Title	Una carta a un amigo
Unity/Activity No.	Human Geography Unit 1/Activity 8
Geographic Topic	physical geography, weather, mapping
Language Topic	professions, recreation/activities, weather, home, self
Language Function	describe, compare
Language Standard	1.3, 3.1
Geography Standard	3, 9, 12

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS

Teacher Instructions

Step 1.	Before class prepare a handout and a transparency.
Step 2.	Distribute the activity to each student and read over the directions.
Step 3.	Use the visuals provided and explain to the students that they will be using the climograph to compare the weather patterns of Mexico and Oregon.
Step 4.	As a class, fill in the graph and then have the students finish the activity.

Suggestions

Use this activity as an assessment.

Review the conventions for letter writing (salutations, closings, etc).

Climate information for Mexico City is provided. Students can research information for Michoacán or substitute this information.

For a model of a climograph, see http://maps.esri.com/climo/help.html, http://maps.esri.com/climo/climograph.html

For detailed instructions of how to produce a climograph using Microsoft Excel, see http://www.geo.appstate.edu/ncga/resources/lessons/climograph_making.html.

Notes

Climate information for Mexico City is provided. Students can research information for Michoacán or substitute this information.

II. STUDENT ACTIVITY HANDOUTS

Handout 1

Una carta a un amigo

You have travelled to a small village outside of Morelia (Michoacán), Mexico, to visit your friend Pedro and his family. While you are there, you write a letter to your Spanish class about your experiences.

Describe Pedro and his house.
Describe where he lives (general region, climate, etc.) and draw a map
Using the blank climograph form, make climographs of your region of Oregon and of Pedro’s region in Mexico. Then compare and contrast the weather between your city in Oregon and Pedro’s.
Tell your classmates what Pedro’s family life is like (work, chores, free time, food, etc.)

III. VISUAL AIDS FOR TEACHERS

Transparency 1

Transparency 2

Temperaturas: México, D.F.

	ene	feb	mar	abr	may	Jun	jul	aug	sep	oct	nov	dic	Año
°C	12.9	14.5	16.4	18.1	18.7	17.9	17.2	17.1	16.7	15.6	14.2	13.0	16.0
°F	55.2	58.1	61.5	64.6	65.7	64.2	63.0	62.8	62.1	60.1	57.6	55.4	60.8

Precipitación: México, D.F.

	ene	feb	mar	abr	may	Jun	jul	aug	sep	oct	nov	dic	Año
mm	8.1	5.2	11.4	19.4	48.7	105.8	128.5	121.0	109.6	44.3	15.3	6.5	634.3
in.	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.8	1.9	4.2	5.1	4.8	4.3	1.7	0.6	0.3	25.

Datos de http://www.worldclimate.com