African Culture is incredibly interesting. This week we'll start with general traditions.
MONDAY students will kick into drama gear with dramatizations of five African folktales in the lesson, "Tell Me a Story", but first we'll examine a graph depicting Africa's diversity.
TUESDAY "In the Spirit" more closely examines some of the beliefs and practices of Africa's traditional religions.
WEDNESDAY Today we'll explore more of the history of the affects of colonialism on Africa...just not enough time to finish that last week! It's DEAR today as well...a good suggestion-start reviewing for Friday's history and culture test!
I will be OUT today at an inservice, but will review for the test tomorrow.
THURSDAY your student may come home "clicking" or speaking Swahili as we study language in Africa. We'll also study the Lemba, an African tribe with an interesting history. Homework: Crossword puzzle on history, study for tomorrow's test.
FRIDAY we'll take a test on African history and culture as studied in the past two weeks. Then we'll read more about Kente cloths, their history and related traditions. We'll look at some sites that show the various colorful patterns of this traditional Africa cloth and next week students can design their own Kente cloth. Read more about Kente on these sites.
http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/cloth_kente.html
http://members.aol.com/davilojo/p1.htm
http://www.virtualexplorers.org/ghana/kente.htm

AH! Back to our joyous high level learning and thinking.
We'll have the AFRICA MAP TEST on Wednesday of this week...we keep running out of time to discuss what is on the PHYSICAL FEATURES portion! Students will be given 2 maps. One to identify the countries and one to identify the physical features that will include the following: Sahara, Kalahari and Namib Deserts; the Great Rift Valley; Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kilamanjaro and the Atlas Mountains; the Nile, Orange, Niger, Zambezi and Congo/Zaire Rivers; Lake Chad, Lake Victoria and Lake Nyasa.
MONDAY we'll review the African history we covered before CRCT and begin with a History Mystery about African Trade.
TUESDAY students will learn about the African slave trade and read a primary source of one slave's experiences.
WEDNESDAY brings the MAP tests and DEAR. Students are currently working on their FINAL book report of the year in a mini-museum form. It is due on May 14.
THURSDAY topics include colonial rule and a short play; students will create a mind map of as they take notes.
FRIDAY we'll wrap up with a timeline of African history from as early as the 1600's that influenced the creation of apartheid and its eventual demise. We also have a crossword of African history terms.
NEXT WEEK: AFRICAN CULTURE!

Homework for this week is a cubing strategy-due Friday. Cubing is a great strategy to use when you are trying to help students understand a major concept. And, it's a great pre-writing activity should the teacher choose to assign a formal paper after the cubing exercise. In this instance, we're going to cube APARTHEID in Africa because it will most likely be covered on our Social Studies CRCT on Friday. Students will basically define apartheid, discuss the laws imposed and people involved in trying to fight this separateness for decades. They'll compare apartheid with other events throughout history which sought to divide rather than to unite and collaborate. They'll be reminded of lessons where civilizations flourished because leaders respected all people and focused on education and unity.

Here's a pdf on the strategy.
Download file

There are a number of examples in class that I will show the students. It's best done on a square tissue (Kleenex) box...(minus the tissue). Here are the prompts for our assignment.
Download file

NEXT MONDAY, April 23 students will have an African Map test. Test will include identifying the countries (not capitals), the Sahara, Namib, and Kalahari deserts, Sahel, Savanna. Seregenti Plain, Nile River, Mt. Kilamanjaro, Congo/Zaire River, Congo/Zaire Basin, Great Rift Valley, Atlas Mountains and Ethiopian Highlands.

In class we'll continue to work on CRCT review...this week with a PowerPoint and online games.
Students are demonstrating remarkable recall and understanding!

http://www.runet.edu/~geog-web/whatgeog.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/themes.html

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Geography/GGR0011.html

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/lithuania/lithgeothemes.html

Notes Below!

Who are Japan’s trading partners? (US, South Korea, China, Germany...)

JAPANESE CURRENCY IS THE YEN!

Be able to define these economic terms:(Check your handout)

Specialization: Countries specialize in making one particular product such as the Middle East oil production.
Per capita income: Average income per person
Interdependence: Nations depend on one another for goods and resources they do not have in their countries
Gross Domestic Product: Amount of goods and services that a nation produces in a year.
Trade surplus:
Globalization:

Check your answers on Essential Readings on Japan for the following questions:

How does the Japanese government pay for materials from other countries? (by manufacturing and exporting goods to other countries)
Japan’s strong economy is based on MANUFACTURING and TRADE.
Describe the standard of living in Japan. (HIGH INCOMES, SAVINGS AND MATERIAL GOODS OF THE FAMILIES ARE AMOING THE WORLD'S LARGEST)
Describe the mineral resources in Japan and explain the steps Japan must take in order to meet their country’s need for minerals. (TIN, ZINC, LIMESTONE, MANGANESE, COAL, COPPER, LEAD BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MEET NEEDS SO THEY IMPORT OIL, COAL, LEAD AND ALUMINUM) You do not need to name the minerals...just understand there is a shortage so they import.
How has agriculture in Japan changed since 1950? FARMERS USED TO MAKE UP 45% OF WORKERS, NOW THEY REPRESENT ONLY 6%.
Explain how Japan meets its energy needs. (OIL AND COAL ARE IMPORTED, JAPAN BUILT NUCLEAR PLANTS)
Describe the fishing industry in Japan. (SEAFOOD IS THE PROTEIN IN JAPANESE DIETS, AND JAPAN IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FISHING NATIONS IN THE WORLD.)
What are Japan’s most important manufactured goods? (CARS, TRUCKS, SHIPS,ELECTRONICS, COMPUTERS)
Identify some secondary products. (PLASTICS, TEXTILES, STEEL, TIRES, PRECISION INSTRUMENTS, ETC.)
Describe the service industries in Japan. (JAPAN'S WORKERS ARE HIGHLY EDUCATED AND WELL PAID AND WORK AS ENGINEERS, TEACHERS, ACCOUNTANTS, LAWYERS, FINANCIAL ANALYSTS, ETC)
Evaluate the importance of trade in Japan and explain your answer. (TRADE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE JAPANESE ECONOMY BECAUSE SELLING HIGH QUALITY GOODS ALLOWS JAPAN TO BUY THE RAW MATERIALS IT NEEDS TO RUN ITS BUSINESSES)

