Human Impact on the Environment: Learn about Dams and Human Adaptation

Human adaptation of the environment is a critical standard, but it's not always the most exciting. Learning about dams and their impact on the environment can be fun and engaging! If you're looking for a powerful geography activity your students will remember all year, this is the one. This resource will guide your students through an understanding of how dams work, and also the effects of human adaptation of the environment. Using the GATE creativity tool of SCAMPER, task cards, and an exploration of the fascinating, tragic collapse of the St. Francis Dam, students will come to know the role and importance of dams.

The activities are surprisingly low-prep for how engaging and interactive they are. Simply print, cut, and go! You'll get teacher instructions, classroom procedures, printable activities and a rubric. The teacher directions are so detailed! You will have very clear, step-by-step instructions for what to do to teach the activity.

Included in this Learn about Dams Resource:

✅ Teacher instructions and ideas

✅ Original Article: "Learn about Dams"

✅ Graphic organizer to accompany "Learn about Dams" activity

✅ Reading task cards about the St. Francis Dam Collapse (so interesting!!!)
✅ Graphic organizer to accompany the task cards
✅ Analysis questions about the St. Francis Dam collapse
✅ SCAMPER activity

✅ Rubric

Your upper-elementary, middle school, or junior high social studies students will love these activities!

☝PRO TIP: This resource is part of an amazing bundle of 10 geography resources. It's really, really good, so if you like a variety of great activities (including some done-for-you PowerPoints to teach), check it ou: Geography Lessons and Activities | Critical and Creative Thinking BUNDLE

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⭐⭐WILLIAMS' MODEL OF CREATIVITY ⭐⭐

This lesson is based on Williams' Model of Creativity, a model designed to develop the traits of creativity in students. This particular resource focuses on these traits:

☀️ Complexity - the ability to manage complex ideas without being overwhelmed

☀️ Elaboration - the ability to expand upon ideas

In addition to addressing standards and providing an engaging and effective classroom experience, these activities will also build students' creativity skills.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is SCAMPER? SCAMPER is a gifted creativity tool. You don't need any experience with it to use this resource, but you may find yourself interested in more SCAMPER activities when you see how much creative thinking your students demonstrate!
2. We need high quality informational text. How strong is the reading? I write all of the informational text myself, and I have a Master's of Education in Teaching English (M.Ed.T.). I take great care to make sure the informational text is approachable, interesting, and of exceptionally high quality.
3. Is there a lot of prep needed? No. There's just printing and some cutting. That's it!

❤️ IF YOU LIKE QUALITY ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS, YOU MAY ALSO WANT:

✨ Depth and Complexity Ebook BUNDLE | Question Stems and Quick Guide

✨ Landforms Interactive Review Game with Google Slides™ and PowerPoint™

✨ Geography Activities Geographer's Tools Upper Elementary Social Studies
✨ Ancient Greece: Philosophers of Ancient Greece

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