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Lesson Plans for the Geography of the Arabian Peninsula

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Pacing

Openers

Slides & Notes

Activities

Key Terms

Learning Targets

SOUTHWEST ASIA and NORTH AFRICA BUNDLE

Give your students a solid background in Geography of the Arabian Peninsula with the Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa Bundle.

  • 3 Google Slides lessons with note-taking guides: Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa
  • 15 Daily Openers with student worksheets
  • Activity Packet (print, digital, editable, and answers)
  • Intro Diagnostic Activity
  • 4 Map Quizzes: Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, and a 4th quiz with all three regions combined
  • Unit Test: regular multiple choice, modified version with fewer choices, answer key and study guide
SEE BUNDLE

PLANNING this MINI-UNIT

The Arabian Peninsula is the second mini-unit or topic taught in the “Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit.  This topic covers regions of the Arabian Peninsula, Dubai, Kuwait City, Mecca and Hajj, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Petra, standard of living comparison, governments in the region, human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, migrant workers, Yemen’s civil war, OPEC, historic events, the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, desalination, environmental issues. 

 

This mini-unit covers the following eleven countries:

Political Map of the Arabian Peninsula
  1. Israel
  2. Palestine
  3. Jordan
  4. Saudi Arabia
  5. Kuwait
  6. Bahrain
  7. Qatar
  8. Oman
  9. Yemen
  10. Yemen
  11. United Arab Emirates

Pacing

Teachers should plan three to five days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:

Openers

The “Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit has 15 openers that review the following topics: Travel Advisory, Climate, Tourism, Per Capita Income, Flags, Physical Geography, Political Backgrounds and more.  CLICK HERE for more information on openers for the “Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit.

Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Printable Opener Worksheet for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography

OPENER TOPICS

Middle East

  1. Iran’s Travel Advisory
  2. Turkey and Iraq Monthly Precipitation Comparison
  3. Bodies of Water around the Middle East
  4. Visiting Cyprus
  5. Afghanistan: Political Background

Arabian Peninsula

  1. Per Capita Income: The Arabian Peninsula
  2. Strait of Hormuz
  3. Saudi Arabia’s Economy
  4. Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates
  5. The Red Sea

North Africa

  1. North Africa’s Physical Geography
  2. Mauritania’s Flag
  3. Landlocked Countries in North Africa
  4. Sudan and South Sudan Comparison
  5. Lake Chad
Get the OPENERS HERE

Google Slides

GOOGLE SLIDES:  After the opener, begin the 🔗 Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides). 

view lesson on TPT
Click Here
Previous slide
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TEACHING TIPS

⭐️ TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. Click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide to do this.   

⭐️ TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.

⭐️TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their student’s needs and individual learning targets.

Get the Google Slides HERE

Activities

Note-Taking Guides

This Arabian Peninsula Geography Note-Taking Guide should be paired with Google Slides (see above).  Teachers can walk students through these notes or post lecture notes on their chosen platform and have students record the information.  Here is a preview of the print and digital versions of the note-taking guides
Get Google Slides and Note Taking Guides HERE

Student Worksheets & Activities

There are ten pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa mini-units.

  1. Political Map
  2. Latitude and Longitude Practice
  3. Physical Geography Questions
  4. Physical Geography Labeling and Elevation Coloring
  5. Population Pyramid Analysis
  6. Economic Analysis
  7. Economy and Oil Reading and Questions
  8. Temperature and Precipitation Charting
  9. Literacy Rates Data, Map and Analysis Worksheets
  10. Country in the Spotlight Poster
  11. 5 Themes of Geography Paragraph: Southwest Asia and North Africa
  12. Current Event Research
Get the Activities HERE

UNIT: Map Quizzes

"Southwest Asia and North Africa Map Quizzes" is a quiz bundle that offers quizzes on each of the three regions of Southwest Asia and North Africa, plus a quiz on all of the regions combined:

1. Middle East:
Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan

2. The Arabian Peninsula
Israel, Palestine (West Bank), Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen

3. North Africa
Western Sahara, Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan

Each quiz includes the following:
1. Quiz without countries listed
2. Quiz with countries listed
3. Answer Key

UNIT: Introduction Diagnostic Activity

Prior to teaching your geography unit on the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, discover what your students already know about the geographic region.

