The Middle East is also known as Southwest Asia. This is because most of the region is located in the southwest corner of the Asian continent. As we progress through the class, this page will be updated with information from class on the Middle East, as well as additional resources.
Geography of the Middle East (Southwest Asia)
Middle East Physical Features Map
These are the basic physical features that we learn about in the Middle East. There are a few things that I would like to point out. First, notice that if you take the first letter of the 3 rivers we study, moving left to right (west to east), you get the word J.E.T., which is a great way to remember them. Second, remember that the Arabian Sea is part of the India Ocean. Next, look at how small the Gaza Strip is! A lot of people struggle with remembering where this is, so make sure that you spend a little bit of extra time learning this one. Lastly, notice that all of the physical features except the Gaza Strip are water. Guess that means that water is really important in the Middle East, huh?
*The Gifted/Advanced Class has a few additional features that they are learning about. I working on a way to post both maps without making it confusing, but that's not ready yet. In the meantime, if you are in the Gifted/Advanced class and you'd like a map with the extra physical features on it, please use the contact button and email me.
*The Gifted/Advanced Class has a few additional features that they are learning about. I working on a way to post both maps without making it confusing, but that's not ready yet. In the meantime, if you are in the Gifted/Advanced class and you'd like a map with the extra physical features on it, please use the contact button and email me.
Physical Features Notes
This is a copy of the information that was in the packets/on the walls of my classroom. If you move your mouse over the slideshow, you should see some arrows at the top right. You can use those arrows or the thumbnail pictures at the bottom of the presentation to move through the notes.
Middle East Political Map (Countries)
The great thing about learning the countries of the Middle East is that there are plenty of ways to help us remember them. First of all, notice that Kuwait is in the shape of a heart? Just remember, "I ♥ Kuwait!". Next, I used to always get Iraq and Iran confused. Now, I just remember "Iraq, Iran to Afghanistan, and I fell into Pakistan." Four in one, right there. Remember that "Turkey is at the Top" of the map, and "Saudi Arabia is South". A new one, suggested by a student today, is T.I.E: Turkey, Israel, and Egypt. Notice how those three countries are kind of stacked up. They line up like a tie that you wear with nice clothes, straight up and down. Hope these all help!
*As before, the gifted/advanced class has a few more countries that they are required to know, but I will not post those here to avoid confusion with my other four classes. If you require a key for that class, please contact me using the information on the contact page.
*As before, the gifted/advanced class has a few more countries that they are required to know, but I will not post those here to avoid confusion with my other four classes. If you require a key for that class, please contact me using the information on the contact page.
The Religions of the Middle East
Below is a chart containing some of the basic facts about three of the main religions that began in the Middle East region. All three of these religions are considered to be monotheistic, which means that they believe in one god. They also all trace their religious roots back to Abraham, and all three consider the city of Jerusalem very important. They have many differences as well, including different holy books, houses of worship, and beliefs about Jesus.
*sorry for the less-than-awesome handwriting. You should have seen it when I was in school. My poor teachers.
*sorry for the less-than-awesome handwriting. You should have seen it when I was in school. My poor teachers.
Ethnic groups of the Middle East
An ethnic group is a group that shares physical appearance, culture, history, food, music, ancestry, traditions, and languages. Unlike a religious group (which you can choose to be part of), you cannot change your ethnic group. We study three ethnic groups for the Middle East: the Arabs, the Persians, and the Kurds.
The Middle East Geography Unit Test Study Guide Answers
ME GEO Study Guide Answers
*DON’T FORGET TO STUDY YOUR PHYSICAL FEATURES AND POLITICAL MAPS*
reviewgamezone.com (ID#26271)
1. One country might not get enough water if a dam is built on a shared river(unequal distribution of water)
2. Judaism believes Jesus was a false prophet; Christianity believes Jesus is the Son of God and Messiah; Islam believes Jesus was an important prophet
3. Higher literacy rate means more wealth and better economy.
4. People don’t live in the desert because there’s no water
5. Desalination, drip irrigation, and hydroelectric dams are the three types of modern irrigation used in the Middle East
6. Persians live in Iran
7. Sunni’s believe the leader should be the best educated and most able; Shia(Shiites) believe that the leader should be related to Mohammed