Brief History of Maps and Cartography
http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/map/h_map/h_map.htm

Map and Globe Skills games

http://ssms.pasco.k12.fl.us/jaguars/_teams/_6h/_geography/_geo/geo_cur_mapskills.htm

China's geographical size, population, and spheres of cultural and political influence are too vast to be ignored. The People's Republic of China has the world's third largest land area and is the world's most populous nation. The various dialects of Chinese are spoken by more people than any other language, and Chinese culture has left an indelible imprint on East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.

Chinese immigrants and their descendants have made substantial contributions to American society and culture. Chinese laborers participated in the construction of the transcontinental railroad which hastened the settlement of the American West. Chinese immigrants worked in mining operations in the West and on Southern plantations during Reconstruction. Chinese food has become as "American" as spaghetti or tacos. Today Chinese Americans are prominent in our culture. The works of Chinese American writers, have won critical acclaim and are consistently on best seller lists.

In an era in which we are coming to recognize the fact of global interdependence and the finite nature of the earth's resources, the complete integration of the PRC's one billion producer-consumers into the world economy poses a novel developmental challenge.
(ERIC Digest)

Our study of India will highlight and showcase contributions the peoples of India have made in the arts and sciences. The geography of India will be taught in concert with its history. India is the largest country of the South Asian subcontinent. Its terrain, climate, and natural resources have greatly influenced conditions of life and development of cultures in the vast expanse of India. It is a nation with a multitude of cultural differences. Many Indians are descendants of Indo-European or Aryan peoples; Dravidians, or peoples of central Asian or southeast Asian backgrounds. In addition, a small number of modern European settlers call India their home. Students will explore India as an emerging nation in a complex, interdependent world community. ( ERIC Digest )

The study of the Indian subcontinent includes investigating Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ]]> 2007-04-11T14:59:00Z 2007-04-10T19:23:45Z tag:mabryonline.org,2007:/blogs/glenn//17.10330 2007-04-10T19:23:45Z

The most important tip for studying history is to USE YOUR CORNELL NOTES!! Reflect on these questions...

]]> Who were the first people to inhabit Japan? (The Ainu)
What happened in 300 B.C. that greatly influenced Japan? (rice farming people called the Yayoi came to settle in Japan)
Who were Japan's first powerful rulers and when did they rule? (clan chiefs from the Yamato region around 300 A.D.)

How did the Tokugawa shogunate establish a strong central government?
(through military force and a strict caste system-the feudal system)
Discuss the feudal system in Japan, identifying the hierachy of established. Compare and contrast with the feudal system in Europe.
(Shogun,daimyo, samurai, peasant as opposed to kings,lords, knights, serfs)
What was the motivation behind the Acts of Seclusion?(Japanese were fearful that Christian missionaries would bring western ideas and change the Japanese culture, so they closed their ports for 200 years)
How did Matthew Perry’s entry into Edo Bay change the culture and government of Japan? (He brought a letter from President Millard Fillmore offering trade and friendship. The shoguns accepted his offer, but were soon removed from power and replaced by a young Meiji emperor)
What changes were brought about by the Meiji emperor and his reign?
(Westernization, an industrial revolution,a constitution)
How did the Japanese create an empire in the Pacific? (through militarism and imperialism)
During the period of militarism, what lands did Japan conquer?

What were the reasons for bombing Pearl Harbor?
For the US dropping bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima?

Discuss the Japanese constitution, explaining why it was unique and the new rights it ensured. (It ensured many freedoms including free speech and press, and voting, but it also forever renounced war)

After Japan surrendered, the U.S. occupied Japan for several years. What were the priorities for that occupation?
(To demilitarize and provide support for the new democracy and the new constitution)

Can you organize these chronologically?

_____Modern Japan
_____The Tokugawa Period
_____Pre-history, archeological records only
_____The Occupation of Japan
_____Militarism in Japan
_____The Meiji Period
_____Era of massive borrowings from China

Remember these dates!
________Acts of Seclusion
________Bombing of Pearl Harbor
________Matthew Perry arrives in Japan
________Bombing of Hiroshima
________Bombing of Nagasaki
________Potsdam Proclamation

Remember these people/groups:
Matthew Perry
Hirohito
Tokugawa shogun
Meiji emperors
Millard Fillmore
General McArthur
Harry Truman

Don't forget:
The Russo-Japanese War and Sino-Japanese Wars fought over Korea.
Reasons for and against bombing Hiroshima

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Mr. Dowling
http://www.mrdowling.com/612-caste.html

The GIA Quia Webpage Games

ALL Africa Games

All Asia Games

Sub-Saharan Africa Geography

Geography Competition: Asia, Middle East, North Africa

Africa Map Puzzle

Trivia Plaza Geography Games