This activity asks students to name countries, place physical features on a map and answer critical thinking questions.

WHAT COMES WITH THE DOWNLOAD:
1. Teacher tips and lesson plans for the activity
2. Student Worksheet
3. Answer Key

Helpful Videos

Break up direct instruction by showing a video that reviews concepts they just learned.

Key Terms & Vocabulary

COUNTRIES of the MIDDLE EAST

  1. Israel
  2. Palestine
  3. Jordan
  4. Saudi Arabia
  5. Kuwait
  6. Bahrain
  7. Qatar
  8. Oman
  9. Yemen
  10. United Arab Emirates

PLACES of NOTE

  1. Kuwait City, Kuwait
  2. Dubai, UAE
  3. Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  4. Jerusalem, Israel
  5. Western/Wailing Wall, Jerusalem
  6. Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem
  7. Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
  8. Petra, Jordan

CLIMATE and the LAND

  1. Plateau Region
  2. Mediterranean Region
  3. Desert Region
  4. The Persian Gulf
  5. The Red Sea
  6. The Dead Sea
  7.  Simoom

OTHER
key terms

  1. The Dead Sea Scrolls
  2. Emirate
  3. Migrant Worker
  4. Kafala System
  5. Proxy War
  6. OPEC
  7. Desalination
Learning Target

LEARNING TARGETS

  1. Students can identify the eleven countries on the Arabian Peninsula. 
  2. Students can argue about the factors that distinguish the Arabian Peninsula as a region.
  3. Students can compare and contrast the three regions on the Arabian Peninsula: the Mediterranean Region, the Plateau Region and the Desert Region
  4. Students can argue how natural resources such as oil and/or petroleum products impact the economy and trade, politics and the environment. 
  5. Students can define Hajj and argue about the significance of Hajj for Mecca and for Muslims.
  6. Students can identify three holy sites in Jerusalem and argue why Jews, Christians and Muslims consider Jerusalem a sacred city.
  7. Students will be able to outline human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
  8. Students can identify various push and pull factors leading to migration patterns on the Arabian Peninsula.
  9. Students can define Kafala System and outline the experiences of migrant workers in the Kafala System.
  10. Students will be able to define Proxy War and explain how Yemen’s Civil War is an example of a Proxy War.
  11. Students will be able to define OPEC and analyze how OPEC contributes to regulating the supply and price of petroleum. 
  12. Students will be able to describe the following places in the Middle East and argue their significance for the region: The Mediterranean Sea, The Red Sea, Kuwait City (Kuwait), Dubai (UAE), Mecca (Saudi Arabia), Jerusalem (Israel), Petra (Jordan).
  13. Students will be able to outline events of historic significance on the Arabian Peninsula particularly: Israel’s Tribes (c. 966 B.C.E.), Jesus (33 C.E.), Muhammad (632 C.E.), Crusades (c. 12th century)
  14. Students can outline the tensions that exist between Israel and Palestine and argue about the significance of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
  15. Students can evaluate the level of economic stability of Arabian Peninsula countries using key economic indicators to justify their response.
  16. Students can identify and locate major land and water features on the Arabian Peninsula.
  17. Students can argue how natural hazards and human activity affect the environment on the Arabian Peninsula, paying particular attention to Simooms and pollution. 

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Thank you for stopping by Teacher Bistro.  I created this place as a resource for educators who wanted an easy way to find resources.  In my first ten years of teaching, I can’t tell you how many hours I spent gathering lesson plans, video guides, and lectures.  Hopefully, you have added this site to your bookmarks, and this place can make teaching a little bit easier.