Let’s talk about geography.
“Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.” National Geographic
1.) What is the study of Geography about?
2.) How does the geography of where you live impact on your life?
3.) How is the geography of the world changing?
4.) What aspect of Geology interests you more, the land or the human culture?
WARM UPS
All levels
Ten largest countries – Label the correct countries
What are the capitals of these countries? – Match the capitals to the countries
Challenge each other to talk about any country for a minute.
VOCABULARY:
Beginner +
What are the citizens of these countries called?
Nationalities – Explanation and quiz
How to talk about landscape – Infographic
Basic Geography Vocabulary
The four cardinal directions are North, East, South and West.
Longitude and latitude are locations on a map.
The weight is how heavy or light something is.
The height is how tall something it.
The length is how long something is.
The width is how wide something is.
LISTENING AND COMPREHENSION
Beginner +
Learn about Canada – A video about Aboriginal culture in Canada
Intermediate +
Human Evolution – Watch the video and take notes. Feel free to watch it a second time. Prepare to tell us what you learned.
Watch the video to learn about early human migration.
SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION
Warm up Questions
Take turns asking each other questions. Replace the highlighted words with your own.
A.) What are people from COUNTRY called?
B.) They are called NOUN.
A.) Tell me something about this country.
B.) Sure. Add a FACT. (Add any fact, for example, where it is located, what countries surround it, or something about the culture, geography, or history.)
A great world map – What are your observations?
National Geographic Mapmaker – At layers to see the world with different themes.
Map Chart – Make your own maps.
3D Interactive Earth – Rotate the Earth, zoom in, and tell us what you observe.
What do you know about these countries? – Conversation activity
Worldometer – See the numbers related to the global population in real time.
Geoguessr – A different type of ESL class!
Geography Jeopardy – Test your knowledge.
READING AND WRITING
High Beginner+
Explore one of Japan’s most Stunning Secrets – CNN
Intermediate +
Africa: Human Geography – Natural Geographic reading
Isthmus – Natural Geographic reading
Mappa Mundi: The Greatest Medieval Map in The World – BBC
What Do Countries Call Themselves? – Aljazeera
Advanced
Global South – Read the Wikipedia article, and write an essay.
WRITING TIP
Punctuation tip– Is it US or U.S.?
Both are fine. It’s a good example of why punctuation is complicated. The Britannica Dictionary has this advice.
GRAMMAR
High Beginner/Intermediate
Comparatives/Superlatives Quiz
Geography and Prepositions Quiz
High Intermediate/Advanced
Try the Flat Adverbs Quiz
