Warm-Ups
8/23 Q: What do you think we will learn about in geography this year?
A: Shapes, religion and society, problems and conflicts in each
continent, maps, governments, different continents (i.e., culture), Asia,
history that occurred on the continents, economies of the world, World
War II and the Holocaust, the countries that make up North and South
America
8/24 Q: Define the term “location”
A: Where a person, place or thing resides, Where something is
found (i.e., North of Elkton), a destination, the placement of something
or someone, the location or address of a place, the position of an object
on the Earth. A certain place, the whereabouts of something.
8/27 Q: What is absolute location?
A: The exact place, using coordinates. Using latitude and
longitude.
8/28 Q:
A:
Q:
A:
What is relative location?
a place compared to another location. A general area.
What does “geo” mean?
Earth
8/29 Q: What are the three types of maps we will use in social studies?
A: Political –borders; Thematic – theme; Physical – Landforms
8/30 Q: What does “TICKS” stand for?
A: TI – Title; C – Compass; K – Key; S – Scale. All put together
represent elements of a good map.
8/31 Q: Compare and contrast lines of latitude with lines of longitude.
Provide at least three comparisons or contrasts. Also, explain the
difference between absolute and relative location.
A: Lines of latitude refer to location north or south of the
equator while lines of longitude refer to location east or west of
the prime meridian (1 & 2). Lines of latitude run horizontally
(east-to-west) on maps; however, lines of longitude run vertically
(north-to-south) on maps (3). Lines of latitude are represented as
the first number in a pair of coordinates while lines of longitude
are represented as the second number in a pair of coordinates
(4). Absolute location is the exact location of a place. When
using absolute location, lines of latitude and longitude are always
used. Absolute location is recorded by writing coordinates.
Relative location, on the other hand, is not as exact. Relative
location is the location of a place when compared to another
place. Relative location is a general area. An example of this
would be to say, “Harford County is west of Cecil County.”
9/4 Q: An area that shares some common characteristics is called a
______.
A: Region
Q: The study of the Earth and people’s relationship to it is called
______.
A: Geography
9/5 Q: How humans have changed their natural surroundings is called
______.
A: Human/Environment Interaction
9/6 Q: Compare and contrast the cultures of U.S.A., Canada, and
Mexico (provide three)
A: The climate in Mexico is warmer than the climate in Canada
while the U.S. has both cold and warm spots. The U.S.A. and Canada
both have schools that are free and compulsory from the ages of 5 – 16
(Mexico is from 6 – 15). Canada and Mexico both have free medical
care (Universal Health Care) whereas the U.S. is the only industrialized
country without universal health care; however, the U.S.A. is a leader in
medical research. The U.S. speaks English, Mexico speaks Spanish,
and Canada speaks English and French (The U.S. is the only one
without an official language). Each country has their own form of
currency (dollar for Canada and the U.S.A., peso for Mexico)
9/7 Q: What is secession? Or, where have you heard the term before?
A: Secede – the south tried to secede from the north during the
civil war (secede – to leave, to not want to be a part of it)
9/10 Q: What do you think “economics” is the study of?
A: (Things that are involved in economics: Government, Humans,
Jobs)… money.
9/11 Q: Compare and contrast the three different rounds from
yesterday’s Bead Activity.
A: In the first round, bracelets were made according to tradition.
In the second round, bracelets and necklaces were made according to
how you were told to make them. In the third round, necklaces were
made however you wanted to make them. Necklaces produced the
most money, bracelets second, and rings third (there were rules,
however, per round). Round 1: the beads were made in a traditional
way, Round 2: you had to meet a quota; In Round 1, you had to pass
the bracelet around and say that it was beautiful, but in Rounds 2 & 3
you just had to make them; In all rounds, teamwork was used (1 –
passing the bracelet around, 2 and 3 – assembly line process); All three
had different orders for the beads (i.e., red, red, black, black); Round
three (We Make What We Want Ville) was easier than rounds two and
one; Round one (The Way We’ve Always Done Ville) was the hardest
because you couldn’t help each other and everything had to be done at
once
9/12 Q: What part of a Canada has a distinct cultural difference from
the rest of Canada? What is the difference?
A: Quebec. Quebec is a predominantly French culture.
Q: What is poverty?
A: Poverty usually refers to a level of being poor. If you live below
poverty, you don’t have enough money to survive without government
assistance.
9/13 Q: Define economics.
A: A social science that studies the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services.
Q: What are the four types of economies?
A: Market (U.S.), Mixed Market (combination of Market and
Command), Command (China; North Korea), and Traditional (Tribal
Places in Africa)
9/14 Q: Define: Production, Distribution, & Consumption
A: Production – Using resources to make goods and services
(including manufacturing, storing, and packaging, making something,
the making of a product); Distribution – The way goods and services are
divided up among individuals (to give something out, sell in stores,
giving the product to service providers); Consumption – The final
purchase of goods and services (How much goods and services are
consumed by people, buying/using, consumers buying goods or
services)
9/17 Q: Why do people move?
