Cold Environments: Alaska's Development Opportunities

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for Unit 1B: In this third lesson of the Cold Environments section we look at what development opportunities there are in Alaska.

There is a retrieval practice starter based on the content delivered in the previous lessons. We begin by looking at the physical and human features of Alaska in a short video clip. The students then write down a description of where Alaska is located using information on the board. We then look at some of the historical reasons for Alaska’s development. The students create a diagram ‘The Road to Alaska’s Development’ using the information on the board. They then use an A3 worksheet to located the opportunities in Alaska for development using latitude and longitude coordinates. They categorise these into fishing, mineral extraction, tourism and energy development. We also watch a short clip on whale watching in Alaska to supplement the learning on how tourism is a major economic sector for the state.

We finish with 6-mark GCSE-style question based on the content of the lesson and the students have some tips and guidance on how to answer it if required. They also have a writing frame.

Hope this saves you some valuable planning time.

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