Social Studies Grade 6 Week of 4-6-20 1. Log into Clever using your

Social Studies Grade 6

Week of 4-6-20

1. Log into Clever using your Brockton username and password

2. Log into Newsela

3. Copy and paste this link into your browser: https://newsela.com/subject/other/2000222219

4. Complete readings and activities.

If you can’t access Newsela or the Text Sets, copies of the readings are saved as PDFs on the BPSMA

website under Grade 6 Social Science. The Reading titles and directions are below.

Readings:

• Political Map of Africa

• Africa: Physical Geography

Part I: Map of Africa

Directions: Review the political map of Africa. Follow the reading protocols below:

In PINK Highlight any countries you have NEVER heard of before.

In BLUE Highlight countries you HAVE heard of before.

Study the map and then quiz yourself by filling in a blank map of

Africa https://www.mapsofworld.com/africa/africa-outline-map.html

You don't have to print it out.

You can also quiz yourself using this online quiz: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3163

PART II: Africa's Physical Geography

Directions:

1. Complete a KWL Chart before reading the article. Complete the "KNOW" and "WANT TO KNOW"

section before reading. What do you know about the physical geography (landforms and bodies of

water) of Africa? What do you want to know?

https://static.ess.com/uploads/KWL-Chart-Template.pdf

(You don't have to print this - you can easily make your own on a piece of paper)

2. Read the article entitled "Africa: Physical Geography"

Remember you can change the reading level to one you are comfortable with.

As you are reading, follow the following reading protocols:

Highlight in PINK any words that you do not know.

Highlight in GREEN any words you do know or have heard of before.

3. Start a vocabulary journal (this can be done on the computer or on a piece of paper). Write and

define the following terms in your journal:

Desert Savanna Sahara Ethiopian Highlands

Sahel Swahili Coast Rain Forest African Great Lakes

4. Writing:

Think about the vocabulary terms you just defined. Choose TWO to compare and contrast. Describe

their similarities and differences in two paragraphs, using evidence from the article to support your

answers.

5. Art Extension:

Choose 5 terms from your vocabulary list. Draw a picture of each of them on a piece of paper or

next to your definitions in your vocabulary journal. If you have coloring supplies, add color for

detail.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Political map of Africa

This map of Africa shows the following

countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,

Egypt, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali,

Niger, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Senegal,

Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra

Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso,

Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon,

Equatorial Guinea, Central African

Republic, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia,

Somaliland, Gabon, Congo, Democratic

Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya,

Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Angola,

Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana,

Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Madagascar and

Mauritius.

By Newsela staff on 03.19.20

Word Count 80

Level MAX

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Africa: Physical geography

African elephants roam the savannas, which cover almost half of the African continent. Photo by: Pixabay/Public Domain.

Africa is the second-largest continent, after Asia. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red

Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean and is divided in half almost equally by the equator.

Africa has eight major physical regions: the Sahara, the Sahel, the Ethiopian Highlands, the

savanna, the Swahili Coast, the rain forest, the African Great Lakes and Southern Africa. Each of

these regions has unique animal and plant life.

Sahara

The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert, covering 3.3 million square miles, about the size of the

South American country of Brazil. The Sahara is in the northern part of Africa and makes up 25

percent of the continent.

The Sahara has a number of distinct physical features, including ergs, regs, hamadas and oases.

Ergs cover 20 percent of the Sahara. They are sand dunes that stretch for hundreds of kilometers

at heights of more than 1,000 feet. Ergs can contain large quantities of salt, which is sold for

industrial and food use.

By National Geographic Society, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.15.17

Word Count 1,292

Level 1040L

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Regs are plains of sand and gravel that make up 70

percent of the Sahara. The gravel can be black, red or

white. Regs are the remains of ancient seabeds and

riverbeds, but are now nearly waterless.

Hamadas are giant shelves of rock and stone that

reach heights of 11,000 feet, and they include three

mountain ranges: the Atlas Mountains, the Tibesti

Mountains and the Ahaggar Mountains.

An oasis is a hub of water in the desert. Oases are often created by springs, wells or irrigation

systems. About 75 percent of the Sahara's population lives in oases even though oases make up

only 800 square miles of the desert, a tiny proportion compared to the massive size of the Sahara.

The Sahara's animal and plant communities have adapted to extremely dry conditions. A

dromedary camel conserves water by changing its body temperature so it doesn't sweat as the day

gets hotter. The scorpion limits its activities to night, burrowing into the cooler sands beneath the

surface during the day. Saharan plants survive thanks to root systems that plunge as far as 80 feet

underground. In parts of the Sahara, plants cannot take root at all.

