Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Compare and Contrast:
India, Iowa and the U.S.A.
by Kelly Davidson

Grade Level
Middle School

Inquiry Questions
How is India similar to the U.S.A. and the Iowa?
How is India different from the U.S.A. and Iowa?

Objectives
Students will . . .

- Research the five themes of geography and other facts about India, Iowa and the U.S.A..
- Compare and contrast information about India, Iowa and the U.S.A..

Standards
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
Standard 3: Analyzing the spatial organization of people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.

Themes
Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, Region

Multiple Intelligences
Verbal-Linguistic, Visual-Spatial, Technological

Materials
Copies of the Compare and Contrast handout
Resource materials on India, U.S.A. and Iowa
Internet access

Time
2 class periods

1. Ask students how India and the United States are the same? How are they different? What about India and Iowa?
2. Pass out copies of the Compare and Contrast handout. Make library resources and Internet access available to the class. Give them about 1 hour to fill in the blanks on the specified regions.
3. When all students have completed the handout, discuss their findings. What similarities have they found? What differences? What information did they find most interesting? Why?

Assessment
Compare and Contrast handout

Enrichment Ideas
Write a report on India, Iowa, or the USA
Design a visual aid to compare and contrast one or most attributes of comparison
Write and illustrate a picture book showing regional similarities or differences.