Maps of the world: junior scholastic 2005-2006.* OBJECTIVE Students should understand * How to use maps and statistics to gain knowledge about a country, a region, or the world as a whole. * TEACHING STRATEGY These maps and tables can be used year-round, whenever a country comes up in class or in the news. Referring to them regularly will improve students' map-reading and data-interpreting skills. * BACKGROUND Studying these maps and tables will help students gain a better idea of the world's 193 countries geographically, economically, and socially. * CRITICAL THINKING READING A MAP KEY/COMPREHENSION: Looking at the Economic Map of the World (pp. 22-23), which continent has the most countries in the lowest income bracket Noun 1. income bracket - a category of taxpayers based on the amount of their income income tax bracket, tax bracket bracket - a category falling within certain defined limits income bracket n → ? In which part of the continent are they concentrated? (Africa; the center) MAKING INFERENCES: What are some of the responsibilities of a national leader? What can happen to a people whose leader fails to fulfill those duties? (Responsibilities given should include supporting and improving the economy, national defense, education and health, and relations with neighboring countries. Answers will vary to the second question.) * ACTIVITY GET TO KNOW A NATION: Divide the class into small groups and assign (or have students choose) a country for each. After studying the map and table entry for its country, each group should list several advantages and disadvantages their chosen country has. (Examples--advantage: high literacy rates indicate an educated workforce; disadvantage: being landlocked landlocked adj. referring to a parcel of real property which has no access or egress (entry or exit) to a public street and cannot be reached except by crossing another's property. prevents direct access to seaports for shipping and trade.) Have them share this information with their classmates Classmates can refer to either:
STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * People, places, and environments: How statistics can help form a picture of the quality of life in various nations. RESOURCES * DK Publishing Staff, Geography of the World (DK Publishing, 2003). Grades 5 & up. * Wojtanik, Andrew, Afghanistan to Zimbabwe: Country Facts that Helped Me Win the National Geographic Bee The National Geographic Bee (previously called the National Geography Bee) is an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The Bee, held every year since 1989, is open to students in the fourth through eighth grade in participating American (National Geographic Society National Geographic Society U.S. scientific society founded in 1888 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of eminent explorers and scientists “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge. , 2005). Grades 5 & up. WEB SITES * Chiefs of State odci.gov/cia/publications /chiefs * List of State Leaders en.wikipedia.org/wiki /List_of_national_leaders HOW TO READ THE MAPS Independent countries are in hold capital letters. Example: UKRAINE Colonies and trust territories: An area administered by another country under the supervision of the United Nations is shown in italic capital letters. Following, in parentheses See parenthesis. parentheses - See left parenthesis, right parenthesis. , is the name of the country that governs it. Example: GALAPAGOS/ISLANDS (ECUADOR) Continents: Land that is not part of the featured continent is shown in tan. Europe/Asia: Europe and Asia share the same landmass land·mass n. A large unbroken area of land. landmass Noun a large continuous area of land landmass , sometimes called Eurasia. Geographers divide the two continents along a line formed by the Ural Mountains Ural Mountains Mountain range, Russia and Kazakhstan. Generally held to constitute the boundary between Europe and Asia, the range extends north-south for some 1,550 mi (2,500 km) from just south of the Kara Sea to the Ural River; a southward spur extends into northwestern , Ural River, Caspian Sea, and Caucasus Mountains. Our maps use a dotted line (as at left) to mark this division. CONTINENTS' KEY FACTS CONTINENT AREA NO. OF COUNTRIES North America 9.3 million sq mi 23 South America 6.9 million sq mi 12 Africa 11.7 million sq mi 53 Europe 4.0 million sq mi 43 Asia 17.0 million sq mi 48 Oceania * 3.3 million sq mi 14 Antarctica 4.7 million sq mi 0 ** * Oceania is a region that includes the country/continent of Australia, New Zealand, and nearby islands in the Pacific Ocean. ** Although some countries hold territorial claims in Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty (1959) preserves it for nonmilitary scientific research. QUICK QUIZ * Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each question. -- 16. Which of these cities is not a capital of Bolivia? A. La Paz B. Montevideo C. Sucre Sucre, city (1992 pop. 131,769), S central Bolivia, constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia. -- 17. Egypt is on which continent? A. Africa B. Asia C. Europe -- 18. Which of the following statistics is broken down into separate figures for male and female? A. life expectancy Life Expectancy 1. The age until which a person is expected to live. 2. The remaining number of years an individual is expected to live, based on IRS issued life expectancy tables. B. per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. GDP GDP (guanosine diphosphate): see guanine. C. percentage of population under age 15 -- 19. Which of these is a region, not a continent? A. Africa B. Europe C. the Middle East -- 20. Mexico is part of which continent? A. North America B. South America C. Oceania Answers 16. B 17. A 18. A 19. C 20. A |
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