Cultural Landscapes

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 5 and 6 to deepen understanding of human-environment interaction through a focused case study of a Quechua-speaking community in the central Andes. Students read an informational passage and respond to five analytical questions that require evidence-based reasoning, helping them connect physical geography with culture, economy, and daily life.

Learning Goals

• Human-Environment Interaction (Grades 5-6): Explain how altitude, terrain, and climate influence lifestyle, transportation, and economic choices.
• Cultural Geography: Understand how language, traditions, clothing, and farming practices are shaped by geographic conditions in the Andes.
• Informational Text Analysis: Use details from the passage to support explanations and interpretations.
• Critical Thinking: Analyze a real-world case study rather than relying on memorized facts.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource: Designed to align with upper elementary social studies and ELA standards.
• Case Study Format: Encourages deeper thinking about geography and culture through a real-world example.
• Evidence-Based Questions: Requires students to cite and explain information directly from the text.
• Flexible Use: Ideal for geography units, cultural studies, assessments, homework, or small-group discussion.

This printable worksheet helps students build a nuanced understanding of how physical geography shapes cultural identity and daily life in the Andes. By analyzing a Quechua-speaking community through text-based questions, learners strengthen reading comprehension, geographic reasoning, and analytical writing skills. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning, supporting deeper exploration of cultural landscapes and regional geography.

This worksheet is part of our South America Worksheets collection.