Lesson Plan Geography Terms

Geography term lesson plans often include vocabulary activities. Following are two lesson plans on two different sets of geography terms. The first covers land forms and the second covers climate and weather.

Lesson Plan #1: Geography Terms

For this lesson plan on terms, you will go over each term with the students and include pictures or diagrams. The activity to reinforce this information will be making an illustrated land form dictionary.

Here are the terms to cover:

• Canyon - A very deep valley with steep sides often created by a river
• Cave - A large hole in the ground or in the side of a mountain or cliff
• Cliff - A steep face of rock or soil which can be in a valley or by the ocean
• Hill - An area of land that is raised but not as high as a mountain
• Mountain - A tall, raised area of land 
• Plain - A flat area of land with few trees
• Plateau - A flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land.
• Tundra - A very cold area with no trees
• Valley - A low area between hills or mountains 
• Volcano - A hill or mountain which has an opening where lava, gases, ashes, and steam can erupt

Activity: You will need construction paper; white paper; pencils; scissors; glue; crayons, markers, or colored pencils; a stapler; and magazines or travel brochures. Have the construction paper cut in half for the cover of the dictionary. Cut the white paper in half for the inside of the dictionary. 

Have the students write the term at the top of a white piece of paper and put a short definition underneath. The definition will need to be written in pencil. Then have them find pictures in the magazines to cut out and glue underneath. If they can’t find a picture, then they may draw one. When finished, they may decorate the cover and staple the book together.

Here are the terms and definitions:

• Canyon - Deep valley with steep sides 
• Cave - Large underground hole
• Cliff - Steep face of rock or soil 
• Hill - Short raised area of land 
• Mountain - Tall raised area of land 
• Plain - Large flat area of land 
• Plateau - Flat area higher than the surrounding land.
• Tundra - Very cold, treeless area
• Valley - Low area between hills or mountains 
• Volcano - Hill or mountain which can erupt. 

Lesson Plan #2: Meteorological Terms 

This lesson plan will cover weather terms. Here are the terms that you need to go ever with the students:

• Atmosphere – The large mass of gases, water vapor, and airborne particles that are suspended around the Earth
• Barometer – An instrument that measures the pressure of the atmosphere
• Blizzard – Very heavy snow with high winds that are 35 miles per hour or stronger
• Climate – The average daily weather of an area
• Cloud – A collection of water droplets or ice crystals that are visible in the air
• Dew – This occurs when water vapor condenses on surfaces
• Dew point – The exact temperature at which water vapor will condense
• Fog – A low cloud that is near the surface
• Front – The boundary between two air masses
• Frost – The formation of ice crystals on surfaces when water vapor condenses and the temperature is below freezing
• High pressure – A large air mass usually associated with fair weather
• Humidity – The measure of how much water vapor is in the air
• Hurricane – A very strong, large, rotating storm that forms over tropical regions.  It can bring heavy rain, high winds, and damaging storm surges.
• Lightning – A discharge of electricity in a thunderstorm
• Low pressure – A large mass of air that can be associated with storms
• Meteorology – The study of weather
• Precipitation – Water falling to earth in any form: rain, snow, sleet, or hail
• Smog – Pollution mixing with fog
• Thunder – The noise created by lightning heating air causing it to expand quickly
• Tornado – A violent rotating column of air which often has heavy rain, hail, lightning, and thunder

Here is a worksheet covering the weather terms.

Directions: Write the correct term in the blank: 

atmosphere   blizzard  dew  hurricanebarometer   climate  frost  precipitation   dew point   cloud   front  tornado high pressure  fog   smog  meteorology  low pressure  humidity thunder lightning

1. __________ A violent rotating column of air
2. __________ The large mass of air that surrounds the earth
3. __________ The noise created by lightning heating air
4. __________ An instrument that measures the pressure of the atmosphere
5. __________ Pollution mixing with fog
6. __________ Very heavy snow with high winds
7. __________ Water falling to earth in any form
8. __________ The average daily weather of an area
9. __________ The study of weather
10. __________ A collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in air
11. __________ A large mass of air that can be associated with storms
12. __________ A discharge of electricity in a thunderstorm
13. __________ The measure of how much water vapor is in the air
14. __________ A strong, large, rotating storm that forms over tropical regions
15. __________ The formation of ice crystals on surfaces
16. __________ A large air mass usually associated with fair weather
17. __________ This occurs when water vapor condenses on surfaces
18. __________ A low cloud that is near the surface
19. __________ The exact temperature at which water vapor will condense
20. __________ The boundary between two air masses