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SOUTHWEST ASIA and NORTH AFRICA BUNDLE
Give your students a solid background in Geography of the Middle East 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
PLANNING this MINI-UNIT
The Middle East is the first mini-unit or topic taught in the “Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit. This topic covers major land and water features, the Fertile Crescent, pastoralism, climographs, Minaret of Jam, Tehran, Baghdad, Beirut, Mosques of Istanbul, trade and exports, literacy rates, human rights abuses in Afghanistan, the Taliban, Iranian/American tensions, Islam, historic conflicts, historic events, Mesopotamia.
This mini-unit covers the following seven countries:
- Turkey
- Cyprus
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Iraq
- Iran
- Afghanistan
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.
OPENER TOPICS
Middle East
- Iran’s Travel Advisory
- Turkey and Iraq Monthly Precipitation Comparison
- Bodies of Water around the Middle East
- Visiting Cyprus
- Afghanistan: Political Background
Arabian Peninsula
- Per Capita Income: The Arabian Peninsula
- Strait of Hormuz
- Saudi Arabia’s Economy
- Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates
- The Red Sea
North Africa
- North Africa’s Physical Geography
- Mauritania’s Flag
- Landlocked Countries in North Africa
- Sudan and South Sudan Comparison
- Lake Chad
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).
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.
Activities
Note-Taking Guides
This Middle East 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
Student Worksheets & Activities
There are ten pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa mini-units.
- Political Map
- Latitude and Longitude Practice
- Physical Geography Questions
- Physical Geography Labeling and Elevation Coloring
- Population Pyramid Analysis
- Economic Analysis
- Economy and Oil Reading and Questions
- Temperature and Precipitation Charting
- Literacy Rates Data, Map and Analysis Worksheets
- Country in the Spotlight Poster
- 5 Themes of Geography Paragraph: Southwest Asia and North Africa
- Current Event Research
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
- Turkey
- Cyprus
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Iraq
- Iran
- Afghanistan
PLACES of NOTE
- Minaret of Jam, Afghanistan
- Tehran, Iran
- Baghdad, Iraq
- Beirut, Lebanon
- Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, Turkey
CLIMATE and the LAND
- The Mediterranean
- Taurus Mountains
- Zagros Mountains
- Iranian Plateau
- Caspian Sea
- Pastoralism
- Semi-Arid
- Steppe
OTHER
key terms
- Fertile Crescent
- Mesopotamia
- Minaret
- Taliban
- Shia Muslim
- Sunni Muslim
- Persian Empire
- Ottoman Empire
- Syrian Civil War
- Iran-Iraq War
- Iraq War
LEARNING TARGETS
- Students can identify the seven countries in the Middle East.
- Students can argue about the factors that distinguish the Middle East as a region.
- Students can compare and contrast the two regions in the Middle East: the Mediterranean Region and Fertile Crescent.
- Students can argue how Turkey’s physical geography differs from other Middle Eastern countries and how those differences contribute to differences in Human Interaction with the Environment.
- Students can argue how natural resources such as oil and/or petroleum products impact the economy and trade, politics and the environment.
- Students will be able to describe the following places in the Middle East and argue their significance for the region: The Caspian Sea, The Minaret of Jam (Afghanistan), Tehran (Iran), Bagdad (Iraq), Beirut (Lebanon)
- Students will be able to identify the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
- Students will be able to outline events of historic significance in the Middle East, particularly: Ancient Mesopotamia, the Persian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, The Iran-Iraq War, The Iraq War, and the Syrian Civil War.
- Students can outline the history of America’s relationship with Iran and argue about its significance.
- Students can define Taliban, outline human rights abuses of the organization and argue how Taliban rule affects the standard of living of those living in Afghanistan.
- Students can evaluate the level of economic stability of Middle Eastern countries using key economic indicators to justify their response.
- Students can identify and locate major land and water features in the Middle East.
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