Before
You Watch
Before viewing
the video programs for Workshop 4: North Africa/Southwest Asia, please read
the National Geography Standards featured
in this workshop. You may read the standards here on the Web,
in your print guide, or in Geography
for Life. We encourage you to read Geography for Life
in its entirety as you move through the workshops. It contains
further background on the National Standards, numerous examples
and rich illustrations aiding interpretation, valuable tools for
strengthening and developing lessons, and additional insight on
geography's significance to our daily lives.
The National
Geography Standards highlighted in this workshop include Standards
5, 6, 9, 13 and 14. As you read the standards, be thinking about
how they might apply in lessons you have taught.
Also, prior
to attending the workshop, you should explore the associated Key
Maps and Interactive Activities and read the Video Program Overviews
below, paying close attention to the Questions To Consider.
Video Program
Overviews: North Africa/Southwest Asia
Part 1.
Israel: Sacred Space Under Siege
North Africa/Southwest
Asia is a region characterized largely by a hot, arid climate
but also by the predominance of Islamic religion. In the region's
center lies the State of Israel, an enclave of Jewish culture
amidst Islamic State. Despite being a holy place, Jerusalem has
been the site of almost constant conflict since Israel gained
statehood in 1948. Our case study looks at the spatial distribution
of religious culture on the landscape of Jerusalem. How will the
organization of space help to determine the future of a city divided
not just between Muslims and Jews, but Christians as well?
Following
commentary on regional and human geography by Gil Latz and Susan
Hardwick, we see Ungennette Brantley Harris lead her class in
an investigation of what life is like for Palestinians living
in Israel's occupied territories. Her students explore what it
means to be a refugee and work to address the living conditions
in refugee camps.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
Featured Educator
Ms. Ungennette
Brantley Harris, ninth-grade world geography teacher, West Point
High School, West Point, Mississippi
Ungennette Brantley Harris has been teaching for the past 28 years
in the West Point School District, having received her BS from
Jackson State University and a Masters of Education from Mississippi
State University. She was selected teacher of the year in 1989
and 1999 and received the Bronze Award from Junior Achievement
for Outstanding Service in Enterprise Education. She is a member
of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance, the Mississippi Council
of Social Studies, and both the Mississippi and National Associations
of Educators. A teacher consultant for the National Geographic
Society Education Program, she is featured in our program leading
a lesson on issues related to refugee camps.
Part 2. Egypt: Water In The Desert
In Egypt,
the loss of farmland to urban development combined with the need
to feed a fast-growing population places increasing pressure on
the Nile's water. In this case study, we learn about the various
efforts to sustain an increasingly urban population by irrigating
Nile water to previously infertile areas and the complications
in doing so. We explore the government's response in encouraging
larger, more efficient commercial farms and the deliberations
of countries in the Nile watershed regarding how to approach their
limited water supply. Although Egypt strives to coordinate water
use projects, the future of its relations with upstream neighbors
remains in question as demands on the Nile increase. Relating
Egypt's geographical issues to those of other areas, we can begin
to understand the implications of urbanization and population
growth on a larger scale.
Following commentary on regional and human geography by Gil Latz
and Susan Hardwick is a classroom segment featuring teacher Cynthia
Ryan. She leads activities in map-making and role-playing to help
her students understand the gravity of present day competition
for resources in the nation of Egypt.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
Featured
Educator
Ms. Cynthia
Ryan, seventh-grade world geography teacher, Barrington Middle
School, Barrington, Rhode Island
For nearly a decade, Cynthia Ryan has been teaching seventh and
eighth grade world geography at Barrington Middle School in Rhode
Island. Prior to that she spent nine years with the public elementary
schools in Yonkers, New York. In 2000, she completed a workshop
with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and is working
to incorporate GIS into her classroom. She also attended a development
workshop for the Mission Geography curriculum developed by GENIP
and NASA at Texas A&M University. She is a member of the Rhode
Island Geography Education Alliance and, in our program, is featured
leading her class in map making and investigating resource issues
in the Nile River Valley.
