Resources for History and Geography

Linking Words and HG Basic Vocab

History Resources

Human Migrations

 Humanity Begins

This introductory chapter is about prehistory which began with the appearance of the first humans, around 2.5 million years ago.

A “human” is anyone who belongs to the genus Homo (Latin for “man”). Scientists still don’t know exactly when or how the first humans evolved, but they’ve identified a few of the oldest ones.

Man appeared on the African continent. This is why Africa is known as the ‘cradle of humanity’. Human-like animals that walked upright are known as hominids.

One of the earliest known humans is Homo habilis, or “handy man,” who lived about 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago in Eastern and Southern Africa. Another early human is Homo erectus, the “upright man” who ranged from Southern Africa all the way to modern-day China and Indonesia from about 1.89 million to 110,000 years ago.

Video from YouTube about Human Evolution (6m):

What Is Evolution & types of HUMANS | Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kids (click on link if video does not work)

 

Neolithic Man

Site for activity about one of the first settlements:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/prehistoric-art/neolithicart/neolithic-sites/a/atalhyk

Short video about Stonehenge a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England:

Video about Catalhoyuk:

The Fertile Crescent

The first states developed in the fertile crescent of the Middle East.

Follow this link for a map of the fertile crescent:

https://www.thoughtco.com/fertile-crescent-117266

The Fertile Crescent Intro

Mesopotamia witnessed the creation of the first city-states which were controlled by kings who fixed the rules. In Egypt, the territory was organized around the Nile under the authority of an all-powerful ruler – the pharaoh. His people considered him to be a god and constructed temples, palaces and pyramids in his honour.

Information about the location of Uruk:

https://www.worldhistory.org/uruk/

Early Villages

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was one of the oldest and longest lasting world civilizations. It was located along the Nile River in the northeast part of Africa and lasted for over three thousand years. The Ancient Egyptian pyramids are some of the most impressive structures built by humans in ancient times. Many of the pyramids still survive today for us to see and explore.

Link to a site for information about the pyramids:

https://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egyptian_pyramids.php

Founders, Beliefs and Citizenship in the Mediterranean during the Millennium Before Christ

 

The Romans invented myths to explain the foundation of their capital city, Rome. These myths gave Rome a divine origin and linked their history into Greek mythology. These myths were first transmitted orally then from the end of the Republic written down by poets such as Virgil. According to them, Rome was founded in 753 BC.

Originally Rome was a monarchy but in 509 BC a revolt overthrew the last king and Rome became a republic.Under the Republic, Rome became the capital of a huge empire. When Julius Caesar, victor of the war with the Gauls, was nominated dictator for life in 44BC, a group of senators assassinated him because they feared the return of monarchy. By 27 BC, when Augustus ended the Republic, the Roman Empire extended throughout the whole Mediterranean and the Romans used myths to justify their rule.The_Roman_EmpireWatch first 1m30 for a little introduction to the myth of Romulus and Remus:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qk0F2y_BhU

The Roman Empire

Link to video explaining 5 important things about the Roman Empire:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9bcohqsTGk

 

Ancient Greece

This chapter is about Ancient Greece and in particular the city-state of Athens where the first democracy in the world developed. The word used to describe a city-state was a polis and the city-states or polis operated independently of each other and often fought wars against each other.

PowerPoint about Ancient Athens:

6°OIB ancient athens

Class handout:

6°OIB athens handout

Class/Homework exercise:

6°OIB Athens Homework

Video about Ancient Greece (9mins):

 

Link to video about Ancient Greece:

 

 

 

 

 

Geography Resources

Living in Cities

Useful vocabulary

Settlement: name of a place in which people live, it could be a small hamlet or village or a large town or city.

 

1) World’s largest cities:

2) What is urban sprawl?

This video helps you understand how urban sprawls describes the way a city spreads outwards as it grows.

 

3) Facts about the largest shanty town in Nairobi: Kibera (from https://www.kibera.org.uk/#)

There are approximatly 2.5 million slum dwellers in about 200 settlements in Nairobi representing 60% of the Nairobi population and occupying just 6% of the land. Kibera houses about 250,000 of these people. Kibera is the biggest slum in Africa and one of the biggest in the world.

The average size of shack in this area is 12ft x 12ft built with mud walls, a corrugated tin roof with a dirt or concrete floor. The cost is about KES 700 per Month (£6). These shacks often house up to 8 or more with many sleeping on the floor.

Only about 20% of Kibera has electricity.

Until recently Kibera had no water and it had to be collected from the Nairobi dam. The dam water is not clean and causes typhoid and cholera. Now there are two mains water pipes into Kibera, one from the municipal council and one from the World Bank

In most of Kibera there are no toilet facilities. One latrine (hole in the ground) is shared by up to 50 shacks.

Kibera is near the industrial area of Nairobi where up to 50% of the available workforce are employed (usually in fairly unskilled jobs). However, there is still an unemployment rate of 50%

4) Life in a shanty town, Nairobi (these places are also called informal settlements):

A more challenging video about Kibera – the largest slum in Nairobi (9m):

 

5) What is a shanty town? (example from Mumbai in India):

 

Spaces of Low Population Density

Introduction

In this chapter you will learn about how certain places in the world have natural constraints that pose a challenge for the people who live there. The word constraint means a limitation or restriction. In geography a natural constraint is something that people must adapt to in order to be able to inhabit a place such as living on a mountain or a in a hot dry desert.

Document and map for Geography Chapter 3:

6° Geography Chp 3

Vocabulary exercises for Geography Chapter 3:

Geography chp3 Vocabulary

Adapting to a space with constraints summary exercise:

Adapting to constraints exercises

Living in a desert case study:

Few places on earth are as remote or harsh as the Namib Desert. Yet, humans and large animals have found a way to adapt to the unforgiving expanse

Link to CNN video ‘How humans and animals adapt to life in a desert‘ (5m39)

Watch the video about how people live in the coastal Namib desert in Namibia, Southern Africa.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/01/11/inside-africa-namib-desert-b-spc.cnn

Mountainous Environments case study:

Case study of how people have adapted to living in the Alps through the example of Val d’Isere.

20210119084424574

Living in an Agricultural Space

In this chapter you will learn about the different types of agriculture practised around the planet. Farming is particularly important in poorer countries where most people live in the countryside.

What is the different between Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture?

Geography Chp 4 Vocabulary

Geography Chp4 Text

Map showing different types of farming in Europe:

Ch 4 Farming in Europe 1

The future of farming: Vertical Farming in the city