UNIT 0

Back to Basics

Geography

History

Time

World History (Advanced/Standard)

Periods 2, 4, 5, 6, 7

2

Vocabulary

1. Earth: The planet on which we live.

2. Continent: A large mass (area) of land above sea level.

3. Region – An area that has its own definable characteristics but not necessarily its own boundaries.

4. Country: A nation with its own government, occupying a specific territory.

5. State: A nation or territory within an organized political community under one government.

6. County: A smaller division of a state.

7. City: An area within a state with a name, specific boundaries, and local government.

8. Ocean: A very large body of salt water.

9. Latitude – Imaginary lines that run horizontally across the globe. They divide North and South. They are parallel and equidistant. The most important one is the Equator.

10. Longitude – Imaginary lines that run vertically across the globe. They divide East and West. They converge at the poles. The most important one is the Prime Meridian.

11. Hemisphere – Half of the earth; divided north and south OR east and west.

12. Abstract – Existing as an idea; cannot be touched.

13. Time – The indefinite (uncertain) continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future; abstract idea

14. History – The study of past events, especially human affairs.

15. Timeline – A way of displaying a list of events in chronological (first to last) order.

16. Historiography – How history is written and interpreted.

Vocabulary Practice

Directions: Visually represent the following vocabulary words in relation to each other in the space provided. Be sure to use colors in order to better show your visual.

#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7

#1, 2, 8

#1, 9, 10

#1, 11

#15 (draw vertically)

CONTINENTS

OCEANS

· The capital of the United States of America is ________________________________________________________________________

· The capital of Alabama is ________________________________________________________________________

· The capital of Greene County is ________________________________________________________________________

Basic Notes

Recap of History, Time, and Geography

Annotations

I. History

· What: The study of past human events.

· Importance: It is an attempt to analyze past events in order to understand the present so that you can make decisions for the future.

· History is about causation (cause and effect – how one thing leads to another)

· A B C

· Historiography We tend to look at history through the winner’s point of view (POV)

· We do not always get the loser’s perspective (POV), so we do not get the full story.

· “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” – George Orwell

II. Time

· What: The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future.

· It is abstract (cannot be touched; exists only as a thought/idea)

· Importance: It is a way of defining and organizing the world we live in.

· Time is measured with clocks, calendars, timelines, etc.

· “Lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin

· Time is represented by change.

· Philosophical questions about Time:

· What is time, outside of clocks?

· Does time exist if nothing is changing?

· Was there time before the Universe’s existence?

III. Timelines

· What: A visual representation of the passage of time on a line

· Importance: Timelines are the basic tools of History because they keep track of historical events.

· A good, basic timeline must have:

1. Title: Tells what the timeline is about

2. Markers: Set dates to guide events

3. Events: Things that have happened

4. Event Dates: Dates of events

IV. Geography

· What: It is the study of physical features of the earth and its people.

· “geo-” = Earth in Greek; “-graphy” = study of”

· Importance: Part of geography is human activity, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries

· We study geography in History because:

· It affects where people live.

· Good weather and soil good farming

2. It affects how wars are fought.

· Types of weapons used.

3. It affects how people interact with each other.

· People trade with one another spread of culture

4. It affects how you think about the world.

V. Maps

· What: A visual representation of an area of land or water.

· Importance: They allow us to understand where we are and why we are there, including the circumstances surrounding certain events.

· Maps are the basic tools of geography.

· There are many different map projections (representations) of the earth because it is difficult to take a globe (which is 3D) and flatten it out on a map (normally a 2D surface).

· The way a map looks depends on who is drawing it – there is only ever ONE POINT OF VIEW on a map.

· This affects the way you see the world (i.e., bigger/on top = more important)

· We normally use the Mercator Projection Map (created in 1569)

· It was made for European exploration.

· Most maps are Eurocentric (Europe is in the middle and on top).

· European countries are seen as bigger than they actually are.

· A good basic map needs the following:

1. Title: tells what the map is about

2. Legend/Key: describes symbols or colors

3. Orientation: Compass showing directions

VI. Orientation (Direction)

· What: Directions on a map.

