Unit 2: A World of Extremes.(Brief Article)

Background Information

The Kalahari Desert covers 100,000 square miles of south-central Africa. French photographer Alain Degre braved its 100-degree heat last year to photograph the Kalahari's wildlife in action for International Wildlife magazine. Among the creatures he captured in his lens were a chameleon combing the dunes for insects, two infant meerkats playing in the bright sunlight, cheetah cubs showing menacing faces to the intruding photographer, a poisonous grasshopper, a leopard's frozen stare as the animal trailed Degre's jeep, a bateleur eagle glowering from its perch, and the most spectacular sight of all--the birthing of a springbok lamb.

Unit Skills: Students learn

* about specific adaptations that Saudis, Eskimos, and farmers of Southeast Asia have made to their environments;

* how desert regions in Australia, the Middle East, and the United States Southwest differ from one another.

 
The activities listed below suggest ways of presenting and enriching the 
content and skills in Unit 2. These activities correspond to days 7 
through 11 on the page 2 calendar matrix. 
 
 
                      Saudi Arabia and Water from 
                      the Sea 
 
                      Have students read and discuss 
                      pages 10 and 11. 
 
Relief Mapping        Enrichment. Have students use 
                      modeling clay to make relief maps 
                      of the Middle Eastern country of 
                      their choice, painting and 
                      labeling major land and 
                      water features. 
 
                      The Desert 
 
Literature/Listening  Enrichment. Ask the librarian for 
                      a copy of the book Mojave, by 
                      Diane Siebert. Read aloud the 
                      poetic descriptions and have 
                      students illustrate them. 
 
                      Desert Life 
 
                      Have students read and discuss 
                      pages 12 and 13. Ask students to 
                      locate the following places on a 
                      world map: the desert in ...