8. The Five Pillars are the religious laws of Islam
9. Oil and natural gas are the two most important natural resources in the Middle East.
10. Judaism’s holy book is the Torah; Christianity’s holy book is the Bible; Islam’s holy book is the Qu’ron(Koran)
11. Standard of Living
12. Arabs speak Arabic; Persians speak Farsi; Kurds speak Kurdish
13. The Kurds live in the mountains of Turkey, Iraq, etc
14. The 10 Commandments are the religious laws of Judaism and Christianity
15. A religious group is a group that shares the same belief about God
16. An ethnic group is a group that shares the same culture, traditions, food, physical appearance, history and language
17. The Persian Gulf begins the shipping route for oil coming out of the Middle East
*DON’T FORGET TO STUDY YOUR PHYSICAL FEATURES AND POLITICAL MAPS*
reviewgamezone.com (ID#26271)
1. One country might not get enough water if a dam is built on a shared river(unequal distribution of water)
2. Judaism believes Jesus was a false prophet; Christianity believes Jesus is the Son of God and Messiah; Islam believes Jesus was an important prophet
3. Higher literacy rate means more wealth and better economy.
4. People don’t live in the desert because there’s no water
5. Desalination, drip irrigation, and hydroelectric dams are the three types of modern irrigation used in the Middle East
6. Persians live in Iran
7. Sunni’s believe the leader should be the best educated and most able; Shia(Shiites) believe that the leader should be related to Mohammed
8. The Five Pillars are the religious laws of Islam
9. Oil and natural gas are the two most important natural resources in the Middle East.
10. Judaism’s holy book is the Torah; Christianity’s holy book is the Bible; Islam’s holy book is the Qu’ron(Koran)
11. Standard of Living
12. Arabs speak Arabic; Persians speak Farsi; Kurds speak Kurdish
13. The Kurds live in the mountains of Turkey, Iraq, etc
14. The 10 Commandments are the religious laws of Judaism and Christianity
15. A religious group is a group that shares the same belief about God
16. An ethnic group is a group that shares the same culture, traditions, food, physical appearance, history and language
17. The Persian Gulf begins the shipping route for oil coming out of the Middle East
The History of the Middle East (Southwest Asia)
9/11
The first thing that we discuss concerning the history of the Middle East is the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. This is actually taught and discussed while we are still in the Geography Unit, but I feel it is important to educate the students about this day close to when we observe the remembrance of 9/11. We work through the timeline of events using the 9/11 memorial website, which I encourage everyone to investigate. We finish class that day watching an uplifting video about the 9/11 Boatlift. I've provided the web address for both below.
http://timeline.911memorial.org/#Timeline/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg
http://timeline.911memorial.org/#Timeline/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg
ME History Vocabulary
These are some of the words that the students will need to know throughout the unit. As we progress through the History Unit, we will add the definitions.
Partitioning : creating artificial borders
Anti-Semitism: Hatred of the Jews and the belief that they are an inferior race
Totalitarianism: Government were a dictator has complete and total control
Nationalism: Love, loyalty, and pride in your country or place that you live
Genocide: The killing of an entire race of people
Economic depression: A situation where a country has an extreme poor economy
Taliban: The radical Islamic group that controlled Afghanistan and helped al-Qaeda
Dictator: A leader with complete control who is brutal and cruel
Coalition: A group of countries whose militaries work together against a common enemy
Zionism: The belief that the Jews should have a homeland in ancient Israel/Palestine
Holocaust: The murder of millions of European Jews and other people by the Nazis
Refugee: Someone who has to leave their home because of war or natural disaster
Disenfranchise: To take power away from a group of people, usually by making it hard for them to vote
Want to review these terms in a fun way? Log in to quizlet.com using your jcss email account (first initial of first name+lastname+lunch#@jcss.us), find the ME History Vocab study set, and play some matching games.
Partitioning : creating artificial borders
Anti-Semitism: Hatred of the Jews and the belief that they are an inferior race
Totalitarianism: Government were a dictator has complete and total control
Nationalism: Love, loyalty, and pride in your country or place that you live
Genocide: The killing of an entire race of people
Economic depression: A situation where a country has an extreme poor economy
Taliban: The radical Islamic group that controlled Afghanistan and helped al-Qaeda
Dictator: A leader with complete control who is brutal and cruel
Coalition: A group of countries whose militaries work together against a common enemy
Zionism: The belief that the Jews should have a homeland in ancient Israel/Palestine
Holocaust: The murder of millions of European Jews and other people by the Nazis
Refugee: Someone who has to leave their home because of war or natural disaster
Disenfranchise: To take power away from a group of people, usually by making it hard for them to vote
Want to review these terms in a fun way? Log in to quizlet.com using your jcss email account (first initial of first name+lastname+lunch#@jcss.us), find the ME History Vocab study set, and play some matching games.
