Alabama Social Studies SS24.2.9a
The Standard
- SS24.2.9
- Compare the physical characteristics of regions throughout the United States, including landforms.
Describe regions of the state and nation, using vocabulary associated with geographical features of Earth, including bay, hill, island, mountain range, peninsula, plateau, and valley.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find places such as Mobile Bay and the Tennessee Valley on an Alabama map. On a U.S. map, they use the shape of land and water to describe places like Florida and the Rocky Mountains.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student identifies hills, Mobile Bay, and the Tennessee Valley on an Alabama map. They label Florida a peninsula, Hawaii islands, and the Rockies a mountain range. They explain that a plateau is high and mostly flat, while a valley lies between higher land.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call Florida an island because water borders much of it, forgetting it connects to other land. They may think a plateau is a low, flat valley or mistake a bay for land.
How to Assess It
- Give students maps labeled Mobile Bay, Tennessee Valley, Florida, and Hawaii. Ask them to name each landform and explain how a peninsula differs from an island.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs clay and a tray of water; have them shape a bay, island, peninsula, hill, plateau, valley, and mountain range.
Show maps of Mobile Bay and Florida; ask, 'Which is water, which is land, and how can you tell?'
Make landform picture cards and word cards; partners match each pair and explain one clue they used.
Use a road map to plan a trip from Alabama's Tennessee Valley to Florida; students describe the valley and peninsula.
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Printable SS24.2.9a Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS24.2.9a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- SS24.2.9
Compare the physical characteristics of regions throughout the United States, including landforms.
- SS24.7.1d
Describe how geographic features and political entities are organized and labeled, including continents, countries, and oceans.
- SS24.1.9
Differentiate among landforms, bodies of water, and other physical features on maps, globes, and satellite and digital images.
- SS24.3.1
Locate map features, using geographic terminology to describe them.
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