A: If a person lost his/her home; the new home costs less/there’s
no mortgage on the new home; unable to afford the previous house;
better schools; divorce; bigger house; jobs/employment; the community
is unsafe; the environment; resources; to be closer to family
Q: What is the difference between immigration and emigration?
A: Immigration – Coming INTO a country; Emigration – EXITING a
country
9/18 Q: Describe what each of the following industries does: Primary,
Secondary, and Tertiary.
A: Primary – Collect and produce raw materials. Secondary –
Manufacture products. Tertiary – Provide services.
Q: Define Gross Domestic Product
A: The total value of goods and services produced in a country in
a year.
9/19 Q: What are costs? Benefits?
A: Costs – Bad things/ Disadvantages to a course of action.
Benefits – Good things/ Advantages to a course of action
Q: What are push factors? Pull Factors?
A: Push Factors – Things that drive people to move away from an
area. The bad things about where one currently lives. Pull Factors –
The things that attract you to a new location. The good things about
where you’re going.
9/20 Q: Define the following: Infant Mortality Rate, Literacy Rate,
Poverty Line.
A: Infant Mortality Rate – The amount of babies (out of every
1,000) who die at birth. Literacy Rate – The percent of people over the
age of 15 who can read and write. Poverty Line – The minimum level of
income needed to survive.
9/21 Q: Do you believe illegal immigration is a problem in the U.S.A.?
Explain.
A: Yes because when a lot of immigrants come over, disease is
brought as well. Yes because more people come to the U.S.A. than
any other country and our population is getting too big. Yes because
we have to monitor security more tightly. Yes because some of them
are taking our jobs and they are “illegal” which is unfair to legal
immigrants and American citizens. Yes, because the amount of
resources will go down. Yes, because many illegal immigrants are
associated with a life of crime. Illegal immigrants will contribute to
population growth (which could be good or bad); however, illegal
immigrants don’t pay taxes but could possibly take advantage of tax
benefits. Illegal immigrants could be possible terrorists. Illegal
immigrants already prove that they won’t follow the rules of our country.
Illegal immigrants can help the U.S. if they join the military or are
experts in a certain field. Illegal immigrants can take the jobs that other
Americans don’t want. Illegal immigrants put a strain on tax dollars (i.e.,
ESL teachers in schools).
9/24 Q: What are the reasons why people from Mexico and Central
America attempt to immigrate to the U.S.A.?
A: Poverty in their countries of origin; in search of jobs; family in
the U.S.A.; health/education (government supported benefits); safety
Q: What type of border dispute involves immigration?
A: Functional
9/25 Q: What do you think should be done about immigration?
A: I don’t think we should be stopping it, we should have more
ways to enter in legally, but stop illegal immigration – Steven; The
minutemen should go visit Mexico to see the problems in Mexico –
Abby; We should have more ways to enter, and those who enter and
are very poor, we should give them something to help them – Mason;
The U.S. govt. should go to the other countries and if there is something
where immigrants are running away from (bad things) they can stay in
the U.S., but if their lives were not that bad they should go back –
Stephanie; They should just be able to apply for citizenship even if they
are illegal. – Nathanial; They should patrol the borders more and once
they capture those who crossed illegally, they should be asked why they
came here. – Tyler; It should be stopped because immigrants use up
tax money for welfare. – John; Mexico should become a part of the U.S.
so that they could follow the rules but still receive benefits from the U.S.
government. – Justin; We should make a bigger border to try and stop
immigration. – Alex; We should build a wall or electric fence around our
border to protect our country. – Tristan; We should have people every
half mile, standing there (taking shifts) – Dylan; The current system is
fine. If immigrants can follow rules and directions, they can help us out.
– Danny; Nothing because they take the jobs we don’t want. – Chase;
They could change it if they could do an additional background check. –
Matthew; If they are smart and have no criminal record they should be
let in because they will benefit the country. – Anna.
9/26 Q: Compare and contrast developed countries to developing
countries.
A: Developed countries have a high standard of living while
developing countries have a low standard of living. Developed countries
have low infant mortality rates while developing countries have a high
infant mortality rate. Developed countries have a high literacy rate while
developing countries have a low literacy rate. Developed countries have
a high GDP per capita while developing countries have a low GDP per
capita. Developed countries are urban (city) while developing countries
are rural (country). Developed countries have more people employed in
service industries and manufacturing while developing countries have
more people employed in agriculture.
9/27 Q: What type of border dispute is over… Ownership of land?
Where a border belongs?
A: Ownership of land – Territorial; Where a border belongs –
Positional
9/28 Q: Define: Production, Distribution
A: Production – Using resources to make goods and services.
Distribution – The way goods and services are divided up among
individuals.