Maps of the world: Junior Scholastic 2004-2005.

How to Read the Maps

Independent countries are in bold, capital letters.

Example: SAUDI ARABIA

Colonies and trust territories: Areas administered by another country under the supervision of the United Nations are shown in italic, small capital letters. Following, in parentheses, is the name of the country that governs it.

Example: GREENLAND (DENMARK)

Continents: Land that is not part of the featured continent is shown in tan.

Europe/Asia: Europe and Asia share the same landmass. Geographers divide the two continents along a line formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, and Caucasus Mountains, Our maps use a dotted line (as at left) to mark this division.

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* OBJECTIVES

Students should understand

* How to use maps to locate the world's 193 countries and the capital city of each;

* How to interpret symbols, colors, border lines, and latitude and longitude to understand political maps.

* TEACHING STRATEGY

Ask students to identify family, friends, or people they might know who have immigrated to the U.S. Using a world map, keep track of which continents are represented by students' relationships.

* THINKING SKILLS

MAKING CONNECTIONS: Why are maps, atlases, and globes updated every year? (Countries and their borders change continually. Maps must be constantly updated to reflect these changes.)

COMPREHENSION: How can you identify independent countries on the JS maps from places that are not independent? (Independent countries are shown in bold, large capital letters on our maps. Territories and colonies are shown in italic, small capital letters.)

MAIN IDEA: What information does the economic map of the worm on pp. 22-23 provide? (the relative wealth of nations in terms of per capita GDP)

NOTING DETAILS: On a world map, where would you find Sudan? (Sudan is located in Africa, stretching from about 4[degrees]N to 22[degrees]N latitude, and 23[degrees]E to 38[degrees]E longitude.)

* ACTIVITY

NEIGHBORHOOD MAP: Instruct students to draw maps of their neighborhood. Maps should include roads, major buildings, parks, and natural geographic features. Have students also write a brief report describing the buildings, homes, activities, and kinds of natural terrain in their neighborhood.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* People, places, and environment: Hew the geography of different world regions affects the governments and economies of countries as well as the lives of their citizens.

* Global connections: How maps can help students understand and analyze the relationships between various countries and regions across the world.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* DK Publishing Staff, Geography of the World (DK Publishing, Inc. 2003). Grades 5-8.

* Young, Karen Romano, Small Worlds: Maps and Mapmaking (Scholastic, 2002). Grades 5-8.

GROLIER WEB SITE KEY TERM

* Geography

WEB SITE

* World Maps www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Continents Key Facts

CONTINENT       AREA                 No. OF COUNTRIES

North America   9.3 million sq mi          23
South America   7 million sq mi            12
Africa          11.7 million sq mi         53
Europe          4 million sq mi            43
Asia            17 million sq mi           48
Oceania*        3 million sq mi            14
Antarctica      5.4 million sq mi          0**

* Oceania is a region that includes the continent of Australia,
New Zealand, and nearby islands in the Pacific Ocean.

** Various countries hold territorial claims in Antarctica.
The Antarctic Treaty prohibits countries from making new claims.