Team 6B Social Studies

We have begun our unit on Ancient Egypt and our first assignment is to create a map. The map is due on Friday, January 15, 2010. We provided some class time on Friday to work on the map and we will work more on Tuesday/Wednesday. Students who do not finish the map in class will need to complete it as homework. Students may check out a World and its People textbook after school to help them complete the map.

Handouts

• Egypt Map Directions
• Egypt Map Blank
• Egypt Map Challenge Task – this required for period 4 Spectrum students. It is optional for all other students.

Coloring the Map

This map should be colored to show the fertile area along the Nile River and the surrounding deserts. Here are several resources to help you find these areas.

• High resolution satellite photo from NASA
  

  Satellite Photo of the Nile River agricultural area

• Wikipedia image showing the Nile River from the Nile Delta to Lake Victoria

Google Map

I created a Google Map showing the locations of the cities and some of the geographic features that need to be labeled on the map. Click here to view the Google Map of Ancient Egypt.

Preview of the Google Map about Ancient Egypt

We are now moving on from the Middle East to Africa. We will begin by creating a map of the physical features of the entire continent. We are beginning this assignment on Thursday, December 17, 2009, but it will not be due for many days after we return from winter vacation. Work time in class will be provided in January so this assignment should not be considered homework during the vacation.

Handouts

• Africa Map Directions – directions listing what features need to be labeled.
• Africa Map Challenge Features – list of additional features to be labeled. This list is required for all 4th period Spectrum students. It is optional for students in periods 1, 2, 3, and 6. If students choose to do the challenge, it counts as an additional assignment, not “extra credit”.
• Africa Map Blank – blank Africa map for labeling and coloring.

Coloring the Map

The map should be colored to show water, desert, savanna, rainforest, and “land” (areas that do not seem to fall into one of the other categories). To help students with the coloring, I’ve labeled the satellite photo below with the major climate zones. For more helpful information, read the Wikipedia article about the geography of Africa.

We have been making maps of the Fertile Crescent to learn about the geography of the land that is home to the oldest civilizations in human history. Recently , we read that the area around modern day Iraq was the location of the earliest big cities. The reading introduced these terms:

Mesopotamia - “the land between the rivers” (specifically, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers).
Fertile Crescent – the “C” shaped area of land with soil that was good for farming.
The Cradle of Civilization – refers to the idea that this region was the birthplace of complex human societies.

Assignment (Due Thursday, November 5, 2009)

• Fertile Crescent Map Directions
• Fertile Crescent Blank Map

Resources

• Sample map created by Ms. Falls – Ms. Falls created this map, which is based on the map on page 50 of The World and its People, which shows the natural resources of the Fertile Crescent.  Students are welcome to refer to this map if they don’t have a book at home.
• Checking out a textbook – students can check out a textbook to take home by stopping by the room after school.  Books must be returned before school the next day so we can use them during class.
• Map of Ancient Mesopotamia – this map shows the location of many of the city-states of Mesopotamia.
• British Museum Maps – series of maps about Mesopotamia created by the British Museum showing cities, terrain, natural resources, and more.
• Wikipedia article about Mesopotamia – includes links to Fertile Crescent civilizations and related maps.

On Tuesday/Wednesday (October 6/7), we will have a quiz on the major climates and physical features of the world. Each of these factors have had a major impact on the development of human civilizations.

Climate Zones

The tropical zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer at 22.5° north latitude to 22.5° south latitude. The weather tends to be warm year around and typically has a lot of rainfall. The tropics do not have distinct seasons. Farming is possible, but deforestation can lead to soil erosion, making farming more difficult.

Related, dry climates can appear in these latitudes when there is little rainfall. Farming can be difficult or even impossible. A great example is the Sahara Desert that covers much of North Africa.

The temperate zones extend from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle at 66° north latitude and from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle at 66° south latitude. Temperatures are usually moderate and are ideal for farming. Most of the ancient civilizations we will study were located in a temperate climate.

The polar regions extend from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles to the North and South Poles. Temperatures remain cold even during the long summer days. Farming is impossible so people survive by fishing or hunting.

More information is available on this Wikipedia article (which is also the source of the above images).

Physical Features

Mountains have high elevations and steeply sloped sides. They are difficult areas for farming or building structures (though some cultures have developed solutions such as terraced farming and cliff-dwelling structures).

Rivers provide water and nutrients that are valuable for farming. Most of the world’s great ancient civilizations began near a river, such as the Nile River in Egypt.

Plains are flat areas of land that are usually great for farming and building cities.

Plateaus are also flat, but they tend to have higher elevations, rugged landscape, and rocky soil, which makes them less suitable for farming.

We have been learning about the system of latitude and longitude that geographers use to describe the exact location of human and geographic features on a globe.  During the block periods on Tuesday and Wednesday (September 29/30), we will be having a quiz in which students will be plotting locations using latitude and longitude.

Here are definitions of the two key terms:

• Latitude: the horizontal, parallel lines that run east and west on the map.  A fun way to remember this is to say “latitude, flatitude”.  Addresses are expressed as a number of degrees north or south of the Equator.  Numbers range form 0 degrees (the Equator) to 90 degrees (the poles).
• Longitude: the vertical lines the run north and south on the map.  Unlike latitude, these lines are not parallel and they all converge at the North and South Poles.  Addresses are expressed as a number of degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian.  Numbers range from 0 degrees (the Prime Meridian) to 180 degrees east or 180 degrees west (the antimeridian, also the location of the International Date Line).

The map to the left shows some of the most important lines of latitude and longitude (click for larger version).  Try to identify the Equator, the Prime Meridian, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the Arctic Circle, and the Antarctic Circle.

If you would like further practice using latitude and longitude, find an atlas or US map (CIA World Factbook pdf link) and visit the Education World: Where in the World are We Vacationing? activity or try the Enchanted Learning activity. Lastly, here are many more great resources and activities.

We have been working on a map of the world in order to learn skills for making maps clear and informative.  These skills will be used throughout the year as we create more complex historical maps. The assignment is due on Tuesday, September 29 for periods 1 and 3 and due on Wednesday, September 30 for periods 2, 4, and 6.

• World Map (Regular Version)
• World Map (Spectrum Version)

During the Tuesday & Wednesday block classes, we will take a quiz of geographic terms. It will be a matching quiz so students should be familiar with the definitions for each of the following terms:

• cardinal directions
• Equator
• hemisphere
• International Date Line
• latitude
• location
• longitude
• physical map
• place
• political map
• Prime Meridian

The following words might also appear on the test for period 4 Spectrum:

• inset
• Interrupted projection
• scale
• Mercator  projection
• product map
• resource map
• Robinson projection

For our first big assignment, students will create a poster that includes a map and a photograph or drawing that illustrates their connection to some place in the world. They will also include a paragraph that explains why the place is important to the student and his/her family.

On Friday, we looked at the difference between “location” and “place” as themes of geography.  Whereas “location” focuses simply on how to find something, “place” looks at the characteristics of a location.  Students will need to think about “place” as they write a description of the “location” they chose.

The assignment is due Thursday, September 17.  We will work on it in class on Monday and Tuesday/Wednesday.

Click here to download the assignment as a pdf.