Physical landscapes of the Middle East
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can define the location and key landscapes of the Middle East.
Key learning points
- The Middle East lies at the crossroads of continents.
- It has deserts, mountains, plateaux, and fertile valleys.
- The Zagros and Taurus Mountains were formed by tectonic movement.
- The Rub' al Khali is the largest sand desert in the Middle East.
Keywords
Tectonic - the large scale processes that take place within Earth’s crust
Mountain - a natural, raised part of Earth that is higher than a hill
Plateau - an area of high, flat land
Desert - an area of land that is extremely dry and receives less than 25 centimetres of rain per year
Common misconception
The Middle East is all desert.
Students will learn that the Middle East contains diverse landscapes including mountains, valleys, and fertile land.
Teacher tip
Using a large wall map or interactive digital map will help students visualise the physical and political geography of the region.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the physical landscape features to their descriptions:
A very high area of land, often with steep sides
A natural stream of water flowing through the land
The land next to the sea
Flat land that stretches for a long distance
Q2.Which of these is part of the coastal landscape?
Q3.Which of the following is an example of a physical landscape in the UK?
Q4.What is a valley?
Q5.Which process can shape physical landscapes over time?
Q6.Which of these landscapes would you most likely find in a desert?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
Large-scale processes within Earth’s crust
A high natural area rising above the surrounding land
A high flat area of land
Large-scale processes within Earth’s crust
Q2.What makes a desert a desert?
Q3.The Middle East is not just desert – it also has such as the Zagros range.
Q4.Why is it incorrect to say “The only physical geography in the Middle East is desert”?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Physical landscapes of the Middle East, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Physical landscapes of the Middle East, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the The Middle East: How have natural resources shaped the Middle East? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.