Substitute Guide: Comparing Two World Regions
Learning goal (plain language)
Students compare two real world regions — the Sahara region of North Africa and the Amazon Basin of South America — using both physical geography (climate, landforms, rainfall) and human geography (where people settle and how they work). They read two short profiles, study a comparison figure, do a compare-and-contrast, trace how physical features shape human activity, sort fact from interpretation and opinion, evaluate a claim, and finish by writing a short evidence-based comparison about which region's physical geography limits settlement more. You do not need a geography background to run this. Everything students need is printed in their packet, and the separate answer key gives you every answer.
Standards alignment
Framework: 19 TAC Chapter 113 (World Geography Studies).
- Regions: describing and comparing the physical and human characteristics of different world regions.
- Physical & human geography: explaining how physical features such as climate and landforms shape human activity, settlement patterns, and economic activities.
- Geographic skills: using maps, tables, and other geographic tools to interpret information and support conclusions with evidence.
Provisional — pending educator verification against the current official TAC source.
(Standards are paraphrased here, not quoted, and this is not a claim of TEKS alignment. No section number is asserted; please confirm the specific student expectations and wording against your official source. Prompts are kept non-partisan.)
Setup Before class (5 min)
- Count and hand out one student packet per student.
- Confirm each student has a pencil. No calculators, computers, or textbooks are needed.
- Decide up front whether this is a standard (~50 min) or block (~90 min) class and tell students which items to do (see Timing).
- Write the date on the board and remind students to fill in the name line.
- Keep the answer key with you — it is a separate file and is not in the student packet.
Materials What's needed
- Printed student packet (5–7 pages) per student.
- Pencil per student.
- This guide and the separate answer key (teacher only).
- No technology, no calculator, no textbooks, no safety hazards.
Timing Suggested pacing — standard vs. block
| Segment | Standard ~50 min | Block ~90 min | What students do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start — Observe a region | 5 min | 5 min | Q1–Q2 warm-up on two short descriptions |
| Build — Read the profiles | 10 min | 15 min | Profiles A–B (+ Profile C in block), word bank, Figure 1; Q3 |
| Apply — Analyze the region | 20 min | 25 min | Q4–Q9 (+ Q10 push/pull in block) |
| Explain — CER comparison | 10 min | 25 min | Q11 claim/evidence/reasoning (block adds land-use analysis + counter-consideration) |
| Close — ACE | 5 min | 10 min | Articulate / Connect / Extend |
| Continue — early finishers | optional | ~10 min | "Design a settlement" |
Standard version: students skip every item marked [BLOCK] (Profile C, Q10, and the extended-writing add-on in Q11). Block version: students do those items and write a longer comparison.
Script Read aloud to start
"Today's assignment is a paper geography investigation called Comparing Two World Regions. You will compare the Sahara desert of North Africa with the Amazon Basin of South America — one very dry, one very wet — looking at both their physical geography and how people live and work there. You will work by yourself with just a pencil — no computers or textbooks. First read the two short profiles and study the comparison figure. Then answer the questions in order; if one is tricky, skip it and come back. Write in complete sentences where it asks you to explain. Everything you need is printed in the packet — you do not need any outside facts. Keep your answers grounded in the evidence and non-partisan: describe what the profiles show, not which place you like better. [If block: Also read Profile C and do the items marked BLOCK.] Put your name, class period, and date at the top now. You have about [50 / 90] minutes; raise your hand if you need help understanding a word."
Support When students ask for help
- You may read any part aloud to a student or the class.
- If they are stuck on the compare chart (Q5), remind them a similarity is something both regions share and a difference is where they differ — and to give one physical and one human point.
- For "how physical features shape human activity" (Q6, Q7), ask: "What does the climate or the rivers let or stop people from doing here?"
- For "fact / interpretation / opinion" (Q8), point to the Word Bank; an "opinion" states a preference, an "interpretation" says "probably" or "because."
- Encourage the printed sentence stems for the CER (Q11) and ACE sections.
- Do not give answers; prompt with "What does Figure 1 show for rainfall?" or "Is that a physical feature or a human activity?"
- It is fine if a student cannot finish the optional early-finisher task or the block add-ons.
Access Accommodations & language support
- Read-aloud of any passage or question is allowed for all students.
- Point students to the sentence stems and the Word Bank. A quick glossary for reference: region = an area sharing common features; physical geography = natural features (climate, landforms, water); human geography = where and how people live and work; climate = the usual temperature and rainfall pattern; landform = a natural land feature (dune, plain, mountain, river valley); population density = how many people live in an area; oasis = a watered spot in a desert; arid = very dry; tropical = hot and usually wet; push factor = drives people away; pull factor = draws people in.
- Extended time is fine; the standard core can stop after Q11 if time runs short.
- Students may answer in phrases if writing full sentences is a barrier, as long as the idea is clear.
- The packet is grayscale-safe — the comparison figure and tables print and read clearly in black and white.
Tools Allowed & not allowed
Allowed: pencil, the printed packet, quiet self-read-aloud. Not needed / not allowed: calculator (no math required), phones, computers, textbooks or outside sources (everything needed is in the packet).
Teacher follow-up (for the returning teacher)
Watch for the common mix-up between physical geography (climate, landforms, rainfall, rivers) and human geography (settlement, economy) — Q5, Q6, and Q11 target this, and students sometimes label an economic activity as a physical feature. Also watch for "climate is the only factor" thinking in Q9 (the profiles show landforms and rivers matter too) and for the assumption that low average density means a region is empty (both regions concentrate people near water). The CER (Q11) responses show who can name a specific profile detail or a cell from Figure 1 and tie it to a region; block responses additionally show who can handle a land-use analysis and a counter-consideration. A quick next-day "physical or human?" sort, and a look at how water shapes settlement in opposite ways in the two regions, would reinforce this well.