Materials

• Maps, atlases, and textbooks that contain information on Latin America
• Handout listing the Latin American and Caribbean countries to be identified
• Unlabeled outline political and physical maps of the Western Hemisphere or the world
• Pictures or slides of important physical features of the region (listed in step 4 below)

Instructional Activities

1. NOTE: This may take more than one session. Display the following questions on the board or overhead, and instruct students to respond to them in writing:
   • Where is Latin America and the Caribbean in relation to the United States?
   • What climates do Latin American and the Caribbean countries have?What are the major cities in Latin America and the Caribbean?
   • What resources are available in Latin America and the Caribbean?
   • What physical features are present in Latin American and the Caribbean?
   • What ethnic groups are in Latin America and the Caribbean?
   • What country or countries colonized Latin America and the Caribbean?
   • What languages are spoken in Latin American and the Caribbean?
   • Divide the class into groups of three or four students each, and instruct the students in each group to share their responses and develop a group response to each question. Allow students to use their textbooks and other available resources. Allow time for groups to share their responses.
   
   
2. Distribute unlabeled outline political maps, handouts, and atlases, and instruct students to label the following countries:
   • Mexico and Central America
     - Mexico
     - Belize
     - Guatemala
     - El Salvador
     - Honduras
     - Nicaragua
     - Costa Rica
     - Panama
   • South American
     - Colombia
     - Venezuela
     - Guyana
     - Suriname
     - French Guiana
     - Ecuador
     - Peru
     - Bolivia
     - Brazil
     - Paraguay
     - Argentina
     - Uruguay
     - Chile
   • Caribbean
     - Cuba
     - Haiti
     - Jamaica
     - Dominican Republic
     - Puerto Rico
   
   
3. Distribute outline physical maps, and instruct students to lightly shade and label the following:
   • Andes mountains
   • Sierra Madres
   • Atacama
   • Amazon River Basin
   • Pacific Ocean
   • Atlantic Ocean
   • Gulf of Mexico
   
   
4. Instruct the students to define the following terms or features, using their textbooks or other available resources:
   • Altiplano
   • Rain forests
   • Pampas
   • Llanos
   • Volcanoes
   • Earthquake
   • Vertical zonation (how human activities vary across regions and why)
     - Tierra caliente
     - Tierra templada
     - Tierra fria
   
   Display pictures or slides illustrating each of the above terms or features, and discuss them as a class.
   
   
5. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources.