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8th Social Studies
8th Social Studies
Objective:
Identify the characteristics of the Eastern Hemisphere as geography, climate, and the
places that are part of it to analyze different important aspects of the world.
Learning Objective: Recognizes vocabulary related to the Eastern Hemisphere and the main
characteristics of the places found there.
Important facts...
The equator is an imaginary line drawn on maps and globes. The equator runs
east to west, it divides the world into two hemispheres:
- The Northern Hemisphere - it is the half that is north of the equator.
- The Southern Hemisphere - it is the half south of the equator.
The prime meridian also divides the world into two hemispheres:
- The Eastern Hemisphere - it is half of the world east of the prime meridian.
- The Western Hemisphere is the half of the world west of the prime
meridian.
EUROPE
Europe is one of the smallest continents in the world. (Only Australia is
smaller)
Europe has more people than any other continent except Asia.
It has some of the best farmland in the world.
The most famous mountains in Europe are the Alps, they are known for
their snowy beauty. Many rivers in Europe begin in the Alps.
Europe rivers are major routes of transportation.
The ocean is another major route of transportation for the nations of
Europe.
Europe is a peninsula, which means it is surrounded on three sides by
water.
The Atlantic Ocean has a great effect on Europes climate. Many places in
northern Europe are mild, even though they are far north. This is because
they are kept warm by breezes from a mild ocean current called the Gulf
Stream. Currents are like rivers that flow through oceans. The Gulf Stream
is a warm current because it starts at the equator.
RUSSIA
It is the largest country in the world. It stretches across Europe and Asia.
The capital and the largest city of Russia is Moscow.
Part of Russia is called European Russia, and part is called Asian Russia.
There are no rivers that connect European Russia and Asian Russia. So
railroads became a popular form of transportation. Today, you can take a
trip by train across Russia.
The Ural Mountains divide Europe from Asia.
The landscape and climate of Russia change across the country. In
russias far north, where it is bitterly cold, only tiny plants can grow. This
area is called the tundra.
Russia has the worlds largest area of forest.
South Asia
The climate depends on special winds that are called monsoons. These
winds blow from different directions at different times of the year.
NORTH AFRICA
The climate of North Africa is one of the hottest and driest in the world.
Very few animals and plants can live there because the soil is dry.
Much of the Sahara is covered by sand dunes, which are hills of sand. But
other parts are made up of rocky plateaus.
Indicador 2
Distinguish important facts of the Soviet Union
and Europe to understand how Soviet power
ended.
Protesting Communism
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the nations of East Europe
remained poor when people protested against communism, they
were put in jail.
In 1956, people in Hungary protested for more freedom Soviet
tanks moved to stop it.
In 1968 people in Czechoslovakia wanted to change their
government Once again the Soviets moved in and stayed in
power.
In 1981 Polands workers formed a union called Solidarity. A union
is a group of workers who get together for a special reason. They
wanted higher pay and free elections in Poland.
Russia today
Following the fall of communism Russia had many
changes:
Boris Yeltsin replaced Gorbachev and became the
president of Russia.
Instead of just one political party (the Communist Party),
there were many political parties.
The Russian government sold government-owned
businesses to private citizen. The Russian government
hoped that these changes would help the Russian
economy get stronger.