The Ottoman Empire and Partitioning (Creating Artificial Borders)
Although the Ottoman Empire lasted for more than 600 years, it is not very well known because they did not contribute much to the modern world. This is primarily because they focused so much on fighting and war, and did not value education or develop technology. When they were finally defeated in World War I, the empire was divided up by the European nations. The European nations redrew the map of the Middle East, creating new countries and new borders. This creation of new artificial borders, called partitioning, created two very big problems:
1. Partitioning separated family groups, tribes, ethnic groups, and religious groups that had lived and worked together for many years.
2. Partitioning brought together groups that didn't know each other, didn't work well together, and sometimes even hated each other.
Partitioning can be considered a major cause of many of the problems that the Middle East experiences today.
1. Partitioning separated family groups, tribes, ethnic groups, and religious groups that had lived and worked together for many years.
2. Partitioning brought together groups that didn't know each other, didn't work well together, and sometimes even hated each other.
Partitioning can be considered a major cause of many of the problems that the Middle East experiences today.
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Persian Gulf War
Invasion of Afghanistan
The Invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
Study Guide Answers for Middle East History Test
reviewgamezone.com (ID#22479)
1. The United Nations created Israel, and the Arabs opposed it
2. The Holocaust
3. A refugee is someone who has to leave their home because of war or natural disaster
4. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and it began the Persian Gulf War
5.The Ottoman Empire lost WWI and was split up after
6. The Persian Gulf War started because a) Iraq believed that Kuwait was taking too much oil, b) Iraq believed Kuwait should have been part of Iraq, and c) Iraq wanted Kuwait’s oil. Iraq was on one side and the United States was on the other
7. Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, West Bank
8. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of the Jews and the belief that they are an inferior people
9. They fight over religious differences and land
10. George W. Bush
11. Saddam Hussein was the dictator of Iraq and he invaded Kuwait
12. The European powers (mainly Britain and France) redrew the map
13. Barack Obama was the president when Bin Laden was killed
14. Political borders were redrawn and it caused many problems
15. The U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 because they thought Iraq was making WMD
16. Sunni and Shia’s fight over the leadership of Islam because they believe different things about who should be the leader. Sunnis say it should be the best educated, and Shias say it should be a relative of the prophet Mohammed
17. Arabs denied Israel’s right to exist
18. Operation Desert Storm
19. Zionism is the belief that Jews need a homeland in Israel/Palestine
20. The Taliban was the radical Islamic government of Afghanistan
21. The biggest issue between Arabs and Jews is they both believe they were promised the land by God
22. Hitler’s belief in the master race, Anti-Semitism, Totalitarianism, Racist genocide, Economic depression, and Defeat in WWI
23. The US was attacked on September 11, 2001 (9/11/01)
24.Israel won and took more land
25. WMD means Weapons of Mass Destruction; the U.S. thought Iraq/Saddam Hussein were making WMD
26. Bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan at first, but he was found in Pakistan
27. Nationalism is a love, loyalty, and pride in your country
1. The United Nations created Israel, and the Arabs opposed it
2. The Holocaust
3. A refugee is someone who has to leave their home because of war or natural disaster
4. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and it began the Persian Gulf War
5.The Ottoman Empire lost WWI and was split up after
6. The Persian Gulf War started because a) Iraq believed that Kuwait was taking too much oil, b) Iraq believed Kuwait should have been part of Iraq, and c) Iraq wanted Kuwait’s oil. Iraq was on one side and the United States was on the other
7. Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, West Bank
8. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of the Jews and the belief that they are an inferior people
9. They fight over religious differences and land
10. George W. Bush
11. Saddam Hussein was the dictator of Iraq and he invaded Kuwait
12. The European powers (mainly Britain and France) redrew the map
13. Barack Obama was the president when Bin Laden was killed
14. Political borders were redrawn and it caused many problems
15. The U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 because they thought Iraq was making WMD
16. Sunni and Shia’s fight over the leadership of Islam because they believe different things about who should be the leader. Sunnis say it should be the best educated, and Shias say it should be a relative of the prophet Mohammed
17. Arabs denied Israel’s right to exist
18. Operation Desert Storm
19. Zionism is the belief that Jews need a homeland in Israel/Palestine
20. The Taliban was the radical Islamic government of Afghanistan
21. The biggest issue between Arabs and Jews is they both believe they were promised the land by God
22. Hitler’s belief in the master race, Anti-Semitism, Totalitarianism, Racist genocide, Economic depression, and Defeat in WWI
23. The US was attacked on September 11, 2001 (9/11/01)
24.Israel won and took more land
25. WMD means Weapons of Mass Destruction; the U.S. thought Iraq/Saddam Hussein were making WMD
26. Bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan at first, but he was found in Pakistan
27. Nationalism is a love, loyalty, and pride in your country