Objectives
Become familiar with the terms source, mouth, tributary.
Define and locate drainage basins.
Materials
Classroom-size U.S. map
River clues worksheet (make into transparency)--Adapted from The
Mailbox. April/May 1996.
Suggested Books
Student Titles
Ayer, Eleanor. Our Great Rivers and Waterways. Brookfield, CT:
Millbrook Press, 1994.
Presents information on the great U.S. rivers, lakes, and waterways
and describes how people explored, settled, and developed the U.S. interior
along our river system.
Barrett, Norman. Rivers and Lakes. New York: Franklin Watts,
1989.
Includes information on how rivers shape the land and civilization.
Locker, Thomas. Where the River Begins. New York: Dial, 1984.
A grandfather takes his grandsons on a camping trip to find the source
of the river that flows past their home.
Sauvain, Philip. Rivers and Valleys: Geography Detective. Minneapolis,
MN: Carolrhoda Books, 1996.
Includes questions, activities, and information about rivers and related
topics.
Taylor, Barbara. Rivers and Oceans: Geography Facts and Experiments.
New York: Kingfisher, 1993.
Introduces the different forms of water in our world; the water cycle;
stages in the life of a river; ocean currents; waves and tides; lakes;
water pollution.
Williams, Vera. Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe. New York:
Morrow, 1981.
Two children, their mother, and aunt enjoy nature during a three-day
canoe trip.
Procedure
Review with the students that throughout history rivers shaped the
places and the way that people chose to live--cities were built next to
them, rivers made travel by boat possible, rivers provided water for drinking,
bathing, and farming. Tell the students that rivers also shape the land
itself. Explain that a river flows from its beginning called its source
to the place where it empties into a larger body of water called its mouth.
Write the terms on the board.
Tell the students the source or beginning of many rivers is rainwater
that collects in small hollows or ditches and moves over the surface of
the land to form a stream. Several streams flow together to make a river.
The sources of other rivers are mountain springs, lakes, and glaciers.
Direct the students' attention to the Mississippi River on the classroom-size
U.S. map. Show the students that the Mississippi River's source is Lake
Itasca in the state of Minnesota and its mouth is found at the Gulf of
Mexico. Ask: In which state is the mouth of the Mississippi River located?
(Louisiana)
On the map, trace the path of the Mississippi River going north. Point
out that there are several rivers that flow into the Mississippi River.
Explain that these rivers are called tributaries (write the term
on the board). Tell the students that a tributary is a stream or river
that flows into a larger stream or river--the Missouri and the Arkansas
River are tributaries of the Mississippi River.
Third Grade - Geography - Lesson 11 - Important Rivers of the World
Tell the students that the Mississippi River is the largest river in
North America and the third largest in the world. Direct the students'
attention to the Pacific Northwest area of the United States. Tell the
students that the second and third largest rivers in North America are
the
Mackenzie River (2nd) and the Yukon River (3rd). Explain that the Mackenzie
River is one of
Canada's major waterways. It flows through the northwestern part of
Canada. Point out this area of Canada on the map. Ask: What sort of climate
would you expect this far north of the equator? (cold) Explain to the students
that because of the cold climate in this area, the Mackenzie River freezes
from November to June. Show the students on the map that the mouth of the
Mackenzie flows into the Mackenzie Bay off the Beauford Sea of the Arctic
Ocean. Ask: What advantages and disadvantages are caused due to the Mackenzie
freezing? (advantages--walk or drive across the frozen water, disadvantages--source
of water frozen, cannot travel up and down the river by boat)
Tell the students that the third largest river, the Yukon, is also
located in the northwestern part of North America. Point out on the map
that the Yukon River begins in Alaska and flows through the Yukon territory
into Canada. Explain to the students that although the Yukon is frozen
during the months of October-June, the river is an important supply route
into Alaska. Also, the Yukon is an important waterway for shipping, fishing,
and after the discovery of gold in the Yukon, a supply route for the gold
miners.
