Middle School Geography of the World: Part 4-Middle East-Land & Culture Regions

 The goal of this class is to provide students with skills and challenge them to apply these skills to increase their understanding of the world beyond their own experience, specifically in the region of the Middle East.  Students will demonstrate mastery of over 20 concepts related to landforms, political and physical maps, history highlights and the economy. They will practice with research and analysis to make sense out of the knowledge they acquire.  Students will also sharpen their ability to form hypotheses and defend them with evidence, using a variety of thinking skills. These concepts are embedded in middle school geography learning standards.

Students will demonstrate thinking skills:  chronology, statistical analysis, source analysis. and constructing effective arguments using evidence.

National Geography Standards addressed in this course:

4	The physical and human characteristics of places	    Places and Regions
5	That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity	Places and Regions
9	The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface	Human Systems
11	The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface	Human Systems
13	How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface	Human Systems
15	How physical systems affect human systems	       Environment and Society   
18	How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.	The Uses of Geography

 I am certified as a Social Studies Teacher in my state, and have taught Social Studies (including World Geography) for over 18 years, primarily at the Middle School level.  My classes have had lots of fun and engagement with World Geography, delving into the wonders of 'oh so slightly' familiar cultures, as well as cultures that are dramatically different from the West.   Students sparkle when engaging in special projects, conversations, Kahoot Challenges, interactive games and other teaching practices designed to help our students  enjoy becoming a master of their own learning. Master's Degree (Public Policy), Bachelor's Degree (History), Teaching Certificate (State of Maryland) :  Social Studies, History, Middle School Language Arts, 30 credits beyond Master's Degree.

Students can choose from a menu of topics and formats to complete modest independent projects.  Projects are designed to give students an opportunity to practice skills we address in class. These can serve as portfolio projects to demonstrate learning.  Estimated time for independent work after each class:  30 minutes. Note that projects are designed to encourage students to explore new ideas and skills.  Projects can expand, responding to student curiosity and motivation.  We will set aside some class time for students to begin their homework project in class, when possible.  In this way, students can  easily ask clarifying questions as they proceed.  We also encourage students to practice with an online interactive puzzle game to review the names and locations of countries in the Middle East. They should also review the key terms list each week to prepare for our dazzling Kahoot in Week 4.

A student-completed map of the Middle East, 2 independent projects and a Kahoot quiz at the end of this mini-course will demonstrate mastery of skills, terms and concepts.   Student score on the Kahoot quiz is also available.

50 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.

CIA World Factbook Maps  https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/static/1c51b75f0974399446a7c1a067fa8974/europe_pol.jpg 
Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/ 
Library of Congress.  Prints and Photographs  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/ 
Smithsonian Open Access. https://www.si.edu/openaccess