Introduction to Geographic Luck LT: Students will begin to understand the concept of geographic luck by exploring the story of crops and animals around the world.
What is “Geographic Luck”? Developed by Jared Diamond Tries to answer the question: Why did some civilizations grow faster and become more advanced than others? It is NOT biological/physical traits or ingenuity It is geographic factors that set up some civilizations up for success
These factors weren’t present in every civilization, some just had geographic advantages, or “Geographic Luck”
Take a guess…which geographic factors might matter most? Turn and talk with your partner
What factors mattered? WATER: Every civilization needed water if they were going to grow crops Access to a fresh water source (rivers) Trade routes
What factors mattered? CLIMATE: A more mild climate was better to live in than too hot or too cold Goldilocks conditions
What factors mattered? A VARIETY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS Early Humans were nomadic (moved around in search of food sources) If there were plants/animals around that could be domesticated…THEN suddenly communities had a dependable and nutritious food source on hand
Domestication Domesticating plants and animals allowed for a more sedentary or permanent lifestyle Domesticate: to breed or train (an animal) to need and accept the care of human beings : to tame (an animal) to grow (a plant) for human use
Crops & Animals Today we are going to investigate different crops and animals that helped civilizations advance and get a head start Some crops and animals were only located in certain areas of the world
Think. Pair. Share. What crops/animals would be key for development of a civilization? Think about what you ate for your lunch today…
Jigsaw
Expert Groups You will become experts on a specific crop or animal Read the article ALOUD as a group Talk about the key details of your crop/animal
Complete the worksheet Map where your plant or animal was FIRST domesticated by coloring in the circles Then show where it spread to by drawing arrows Finally, discuss your crop or animal. Work together to decide these three key pieces of information: How the crop/animal was domesticated and where? How the crop/animal spread around the world? The importance of the crop/animal to humans? (are they still important today as well?)
Learning Groups Everyone present the key information for your specific crop/animal. TEACH your classmates, do not just give them your worksheet to copy from Work together to plot where each crop/animal was originally domesticated on the group world map. Please use a different color for each crop/animal. Make a key that states which color is which crop/animal. Discuss what common patterns you see according to the key details and the group map