European Union

The European Union grew out of a desire for peace in a war-torn and divided continent. Five years after World War II ended, France and Germany came up with a plan to ensure their two countries would never go to war against each other again. The result was a deal signed by six nations to pool their coal and steel resources in 1950.

Seven years later a treaty signed in Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) - the foundations of today's European Union. The UK was one of three new members to join in the first wave of expansion in 1973. Today the EU has 28 member states with a total population of more than 500 million.

Watch What is the European Union? (2.00)

Write a paragraph and explain in your own words:

What is the European Union including WHEN and WHY it was formed. 

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, also called the U.K., consists of a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe. 

It is a unique country made up of four nations: 

England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. 

Sports and literature are among the United Kingdom's cultural claims to fame. Soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in Britain. And the U.K. has produced many great writers, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Robert Burns. J.K. Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter books, is British.

Britain's system of government has developed over many centuries. Kings once ruled with advice from a council of religious leaders and nobles. 

Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952.

This council eventually expanded into the Parliament, which now passes all the country's laws. Today, the monarch (which can be a king or queen) has no real power but is the ceremonial head of state.

Take a few minutes to watch

"The Difference between the United Kingdom, 

Great Britain and England Explained"

Watch this 4 minute video 

Why Do We Still Have Monarchies?

I published this blog late so there is not comment required. 

Europe's Peninsulas

Europe is the second-smallest continent. Only Oceania has less landmass. 

Europe's main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, located in southern Europe, and the Scandinavian located in northern Europe. The link between these peninsulas has made Europe a dominant economic, social, and cultural force throughout recorded history.

Europe extends from the island nation of Iceland in the west to the Ural Mountains of Russia in the east. Europe's northernmost point is the archipelago of Norway, and it reaches as far south as the islands of Greece and Malta. 

Europe is sometimes described as a peninsula of peninsulas. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Europe is a peninsula of the Eurasian supercontinent and is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas to the south. 

Extending to the south from central Europe into the Mediterranean Sea, the Balkan Peninsula (colored dark gray in the map above) includes the countries of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and the geographical/political region of European Turkey.

Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain in the south.  The Iberian peninsula divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea on the east.  Ships enter the Mediterranean from the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar.  At this point only about three fourths of a mile separates Europe from Africa. 

Further east the boot-shaped Italian peninsula extends into the Mediterranean  At the far southeastern corner of Europe, the Balkan Peninsula divided into several countries, with Greece at the tip.

The large European peninsula is divided into several smaller peninsulas, extending into the surrounding seas. In the north, the Scandinavian peninsula extends across the Arctic Circle.  This peninsula is divided into Norway and Sweden. Denmark is located on the Jutland peninsula, reaching up toward Scandinavia.
Watch 25 Facts about Europe (4.05) 
Begin to learn the first three regions of Europe:
Nordic Countries, Western and Southern Regions. 

Comment: Watch the Geography of Europe (5.17)
and comment on the blog with five facts that you learned from this particular video. 

 

Rainforest and Island

Congo Basin Rainforest

The Congo Rainforest is the life support system for millions of people in the 'green heart' of Africa. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, 40 million people depend on the forest. Like all large intact forests, it's also crucially important for regulating the local and global climate.

As the world's second largest rainforest, the Congo Rainforest is also home to some of Africa's most iconic wildlife including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and forest elephants.

Madagascar

Madagascar Island, isolated from the rest of the world, has unique flora and fauna. Like Australia, it has eucalyptus trees, baobabs, and also about 170 endemic species of palms, 900 species of orchids, and carnivorous pitcher plants. 

There are no elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, lions, leopards or antelopes like in Africa. 

 Animals include the famous lemurs, but also giant centipedes, mongooses, crocodiles, iguanas, geckos, aye-ayes, and hundreds of species of frogs. There are also 200 bird species including 70 singing bird and parrot species; kingfishers, eagles, roller birds, owls and falcons. And then of course, the 150 species of chameleons including the bright green Jackson's chameleon and the pygmy stump-tailed chameleon.

This brief video highlights Madagascar. 

Watch this 9 minute video about the rainforest and answer the questions on your worksheet. 

Play this game and when you're gone PRINT out your results, write your name on them and bring it to class. 

Refugees

Between July 2011 and mid-2012, a severe drought affected the entire East Africa region. Said to be "the worst in 60 years", the drought caused a severe food crisis across Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya that threatened the livelihood of 9.5 million people. 