Sahel

The Sahel is a narrow band of semi-arid land that

forms a transition zone between the Sahara to the

north and the savannas to the south. The Sahel is

made up of flat, barren plains that stretch roughly

3,300 miles across Africa, from Senegal to Sudan.

The Sahel contains the fertile delta of the Niger River,

one of Africa's longest rivers. Unfortunately, the

Sahel's fertile land is rapidly becoming desert, which

is happening because of drought, deforestation and

agriculture. This process is called desertification.

The Sahel's animals constantly hunt for scarce water

and vegetation. The region's green vegetation only emerges during the rainy season, but it is often

harvested quickly by farmers or consumed by animals.

Baobabs are drought- and fire-resistant trees with trunks that are often 50 feet wide and as tall as

85 feet. Acacia, whose deep root systems are ideal for semi-arid climates, are among the most

common trees found in the Sahel.

Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands began to rise 75 million years ago. That is when magma from Earth's

mantle uplifted a broad dome of ancient rock. This dome was later split as Africa's continental

crust pulled apart, creating the Great Rift Valley system. Today, this valley cuts through the

Ethiopian Highlands from the southwest to the northeast. The Ethiopian Highlands are home to

80 percent of Africa's tallest mountains.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

The highland's craggy landscape is perfect for nimble

animal species. Native species such as the walia ibex,

an endangered wild goat, and the gelada baboon live

in the Simien Mountains. The region's plants include

the Ethiopian rose, Africa's only native rose.

Savanna

Savannas, or grasslands, cover almost half of Africa —

more than 5 million square miles. These grasslands

make up most of central Africa.

The

Serengeti

is a vast

plain that

stretches

11,583

square

miles. It

runs from

Kenya's

Massai-

Mara game reserve to Tanzania's Serengeti National

Park.

The Serengeti is home to one of the continent's highest concentrations of large mammal species.

These include lions, hyenas, zebras, giraffes and elephants.

Swahili Coast

The Swahili Coast stretches about 1,000 miles along

the Indian Ocean. It runs from Somalia to

Mozambique. The nearby coral reefs and barrier

islands protect the coast from severe weather.

There is not a lot of animal life on the sandy Swahili

Coast. A small species of primate known as the bush

baby inhabits areas where there are many plants.

Bush babies, which have enormous eyes for hunting at night, feed primarily on insects, fruit and

leaves.

Heavy farming has diminished the number of plant species in this region. Mangrove forests are

the most common vegetation. Mangroves have exposed root systems. This allows the trees to

absorb oxygen directly from the air, as well as from the nutrient-poor soil.

Rain Forest

Most of Africa's native rain forest has been destroyed by development, agriculture and logging.

Today, 80 percent of Africa's rain forest is in central Africa. It is along the Congo River basin.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Africa's rain forests have a rich variety of animal life. A 4-mile patch could contain up to 400 bird

species, 150 butterfly species and 60 species of amphibians. Important mammals include African

forest elephants and gorillas.

The African rain forest's plants include an estimated

8,000 known plant species. More than 1,100 of these

species are endemic, or found nowhere else on Earth.

African Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are located in nine countries that

surround the Great Rift Valley. As the African

continent separated from Saudi Arabia, large, deep

cracks were created in the Earth's surface. These

cracks were later filled with water. This geologic

process created some of the largest and deepest lakes

in the world.

There are seven major African Great Lakes: Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Malawi,

Lake Tanganyika, Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, is the

southern source of the Nile River, the longest river in the world.

The African Great Lakes region has a wide range of animal life in the water and on land. Fish

include the 45-kilogram (100-pound) Nile perch and the 2.5-centimeter (1-inch) cichlid. Hippos

and crocodiles call the region home. Plant life in the region is also quite diverse.

However, invasive species like the water hyacinth and papyrus have begun to take over entire

shorelines, endangering animals and plants.

Southern Africa

The region of Southern Africa is covered mostly by the Kaapvaal craton. This is a shelf of bedrock

more than 2.6 billion years old. Rocky features of Southern Africa include plateaus and mountains.

Southern Africa is the center of Africa's well-known

game reserves. They protect animal species such as

lions, elephants, baboons, white rhinos and Burchell's

zebras.

Southern Africa's Cape Floral Region is one of the

world's richest areas for plants. The Cape Floral

Region covers less than 0.5 percent of Africa, but it is

home to nearly 20 percent of the continent's plants.