Tell the students that although rivers are noted for their length--the
longest river on a continent, the longest river in the world--rivers are
also well known because of the area of land that the river and its tributaries
drain water from. That area is called a river's drainage basin (write
the term on the board). For example, the Mississippi River and its tributaries
drain water from the area of land roughly equal to half the size of the
United States. Trace on a U.S. map the tributaries that feed into the Mississippi
River and show the land area from which the rivers drain. (A few are the
Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee, and Yellowstone Rivers.)
Review with the students the definitions of source, mouth, tributaries,
and drainage basin. Display the transparency. Using a classroom-size U.S.
map, ask the students to help you fill in information about the Mississippi
River.
Third Grade - Geography - Lesson 11 - Important Rivers of the World
Name of the river
Adapted from The Mailbox. April/May1996.
Third Grade - Geography - Lesson 12 - Important Rivers of the World
Objectives
Review the terms source, mouth, tributary.
Locate six of the continents and become familiar with major rivers
that exist on each.
Materials
Classroom-size world map
Classroom-size U.S. map
Suggested Books
Student Titles
Barrett, Norman. Rivers and Lakes. New York: Franklin Watts,
1989.
Includes information on how rivers shape the land and civilization.
Sauvain, Philip. Rivers and Valleys: Geography Detective. Minneapolis,
MN: Carolrhoda Books, 1996.
Includes questions, activities, and information about rivers and related
topics.
Taylor, Barbara. Rivers and Oceans: Geography Facts and Experiments.
New York: Kingfisher, 1993.
Introduces the different forms of water in our world; the water cycle;
stages in the life of a river; ocean currents; waves and tides; lakes;
water pollution.
Procedure
Review with the students that the beginning of a river is called its
source. Ask the students to recall that the source of a river is
where the river's water supply begins. Also have the students recall that
the place where the river empties into a larger body of water is called
its mouth. Write the terms on the board.
Remind the students that although rivers are noted for their length--the
longest river on a continent, the longest river in the world--rivers are
also well known because of the area of land that the river and its tributaries
drain water from. Ask: What is this area of land called? (a river's drainage
basin)
Tell the students that they are now going to be looking at important
rivers on each of the continents except for Antarctica. As they are introduced,
write the names of each of the rivers on the board next to the continent
on which they are located. Ask: Why aren't there any rivers on Antarctica?
(The land of Antarctica is frozen.) Ask: What is the largest river in North
America? (the Mississippi River) Have a student locate the Mississippi
River on the U.S. map or world map. Ask if anyone remembers how large an
area the Mississippi River and its tributaries drain water from? (An area
equal to roughly half the size of the United States.)
Direct the students' attention to the continent of South America. Have
a student locate the continent of South America on the map. Tell the students
that the longest river in South America is called the Amazon River.
Explain that the Amazon River is the most powerful river in the world.
It carries more water to the sea than any other river. Locate the Amazon
River on the world map. Tell the students that the source of the Amazon
River comes from the melting snow in the Andes Mountains and its mouth
empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Trace with your finger the Amazon from
its beginning to its end. Point out that the Amazon River is close to the
equator, where the climate is very hot and very wet. Explain to the students
that the heat and the moisture create thick tropical rainforests throughout
much of the Amazon River's drainage basin.
Tell the students that two other important rivers in South America are
the Orinoco to the north in Venezuela and the Parana to the
south in Brazil and Argentina. Point out the rivers' locations on the map.
Have the students note where these two rivers originate. (in the mountains)
empty. (into the Atlantic Ocean) Also, have the students note the area
in each of the countries which would form the drainage basin for each of
the rivers.
Next, direct the students' attention to the continent of Europe. Have
a student locate the continent on the map. On the world map, point out
the Volga, Rhine, Danube. Ask the students to notice
which large body of water each river joins. Trace the routes of the rivers.
Ask: Into which body of water does the Volga empty? (Caspian Sea) The Rhine?
