Geo Orange Maps!

Geography got a little messy today.  After studying information on the Ring of Fire, we drew the continents on an orange and then tried to flatten the peel onto a flat surface.  The purpose of this exercise was to show how difficult it is for cartographers to accurately portray the earth's surface on a flat map.  In fact, as we will find out tomorrow, it seems to be impossible.  

Homework: Read sections 3 and 4 of the packet on plate tectonics by Friday.  

Student Council Assembly

I thought we would not have class today due to the Student Government Assembly.  Therefore, you should have section 1 and 2 of the packet I gave you on tectonic plates finished for Wednesday.

Homework: Finish section 1 and 2 of packet on tectonic plates.  

Finishing maps

Everyone did a great job finishing the maps in class today. I showed them to your parents at Open House. We will talk about the earthquake in the Washington DC area tomorrow.

Homework: read the two page article on the earthquake and write a one paragraph response on the following question: Why was it so unusual that an earthquake hit the Washington DC area.  Don't just say because it hasn't happened in a long time.  Do some research if you need more information.  You must use the word "anomaly" in your paragraph.  Look it up if you don't know what it means.  

Parts of a map

Today in class we covered the parts of a map.  See powerpoint below.  We covered longitude and latitude. You can review longitude and latitude using the the two websites below and of course don't forget the longitude and latitude video!

Tomorrow you will finish your maps of your island.

Homework: review longitude and latitude in the text book on page 26 - 29.  


www.findlatitudeandlongitude.com

www.satsig.net/lat_long.htm

5 Themes of Geography

Today during class we talked about the 5 Themes of Geography.  Is the song still stuck in your head????  Please review the Powerpoint below if you missed any of the information.



Homework is to read pages 10 -14 in your text book and answer the questions on the review sheet regarding the 5 Themes.  

7 Billion is the Answer. What is the question?

We started class today with the challenge of thinking if 7 billion is the answer then what is the question.  The question is: What will the earth's population be by Halloween of 2011?

The class discussed whether we should be worried about this number and why it might cause a problem for the people who live on the earth.

Please review the following reading if you did not have a chance to finish it.  You may also review the videos we watched.







There is NO Homework over the weekend!!!! 

Welcome to 8th Grade Geography!

Welcome to the Perlis 8th Grade World Geography Blog!  I am very excited to have a blog this year.  


This will be the place where you come to find out what we did in class, especially if you are absent.  You can also print copies of handouts and even watch some of the videos we will use in class.  You can always access of list of your assignments on Net Class, but the blog will give you a bit more information about how to do the assignments.  


This is going to be a very exciting year in World Geography.  Many social scientists feel that the population of the world will reach an unprecedented 7 billion in the year 2011.  Is this something we should be worried about?  


Our theme throughout the year will be to see how these 7 billion people live, where they live, and how we use our planet and its resources.  


Homework for tonight: is to reread your syllabus with your parents and have them sign the sheet attached.  Also, you need to access the blog, complete the survey on the right hand side, and sign the sheet saying both you and your parents accessed the blog.