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© InspirEd Educators, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

2 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

** It is the goal of InspirEd Educators to create instructional materials that are interesting, engaging, and challenging. Our student-centered approach incorporates both content and skills, placing particular emphasis on reading, writing, vocabulary development, and critical and creative thinking in the content areas.

Edited by Wendy Moeller

Cover graphics by Sharon Coletti and Print1 Direct

Copyright © 2008 by InspirEd Educators, Inc.

ISBN # 978-1-933558-50-9

Tips for Teaching with InspirEd Educators Units

** FOR INDIVIDUAL TEACHER / PARENT USE ** All rights reserved. It is unlawful to reproduce all or part of this publication without prior written permission from the publisher. Student pages only (handouts and / or transparencies) may be photocopied or created for individual teacher or parent use. It is a breach of copyright to reproduce part or whole of this publication for any other purposes. Violators will be prosecuted in accordance with United States copyright law.

Printed in the United States of America

©InspirEd Educators, Inc. 5

Objectives (terms, questions and answers) … page 6

Put on Your Thinking Caps! (region) … page 8

Examining Asia (location) … page 15

Subcontinent Content (place) … page 18

Water, Water Everywhere?

(human-environment interaction) … page 26

Passing Through (movement) … page 30

China: Up Close and Personal (population) … page 37

How’s the Weather? (climate) … page 46

Disaster Area (natural disasters) … page 52

Rain, Rain, Go Away? (monsoons)… page 56

How Enlightening! (Buddhism) … page 62

A Trip to the Country (The Long March) … page 69

Land of the Rising Sun (Japan) … page 73

Dirty Little Secret (child labor) … page 77

Mongolia on the Map (Mongolia) … page 85

Taking a Tour (travel brochure project) … page 90

Reviewing Terms (vocabulary puzzle) … page 93

Differentiated Content and Skills Assessment

(A – modified; B – average; C – accelerated) … page 95

Resources (bibliography) … page 100

8 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

Objective: The student will be able to explain the way the region of Asia is generally defined for study. Materials: What Do You Know? (Springboard handout) The $64,000 Question (handout) For Your Consideration (3 handouts) colored pencils Asian Geography (handout - see note below)

Procedure:

· After reviewing the Springboard, explain that in this unit, the students will learn about Asia based on the five geographic themes. This lesson begins with an

examination of region. Go on to explain that there are many ways Asia is divided up to make it more logical for study. In this lesson the student(s) will learn how

the region is defined for purposes of this unit.

· Distribute “The $64,000 Question” and the “For Your Consideration” handouts. Tell the student(s) to keep the maps for use in future lessons.

· Have the student(s) work individually, in pairs, or small groups to study the handouts and come to their conclusions. (You could also have them shade the political map to show religious divisions of Asia to help them see more patterns.)

· When the student(s) finish, explain that in this unit, the region of Asia will not include Russia and other Northern Asia countries or Southwest Asia (also known

as the Middle East).

· Have the student(s) offer their ideas as to why this is a logical way to study Asia. (Answers will vary, but studying the handouts should help them come to the following conclusions:

· Russia is mainly Christian and atheist, and the Middle East is mainly Muslim.

Both are very different in terms of religion, and therefore culture.

· Russia is in Asia and Europe, divided by the Ural Mountains, so could be

grouped with either continent. It is usually studied with Europe because its

government and population are there, and religious/cultural connections.

· The Middle East is a unique cultural region located where Africa, Europe, and

Asia come together so it usually is studied on its own.

· The Himalayas separate the Middle East from the rest of Asia, and provide a

logical “break” in region.)

· NOTE: This lesson and the next four provide an introduction to each of the five themes of geography. Thereafter, each lesson will deepen student understanding of the five themes. Distribute “Asian Geography” for the student(s) to use as a unit organizer to record examples after each lesson that fit the five themes. In addition to the objectives sheet, this makes a wonderful review resource!

Springboard:

Students should complete “What Do You Know?”

(Answers will vary widely, but should fit each category.)

Put on Your Thinking Caps!

©InspirEd Educators, Inc. 9

LOCATION can either be absolute, which is usually described in latitude and longitude, or relative, described in relation to other places or landmarks.

PLACE describes both the physical and human characteristics of a city, state, region, or other locale.

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION is used by geographers to describe the effects – both positive and negative – that occur when human beings adapt to and change their surroundings.

MOVEMENT describes how people, goods, and ideas are moved from place to place on the earth and the effects of those movements.

REGION is the way that the world, countries, etc. are divided into areas that make it easier to study or organize for some purpose. Geographers usually divide areas into regions based on a unifying characteristic.

DIRECTIONS: Read the descriptions of the five themes of geography, and provide as many examples of you can for each theme.

10 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

What doesn’t fit? Why?

