1. Russia

2. United States Russia 143.4 million people ~313 million
6,592,769 sq. miles
$9,800 GDP
67.1 Life expectancy
421 TVs per 1,000 people
United States
~313 million
3,718,710
$40,100
77.7
844
Which country has a higher standard of living?
Which country is bigger?
Which country has a higher population density?

3. I use this map to lead a discussion about major physical features of Russia.
How would you describe the physical geography of Russia? (Huge, lots of river, raised in elevation in the east, far north, etc.)
Where do you think most people live in Russia? Why? (Eastern part because it’s lower, has plenty of rivers, and is closest to Europe)
Where would people not want to live in Russia? Why? (Far north, in the mountains, etc.)
Which area of Russia is warmer? (southern part because of latitude)

4.
Before I get into this lesson, I pass out a blank outline map of Russia to each student. We use interactive notebooks in my class, so students trace the map on the right side of their notebook. We take notes on the left, and students add to their map of Russia on the right.

5. This is an example of what my students’ notebooks look like by the time we’re done with this PowerPoint.

6. Siberia Lake Baikal Fe Ural Mountains
I show students this picture to explain what we’ll be doing today. As I go through the PowerPoint, we’re going to be adding major physical features of Russia and natural resources to our maps.

7. I use this map just to make sure students get another visual of where Russia is located. You can use it to ask questions to practice map skills if you want.
What countries are directly west of Russia?
Who do you think are some of Russia’s major trading partners?
What is the capital of Russia?

8. Physical Geography Largest country in the world
Almost twice the size of the U.S.
Divided by the Ural Mountains
West = Europe
East = Asia

9. Physical Geography Siberia
The region stretching from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean

10. We discuss the different temperatures in Russia using this map
We discuss the different temperatures in Russia using this map. I ask questions about where students think most Russia would want to live/not want to live again based on this information. It’s helpful to provide students with temperature conversions to Fahrenheit since most of them are more familiar with this system. We then talk about how much of Russia has an annual average temperature below freezing!
-15 degrees Celsius = 5 degrees Fahrenheit
0 degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit (Freezing point)
10 degrees Celsius = 50 degrees Fahrenheit

11. Siberia Ural Mountains
So far, students should have the Ural mountains and Siberia labeled on their map. I encourage them to draw shapes to represent the mountains and then label them. I also have them draw something (snow flake, snowman, freezing thermometer, etc.) in Siberia to remind them it’s really cold there.

12. Volga River – Longest European River and Russia’s most important
I usually highlight the river using a marker on the SMARTBoard. Students should add it to their maps.
Volga River – Longest European River and Russia’s most important

13. Lake Baikal World’s deepest lake
Deep enough to hold the same amount of water in all 5 of the Great Lakes put together

14. Ural Mountains
Siberia
Lake Baikal

15. Active volcanoes Earthquakes Geysers & hot springs
I talk about Russia’s location on the Ring of Fire and ask students to provide me with effects that might have.
Active volcanoes
Earthquakes
Geysers & hot springs

16. Siberia Lake Baikal Ural Mountains
We add a volcano and a picture to represent an earthquake to our maps.

17. Natural Resources Farmland Iron Timber Hydroelectricity Copper
Natural gas
Gold
Oil
Diamonds
Coal
If they have so many natural resources, why do you think their GDP is so low?
Poorly managed under the Soviet Union
Lots of the resources are located in Siberia
I list the natural resources and have students add the ones in red to their map. They can add others if they wish.
We use the question about availability of resources as a discussion point.

18. Coal + Iron = Steel
Put these in order of levels of economic activity from primary to tertiary:
Using coal & iron to make steel
Mining of coal & iron
Selling steel
I use this slide to remind students that steel is an important export for Russia. We then review the levels of economic activity using steel for an example.

19. Siberia Lake Baikal Fe Ural Mountains
At this point, the students’ maps should look something like this.

21. Shrinkage of the Aral Sea
In 1960, the Aral Sea was the 4th largest lake in the world.
Due to farmers taking water to irrigate their farms from the rivers that flow into the Aral Sea, the sea is drying up.
Aral Sea Timelapse
Students usually understand why the Aral Sea is shrinking simply from this description, but I also like to draw a simple diagram to help drive the point home. This basically consists of me drawing the Aral Sea and a river leading to it, with tiny offshoots of the river to represent diverted water.

22. These are pictures of areas where the Aral Sea used to be.

23. Russian Human-Environment Interaction
Russian Oil Exploration in the Arctic
Oil exploration in the Arctic is becoming a big thing in Russia, so I try to watch this video if we have time.