Many refugees from southern Somalia fled to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where crowded, unsanitary conditions together with severe malnutrition led to a large number of deaths. 

Other countries in East Africa, including Sudan, South Sudan and parts of Uganda, were also affected by a food crisis.

Why did it happen?     

Weather conditions over the Pacific, including an unusually strong La Niña, have interrupted seasonal rains for two consecutive seasons. The rains failed in 2011 in Kenya and Ethiopia, and for the previous two years in Somalia. 

The lack of rain led to crop failure and widespread loss of livestock, as high as 40%–60% in some areas, which decreased milk production as well as exacerbating a poor harvest. 

As a result, cereal prices rose to record levels while livestock prices and wages fell, reducing purchasing power across the region. 


The crisis is compounded by rebel activity around southern Somalia from a terrorist group.

Some reports of 260,000 deaths from the drought in Somalia alone between 2011–2012. 

Within the camps, infant mortality had risen threefold in the few months leading up to July 2011. The overall mortality rate was 7.4 out of 10,000 per day, which was more than seven times as high as the "emergency" rate of 1 out of 10,000 per day.

By 15 September 2011, more than 920,000 refugees from Somalia had reportedly fled to neighboring countries, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia.

 At the height of the crisis in June 2011, the United Nations base in Dadaab, Kenya hosted at least 440,000 people in three refugee camps, though the maximum capacity was 90,000.


More than 30 percent of children were suffering from acute malnutrition; more than two adults or four children were dying of hunger each day for every group of 10,000 people.
Credit: New York Times

Here is a 4 minute video about the drought in the Horn of Africa. 

Watch this two minute video to fully understand the difference between a refugee and an internally displaced person. 

Watch: Life in the largest refugee camp in the world. (3 minutes) 

Here are three blog posts written by my daughter a few years ago when she worked for World Vision. They are very short so take the time to read all three. Make sure to click "Read More" so that you can read each one in its entirety. 

The current state of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. 

Comment: Can you put yourself in Michele's shoes and imagine how she felt as she interviewed refugees and came face to face with girls who were her own age who had lived through such sadness?

South Africa

Learn  the countries in the South Africa regions.

PLAY the game to see how many African countries you know by heart!! 

South Africa, Africa's southernmost nation, is also Africa's largest and most developed economy.


Less than thirty years ago, Apartheid was a system in place in South Africa that separated people based on their race and skin color. There were laws that forced white people and black people to live and work apart from each other. Even though there were less white people than black people, apartheid laws allowed white people to rule the country and enforce the laws. 

Watch this short video about apartheid. 

Cape Point marks the south western tip of the African continent, with some of the most breathtaking ocean and coastal scenery in the world. Cape Point marks the south western tip of the African continent, with some of the most breathtaking ocean and coastal scenery in the world. 

This is where two oceans meet – the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warmer Indian Ocean waters on the east.

Watch: Two oceans DONT mix! (1.23)




Comment: Do your own research and share one fact about the region of South Africa.

Namib & Kalahari Deserts

The Namib Desert

The Namib Desert in southwestern Africa spreads along Namibia's Atlantic coast and reaches into South Africa and Angola. 

It covers an area of 100,000 square miles, and is the world's oldest desert.

 Rose sand dunes punctuate the landscape, some over 900 feet high.  

The Namib supports a variety of animal life, including two of Africa's large mammals, lions and elephants. 

The Kalahari Desert Fast Facts: 

The Kalahari Desert covers about 350, 000 square miles from the southern part of the African continent. It includes some parts of South Africa, Namibia and big part of Botswana. It merges with the Namib Desert

The Kalahari’s desert name comes from the local word ‘waterless place’. However, for the reason that the Kalahari’s sand retains water greater than some other deserts, there’s a variety of plant life in this desert.

The Kalahari is generally known as a semi-desert or savannah, as it receives some rainfall has more plants and animals than the usual dry desert.

Some of the world’s largest diamond mines can be found in the Kalahari Desert. The vast area is also a rich source of nickel, copper and coal and it is also home to several huge game reserves.

During summer time, temperatures can reach around 100 degrees, while winter weather temperatures can reach very cold ones. 

Several of the world’s most dangerous big cats can be found in the Kalahari Desert, like cheetah, lion and leopard. 

The British television line “Meerkat Manor” was made in the Kalahari Desert.

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