· Importance: The orientation helps you to understand where you are looking.

· Cardinal directions: The main points on a compass (4 points)

· North, South, East, West (N, S, E, W)

· Compass rose: The cardinal directions and their middle points (32 points)

· Main points: N, S, E, W, Northeast (NE), Southeast (E), Southwest (SW), Northwest (NW)

“History”

Source: http://www.siena.edu/pages/3289.asp

Annotations

Part I: What Is History?

History is the analysis and interpretation (point of view) of the human past that enables us to study continuity and change over time. It is an act of both investigation and imagination that seeks to explain how people have changed over time. Historians use all forms of evidence to examine, interpret, revisit, and reinterpret the past. These include not just written documents, but also oral communication and objects such as buildings, artifacts, photographs, and paintings.

Historians are trained in the methods of discovering and evaluating these sources, and the challenging task of making historical sense out of them. Nevertheless, historians do not always agree on interpretations of the past. The debated differences help expand and enhance our understanding of human development.

 

Part II: Why Study History?

History is a means to understand the past and present.  The different interpretations of the past allow us to see the present differently and therefore imagine—and work towards—different futures.   Through the study of history we can investigate and interpret why society developed as it has and determine what influences have affected the past and present and shape the future. It helps one to understand the immense complexity of our world and provides insights to help cope with the problems and possibilities of the present and future. History also provides a sense of identity to understand the collective past that has have made us what we are today. In one sense history is the only thing that is real. The way in which people identify and interact with one another is by and large a consequence of history, which shapes and conditions individuals and societies whether they fully understand it or not.

History is also a bridge to other disciplines (subjects). In order to understand the other humanities (academic subjects that study human cultures, such as literature) and the sciences one needs an historical overview. Writers, artists, scientists, politicians and everyday people all are conditioned by the historical milieu (environment) in which they lived. Historical knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding the world in which we live.

History is magister vitae, or "a teacher of life." History prepares us to live more humanely in the present and to meet the challenges of the future because it provides us with understanding of the human condition. History is a means of disseminating (spreading) and comprehending the wisdom and folly (foolishness) of our forebears (ancestors).

History is fun. History fulfills our desire to know and understand ourselves and our ancestors. History allows one to vicariously (indirectly) experience countless situations and conditions, which stimulates the imagination and creativity. It also trains its students to read intelligently, think critically, and write effectively.

Reading Questions: Answer in complete sentences on your own paper. Be sure to prove yourself using lines from the article, when possible.

1. In your own words, what is history? Give proof.

2. In your own words, why is it important that we study history? (Give at least 4 reasons). Give proof.

3. In one paragraph (6 sentences minimum), answer the following: How does studying history affect you?

“Maps”

Source: http://mentalfloss.com/article/19364/3-controversial-maps

Mercator Projection Map Gall-Peters Projection Map

Controversial Maps: The One Where Greenland and Africa are the Same Size Annotations

In 1973, Arno Peters, a German filmmaker and journalist, called a press conference to denounce the widely accepted map of the world known as the “Mercator Map.” Peters' position was that the Mercator Projection—a projection (presentation of an image) first developed in 1569 by cartographer (map-maker) Gerardus Mercator—was not only inaccurate, but downright racist. Peters pointed out that the Mercator map has a distortion (deformation) in the northern hemisphere, making North American and Eurasian countries appear much larger than they actually are. For example, Greenland and Africa are shown as roughly the same size, although in reality Africa is about fourteen times larger. In contrast, the regions along the equator—Africa, India, and South America, to name a few—appear smaller, especially when seen next to the distorted northern half of the map. It was Peters' belief that this error led many in the developed world to ignore the struggles of the larger, poorer nations near the equator. Of course Peters had a suggestion on how to fix this problem—his own map. The Peters Projection map claimed to show the world in a more accurate, equal-area fashion.

Because Peters' map showed the size of developing nations (poor countries) more accurately, charitable organizations that worked in those regions quickly gave him their endorsement (approval). Eventually his map became so well received that some were calling for an all-out ban on the Mercator map, believing it to be an outmoded symbol of colonialism. The thing is, cartographers agreed that the Mercator map was outdated, inaccurate, and wasn't the best way to represent the world's landmasses. They had been calling for the use of a new projection since the 1940s.

