Reading the Map: Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia

Lesson Goal

Students will use latitude and longitude to find a place, say what physical, political and thematic maps are for, and name the major landforms and waters of Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia and what each did to the history they have been reading.

Key Vocabulary

Geography

The study of the earth's features and of how people live with them.

Physical map

A map that shows natural features such as mountains, rivers and seas.

Latitude

Lines that run east and west and measure how far north or south of the equator a place is.

Longitude

Lines that run through the poles and measure how far east or west of the prime meridian a place is.

Added From the Record

The book's two map lessons are general, with examples from California, the British Isles and Tang China. The regional landforms, the coordinates for Constantinople, Rome and Mecca and the one-line facts about each river and sea are added from the historical record.

Where This Goes Next

U2-L10 reviews the whole unit, and U3-L1 opens the feudal order that grew up on this European ground.