick one and then write an explanation for your answer.

Now, there's no right or wrong answer for this.

It's totally up to you, what you decide.

Pause the video now and complete task A.

(no audio) Well, geographers, how did you get on? Here's a possible answer, something that I've completed.

I've said I think locality B would be the best to settle in.

I've said I think this because this is a locality near a water source and the land looks good for farming.

So you could have written some similar things there and talked about some of the other pictures as well.

Good job for completing task A.

Well done.

You can give yourselves a thumbs up.

Let's continue with our learning now.

So we are going to look at where the capital cities are in the Americas.

The capital city of a country is the city that is recognised as being the most important.

It's usually where the country's government works from.

Have a look at the pictures.

Some of them might be more familiar to you.

What are the names of the capital cities in the UK? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you get all of the capital cities of the UK correct? Let's have a look.

So we had Belfast, which is the capital city of Northern Ireland.

Then we had Cardiff, which is the capital city of Wales, and Edinburgh, which is the capital city of Scotland, and finally London, which is the capital city of England.

So well done if you got those right.

There are many capital cities in North and South America.

Now let's think about the capital cities of North and South America.

Can you name any of them? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) Here's a picture of Washington DC which is the capital city of the United States of America.

There it is on our map.

So have a go at matching some of these capital cities with their countries.

So on the left hand side we've got the capital cities, we've got Ottawa, San Jose, Buenos Aires, and Bogota.

And then on the right hand side we've got the countries that they could be the capital city of.

So we've got Argentina, Canada, Colombia or Costa Rica.

Pause the video now and match the capital cities to their countries.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you match them correctly? Let's work through them together.

So Ottawa is the capital city of Canada.

San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica.

Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina, and Bogota is the capital city of Columbia.

Well done if you matched them correctly.

Capital cities are chosen for many reasons such as choosing the city with the largest population or choosing a city that's in a central location.

Brasilia became the capital of Brazil in 1960.

Brazil's capital city used to be Rio de Janeiro, but the government decided to build a new capital city in the centre of the country.

So we've got another true or false question here.

So again, you have to think about whether or not this statement is true or false.

A country's capital city is always its largest city.

Is that true or false? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you say false? That's right.

Well done.

Good job.

I'll give you a thumbs up.

Now, because this is a true or false question, we have to justify our answer.

So we've got to think about why it's false.

So is it false because A, London is the largest city in England? Or B, there are several reasons why a city might be chosen to be the capital city? Think about which of these justifies the answer.

Pause the video now.

(no audio) Did you say B? That's correct.

So there are several reasons why a city might be chosen to be the capital city.

It's not always the largest city.

It could be the city that is more central in the country.

Good job.

Well done.

Let's continue with our learning.

It's now time for task B.

And what I'd like you to do is to label and locate these cities on a map of North and South America.

So the cities we've got are Washington DC in the United States of America, Ottawa in Canada, Havana in Cuba, Quito in Ecuador, Brasilia in Brazil, and Montevideo in Uruguay.

You can also choose two more capital cities to locate and label on your map.

So you can use an atlas for that as well.

Pause the video now and complete task B.

(no audio) How did you get on? So here's my answer to task B.

There's the map with all of the countries labelled.

So I've labelled Washington DC in the USA, I've labelled Ottawa in Canada.

I've labelled Havana in Cuba, Quito in Ecuador, Brasilia in Brazil, and Montevideo in Uruguay.

And you all had two extra capital cities that you located.

So where did you locate those on your map? You can use your atlas to double check that.

Well done for completing Task B.

You've worked really hard today.

We are now moving on to the final part of our lesson where we will be investigating major cities in the Americas.

As well as the capital cities, there are also many other major cities in North and South America.

These are often cities with the largest populations.

Can you think of a major city in the UK that isn't a capital city? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? This of course was a picture of Liverpool, but you could have also said Birmingham or Newcastle and many other cities across the UK.

So well done.

Many of the major cities in North and South America are popular tourist destinations.

That means that lots of people want to visit these cities each year.

Many tourists visit the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

There's a beautiful photograph of the area and then you can see that we've located it on the map as well.

New York is a major city on the eastern coast of the USA.

It is the most densely populated city in the country.

Popular tourist attractions include the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

Havana is a major city in Cuba.

It's also the capital city of this country and it's located in Central America.

So you can see where we've identified it there.

The city was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century.

It's famous for its history, architecture and culture.

Quito is a major city in Ecuador.

It is Ecuador's capital city.

Quito's official name is San Francisco de Quito.

It's located in the Andes and it's the second highest capital city in the world.

So it's now time for a check.

I'd like you to match these major cities with their countries.

Some of these cities are also the country's capital cities as well.

So let's have a look what we have.

We've got the city on the left hand side, so Havana, New York, Quito and Rio de Janeiro.

And then on the right hand side we've got the countries, the USA, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador.

Pause the video now and complete this check.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you match Havana with Cuba, New York with the USA, Quito with Ecuador, and Rio de Janeiro with Brazil? Well done if you got that right, you can give yourselves another thumbs up.

So we've now come to another true or false check.

Not all major cities are capital cities.

Is that true or false? Think carefully and answer that question now.

(no audio) Did you answer true? That's correct.

So not all major cities are a capital city.

Now let's think about justifying why that statement is true.

Is it A, because major cities are often cities in a country with the largest populations, but are not always capital cities or B, countries usually only have one major city? Which of these answers justifies why that statement is true? Pause the video now and answer this question.

(no audio) How did you get on? Did you answer A, major cities are often the cities in a country with the largest populations, but they're not always the capital cities.

Good job.

Well done if you got that right.

It's now time for task C.

I'd like you to research a major city in North or South America.

Complete a fact sheet about this city.

So your fact sheet can include the name of the city, the country where it's located, the population, some important landmarks, interesting facts, and then you can also use an atlas to help you with your research.

Pause the video now and complete task C.

(no audio) How did you get on with that task? Here's an example of a fact sheet for New York.

So the name of the city is New York.

The country where it's located is the USA.

The population is approximately 9 million.

Some important landmarks there are the Brooklyn Bridge, central Park, empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Wall Street.

Some interesting facts about New York are, the area that became the city of New York was first inhabited by a group of Indigenous people called the Lenape people.

New York is located on the mouth of the Hudson River.

It is the most popular city in the USA and New York has a nickname, which is the Big Apple.

Well done for completing that task and for completing all of your learning today, you've worked really hard.

Let's go through a summary of all of the learning that we've completed together today.

Settlements are established and grow for different reasons.

Some areas of North and South America are more populated than others.

There are many major world cities in North and South America.

And finally, the key human features of North and South America can be investigated using a wide range of resources like atlases and maps.

Well done for completing all of your learning with me today.

You've been fantastic.

I'll see you next time for more geography lessons soon.

Bye.