(North Sea) The Danube? (Black Sea) Tell the students that these rivers
in Europe are very important for transportation. Have the children discuss
why these rivers are important for transportation. Ask: What countries
do they connect? Give the students the following example: boats can travel
up the Rhine from the Netherlands through Germany to Switzerland; also,
there are canals in Germany that connect the Rhine with the Danube, so
a boat could travel all the way from the Netherlands to Russian ports on
the Black Sea or to Istanbul in Turkey. (Show these routes on the map.)
Direct the students' attention south to the continent of Africa. Have
a student locate the continent on the map. Tell the students that three
of the major rivers in Africa are the Nile, the Niger, and
the Zaire (Congo). Tell the students that the Nile is the longest
river in the world. Locate the Nile on the map. Tell the students that
the source of the Nile is Lake Victoria from which the river flows north
through the countries of Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Trace with
your finger the path of the Nile on the map. Next, show the students the
location of the Zaire and Niger Rivers. Have the students notice that the
rivers have names that are almost the same as one of the countries through
which the rivers flow. Also, have the students note the area in each of
the countries which would form the drainage basin for each of the rivers.
Next, direct the students' attention to the continent of Asia. Have
a student locate the continent on the world map. Tell the students that
the longest river in Asia is the Yangtze River in China. Have a
student locate China on the world map. Explain that other major rivers
in Asia are the Yellow or Huang He River--also in China, the Ob
River in Russia, the Ganges River in India, and Indus River
in Pakistan. Point out the locations of each of the rivers on the map.
Have the students note how much of the country would form the drainage
basin for each river.
Tell the students that every year rivers around the world flood their
banks after heavy rains or after snow and ice melt causing the rivers to
overflow. Although floods can cause horrible damage to towns along a river's
banks, in many parts of the world people depend on floodwater to grow their
crops. Explain that in China farmers plant rice seedlings in paddy fields
that have been flooded. Discuss rivers anywhere in the world that have
been in the news recently.
Third Grade - Geography - Lesson 13 - Important Rivers of the World
Objectives
Use an atlas or a world map to collect information about a river.
Record information about a major river by completing the river clues
worksheet.
Materials
Classroom-size world map
Per group
Student atlas or world map (if available)
Worksheet (included)---Adapted from The Mailbox. April/May 1996.
Procedure
Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Give each group
a river clues worksheet. Assign one of the following rivers to each group
of students: Volga, Rhine, Danube (Europe); Murray-Darling (Australia);
Mississippi. Mackenzie, Yukon (North America); Amazon, Orinoco, Parana
(South America); Nile, Niger, Zaire [formerly the Congo River] (Africa);Yangtze,
Ob, Yellow [Huang He], Ganges, Indus (Asia). Have each group complete the
river clues worksheet by collecting information about the river from a
world map or atlas and recording the information on the worksheet. (If
there are not enough student world maps or atlases available for each group,
have the groups take turns going up to the classroom world map to gather
information.)
Once the groups have collected information regarding their assigned
rivers, have each group present their clues to the rest of the class for
them to figure out the river being presented. You may wish to make this
into a contest by secretly assigning the rivers.
Third Grade - Geography - Lesson 13 - Important rivers of the world
Name of the river __________________________________________________________
Bibliography
Student Titles
Ayer, Eleanor. Our Great Rivers and Waterways. Brookfield, CT:
Millbrook Press, 1994. (1-56294-441-X)
Barrett, Norman. Rivers and Lakes. New York: Franklin Watts,
1989. (0-531-10840-6)
Locker, Thomas. Where the River Begins. New York: Dial, 1984.
Sauvain, Philip. Rivers and Valleys: Geography Detective. Minneapolis,
MN: Carolrhoda Books, 1996. (0-87614-996-4)
Taylor, Barbara. Rivers and Oceans: Geography Facts and Experiments.
New York: Kingfisher, 1993. (1-85697-876-1)
Williams, Vera. Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe. New York:
Morrow, 1981. (0-590-45985-6)
Teacher Resources
The Mississippi River: Father of Waters. Cobblestone.
March 1990.
The Mailbox. April/May 1996. Volume 18, Number 2.
Copycat. March/April 1994. Volume 9, Number 4.