Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Monsoons: A Key to Understanding India
by Kelly Davidson

Grade Level
Middle School

Inquiry Question
How does / has the monsoon affected life for people in India?

Objectives
Students will

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 12: The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.

Themes
Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement

Multiple Intelligences
Verbal-Linguistic, Visual-Spatial

Materials
Reading 1 - What is Monsoon?         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey1.html
Reading 2 - Keeping Data on the Monsoon         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey2.html
Reading 3- Heat and Crops - The Cycle of the Seasons         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey3.html
Reading 4 - The Monsoon and Deforestation         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey4.html
Reading 5 - What to do during a Monsoon         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey5.html
Reading 6 - The Monsoon Music and Poetry         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey6.html
Reading 7 - The Twelve Months of the Very Young Husband         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey7.html
Map Study - The Path of the Monsoon         http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/mapMonsoon.html
Monsoon Graphic Organizer
RAFTS Writing Assignment Instructions and Rubric

Teacher Background
The monsoon rains are always, associated with South Asia although they are a world-wide phenomenon. However, it is important to remember that New Delhi, the capital of India, gets the same annual rainfall as New York City. The issue is not the amount of rain but the distribution of rainfall annually. Whereas New York gets fairly equal rainfall, allowing for normal activities throughout the year, India's rainfall is largely during three months of the year, skewing all events and activities to gravitate around the rains. If the monsoons do not arrive in India, the nation mourns for the entire year; if the monsoon is too heavy, floods and crop loss mark the following year. Just as the success or failure of agriculture is dependent upon the monsoons, the culture of South Asia is dependent upon the rains.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students see the overriding significance of the monsoon and the impact of the rains upon all facets of life in South Asia. In order to allow students to examine the issue from many points of view, we strongly suggest using the material in a cooperative learning lesson.

1. In our society there are many songs which refer to rain and people's feelings about rain -
    Singing in the Rain, Stormy Weather, Let a Smile be Your Umbrella.
                    What other songs about rain can you think of?
                    What are some of the attitudes we in the West have about rain?
                    Do you agree or disagree with these attitudes?
                    How do you feel when it rains?

2. Distribute Map Study 1-The Path of the Monsoon to each student in the class.
                    What do we learn about the monsoon from this map?
                    Why do you think the monsoon comes from the east and the west?
                    As you notice from the map, the color of the monsoon map changes as the monsoon heads north. What do you think
                    this indicates?
                    Which areas of India seem least affected by the monsoon? Most affected?
                    If you were looking for a place to live in India, how would the information on this map affect your decision?

3. Divide class into six groups for Jigsaw cooperative learning lesson. Each group will receive a different readings related to
    the monsoon.
    Distribute Readings 1- 6. Teacher will place the following question on the chalkboard
                "How does / has the monsoon affected life for people in India?"

4. Students should be allowed approximately 15 to 20 minutes to read materials and answer questions. Remind them, it is important to examine the monsoon from many vantage points to really understand why water ( the monsoon ) is the key to understanding India.

5. Once individuals have read their materials and attempted to answer the question, allow students with identical readings to get together and  share their ideas. Discussion should focus on the question. Groups should then prepare a brief presentation to explain their article and how  it answers the question. Make materials like maps, overhead projectors, etc. available to them.

6. Hand out copies of the Monsoon Graphic Organizer. Instruct students to fill them in as others present their materials. Make sure they know  they can ask questions, if needed.

7. When all presentations are complete, turn the organizer over and discuss the following, how is the monsoon important in each of the following categories?

    · Why can we say that the monsoon (water) is a key to understanding India?

8. At the beginning of the lesson we talked about how we feel when it rains. We all have different attitudes about the rain during different times  of the year. Distribute Reading 7-The Twelve Months of the Very Young Husband. Read the poem aloud with the class. Discuss: How did the young husband in this poem respond to the seasons? How did the wife respond to the seasons? What is the relationship between this poem and the monsoon?

9. Each student will now need to write an essay answering the question, "How does / has the monsoon affected life for people
    in India?"
    Students will answer the question in one of the two RAFTS formats given.

Assessment
Participation, Cooperation, Monsoon Graphic Organizer, RAFTS Writing Assignment

Web Resources
Water: A Key to Understanding India        http//www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/india/waterakey.html

Interdisciplinary Connections
Language Arts: Use readings as examples of writing styles, have students write about their own weather experiences,
        read stories/books with monsoon occurrences
Science: Weather patterns, world climate zones, The Monsoon CD-Rom from NASA
Math: Climate graphs, measuring rainfall