One of the reasons experts wanted to move away from the Mercator was because of the distortion. However, they also understood that it was distorted for good reason. The Mercator map was intended as a navigational tool for European mariners (sailors), who could draw a straight line from Point A to Point B and find their bearings (directions; way) with little trouble. Because it was made for European navigators (pilot) , it was actually helpful to show Europe larger than it really was. It wasn't a political statement, but a decision made purely for ease-of-use. However, the biggest insult to cartographers was the Peters projection itself. Peters claimed to have created the projection, when in fact, it was essentially the same thing as devised in 1855 by a cartographer named James Gall. Many have recognized this similarity and now you'll often see Peters' map called “The Gall-Peters Projection.”…

“Dreaming Upside Down”

by Tom Peterson

Annotations

I dreamed the other night that all the maps in the world had been turned upside down. Library atlases, roadmaps of Cincinnati, wall-sized maps in the war rooms of the great nations, even antique maps with such inscriptions as "Here be Dragons" were flipped over. What had been north was now south, east was west. Like a glob of melting vanilla ice cream, Antarctica now capped schoolroom globes.

In my dream, a cloud of anxieties closed around me. The United States was now at the bottom. Would we have to stand upside-down, causing the blood to rush to our heads? Would we need suction-cup shoes to stay on the planet, and would autumn leaves fall up? No, I remembered, an apple once bopped Newton on the head – no need to worry about these things.

Other things troubled me more. Now that we're at the bottom, would our resources and labor be exploited (abused) by the new top? Would African, Asian, and Latin American nations structure (arrange) world trade to their advantage?

Would my neighbors and I have two-dollars-a-day seasonal jobs on peach and strawberry plantations? Would the women and children work from dusk to dawn to scratch survival from the earth of California and Virginia? Would the fruit we picked be shipped from New Orleans and New York for children in Thailand and Ethiopia to hurriedly eat with their cereal so they wouldn't miss the school bus? Would our children, then, spend the morning, not in school, but fetching water two miles away and the afternoon gathering wood for heating and cooking? Would a small ruling class in this country send their daughters and sons to universities in Cairo and Buenos Aires?

Would our economy be dependent upon the goodwill and whims of, say, Brazil? Would Brazil send war planes and guns to Washington, D.C. to assure our willingness to pick apples and tobacco for export while our children went hungry? Would Brazil and Vietnam fight their wars with our sons in our country? Would we consider revolution?

If we did revolt, would the Filipino government plot to put their favorite U.S. general in power, and then uphold him with military aid?

Would we work in sweatshops manufacturing radios for the Chinese? Would our oil be shipped in tankers to Southeast Asia to run their cars, air-conditioning and microwave ovens while most of our towns didn’t even have electricity? …

In my dream, I saw child crying in Calcutta (large city in India). Her parents wouldn't buy her any more video games until her birthday. I saw her mother drive to the supermarket and load her cart with frozen and junk food, vegetables, cheese, meat, and women's magazines.

I also saw a mother in Houston (large city in Texas) baking bread in an earthen oven. She had been crying because there were no more beans for her family. One of her children listlessly (without energy/enthusiasm) watched her. He was a blond boy, about six years old. He slowly turned his empty, haunting gaze toward me.

At that point I awoke with a gasp. I saw I was in my own bed, in my own house. It was just a bad dream. I drifted back to sleep, thinking, "It’s all right, I'm still on top."

Thank God!

“Timelines”

Basic Timeline

Timeline Practice

Using the information given in class, create timeline in the space below. Be sure to include the basics.

A.

B.

C.

“Math”

Understanding Conversions: Fractions to decimals to percentages

Using the information given in class, convert the following using a calculator.

FRACTION

DECIMAL (divide first number by the second number)

PERCENTAGE (multiply decimal by 100)

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

Understanding Graphs: Visually representing percentages

Using the information given in class, graph the percentages. Be sure to organize your axis.

C

A

D

B