DIRECTIONS: Study the “For Your Consideration” handouts and use that information to decide which parts of Asia “fit” together and which parts are different from most places on the continent.

©InspirEd Educators, Inc. 11

Source #1: Countries of Asia By Region Source # 2: Majority Religions of Asia Countries

Buddhism Daoism Hinduism Islam Judaism Christianity

Bhutan

* China

Cambodia

Hong Kong

Japan

Mongolia

Myanmar

(or Burma)

Laos

North Korea

Singapore

South Korea

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Vietnam

* China

India

Nepal

Afghanistan

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Brunei

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Jordan

* Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

* Lebanon

Malaysia

Maldives

Oman

Pakistan

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Turkey

Turkmenistan

U. A.

Emirates

Uzbekistan

Israel Armenia

Georgia

* Kazakhstan

* Lebanon

Philippines

Russia (less

than 10%)

East Asia West Asia Southeast Asia South Asia North Asia

China

Hong Kong

Japan

Mongolia

North Korea

South Korea

Bahrain

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Turkey

United Arab

Emirates

Yemen

Brunei

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

(Burma)

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Russia (east of

the Ural

Mountains)

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Source # 1: Countries of Asia by Region

* Countries with a 50/50 religious split

12 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

Yemen

From CIA Atlas courtesy of the General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin

Source # 3: Physical Map of Asia

©InspirEd Educators, Inc. 13

Source # 4: Political Map of Asia

14 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

LOCATION:

MOVEMENT:

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION:

PLACE:

REGION:

DIRECTIONS: During your study of Asia, record examples of each theme of geography on the organizer below:

©InspirEd Educators, Inc. 15

Springboard:

Students should read “It’s Absolutely Relative” and answer the questions. (Ricki could not describe the location of her place. She might

have told Mattie her address or given specific directions with

street names and/or specific landmarks to guide her.)

Examining Asia

Objective: The student will use absolute and relative location to identify some of the important geographic features of Asia.

Materials: It’s Absolutely Relative (Springboard handout) Physical Map of Asia (from page 12 – handout)

Where in the World? (handout)

Terms to know: absolute location - latitude and longitude of a place relative location - description of a place in terms of other places or landmarks plateau - high, level tableland peninsula - land surrounded by water on three sides isthmus - a narrow strip of land connecting two larger bodies of land

archipelago - a chain of islands strait - narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water gulf - an area of water partly enclosed by land

Procedure:

· During discussion of the Springboard, explain that an address is an exact, or in

geographic terms, absolute location, while directions given in terms of other places or

landmarks describe relative location. Have the student(s) suggest how exact and

relative location could be used to described places on a map (Latitude and

longitude are used to describe absolute location, and land features, direction words, boundaries, etc. describe relative location.). Go on to explain that in this

lesson the student(s) will complete a location scavenger hunt.

· Using an atlas, the map from the previous lesson, the Internet, or other sources, the student(s) should work individually or in small groups to complete the “Where in the World?” handout.

· Then, using their maps, the student(s) can play a game, providing location clues and having other students and/or the teacher or parent guess. For example: “It’s a

desert located in southwestern Mongolia,” or “It’s a plateau located at about 20°N

and 80°W.” (For individualized instruction both the student and teacher can complete the activity and play against each other.)

· Then have the student(s) make some generalizations about the geography of Asia. (Possible generalizations include: Asia is very large with diverse landforms, it has many water sources, possibly rugged terrain due to the many mountains ranges,

has both mainland and island countries, etc.)

· For lesson closure or homework, have the student(s) add examples from this lesson to their “Asian Geography” organizer.

16 ©InspirEd Educators, Inc.

One day at lunch Ricki asks Mattie, “You want to come over after

school today?”

“Sure, that would be cool. Just tell me you live.”

“It’s just a few blocks from the park.”

“Well, that doesn’t tell me much! A few blocks in which direction? Is it

north of the park, south, east, west, northeast, southwest? It matters, you

know.”

“I think it’s southeast of the park, but I’m not sure. I WOULD like you

to come over, though.”

“That would be nice, but it would help a lot if I knew where to come

over to! Can you be a bit more specific?”

“Well, our apartment is two doors down from the little grocery store on

the corner. You know the one I mean, don’t you?”

“How should I know where the little grocery store is if I don’t even

know if it’s north, south, east, or west of the park? Can’t you be more

helpful about this?”

“O.K. Here’s the thing. If you leave school and turn right, then left, and

then left again, and then two more rights, you’ll get there.”

“And how many blocks do I go before making each of those turns?”

“It depends. Sometimes it’s one block and sometimes it’s three. I don’t

think it’s ever any more than that, though.”

“UGH! This is SO FRUSTRATING!”

Why do you think Mattie became frustrated by this conversation?

What could Ricki have told Mattie that might have been more helpful?

Explain TWOTWOTWOTWO ways Ricki might have directed Mattie to her house.