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At a Glance The most important ideas for you are: ◗ Students can use scales on maps and globes to measure distance. ◗ Students can use and coordinates to locate places on maps and globes. ◗ The is located at 0º longitude, and the International Line, which generally corresponds to 180º longitude, marks the change in days from east to . ◗ Relief maps are special-purpose maps that indicate elevations and depressions in land height. ◗ Major mountain ranges by include the ( America), Rockies and Appalachians ( America), and Urals (), Atlas (), and Alps (). ◗ High mountains of the world by continent are Everest (Asia), McKinley (), Aconcagua (), Mont Blanc (Europe), and Kilimanjaro (Africa).

What Teachers Need to Know Teaching Idea Background Review map-reading skills and The study of embraces many topics throughout the Core concepts from previous grades Knowledge Sequence, including topics in history and science. Geographic as needed. knowledge includes a spatial sense of the world, an awareness of the physical processes to which people culturally adapt, a sense of the interactions between humans and their environment, an understanding of the relations between place and culture, and an awareness of the characteristics of specific and cultures. Many geographic topics are listed throughout the World History Cross-curricular and Geography Sequence in connection with historical topics. Teaching Idea Throughout this section, students should connect the “abstract” concepts Compare the distance using map to something more concrete, such as a country of interest or a topic of histor- (usually measured in a straight ical study in this grade. Also look for opportunities to review geography and line), and talk about the meaning of map concepts as you study the history topics for this grade; e.g., share maps the saying “As the crow flies.” Have of medieval Europe and . students discuss the difference between traveling as the crow flies A. Spatial Sense (Working with Maps, Globes, and how they travel using other means (car, airplane). See also the and Other Geographic Tools) map book As the Crow Flies, Measuring Distance Using Map Scale referenced in More Resources. All maps are drawn to scale; that is, they are smaller than the things they rep- resent. Scale is the ratio between the representation and the thing it represents. A map may be drawn so that 1 inch equals 250 , or so that 1 inch equals 1 . Maps, as well as globes, almost always indicate the scale at which they are drawn.

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The scale of a map makes a difference in the amount of detail shown on a map Cross-curricular and the kinds of questions that can be asked and answered about what is shown. Teaching Idea A large-scale map (i.e., one closest in size to what it represents) will show less area Locate countries studied in earlier but provide more detail about the area shown than a small-scale map. For exam- grades and/or countries being studied ple, a road map of a state, with a scale of 1 inch per 10 miles, may show public in this grade on a world map. Using campgrounds, points of interest, and county roads, whereas a state map in an atlas map scale, measure the distance with a smaller scale of 1 inch per 60 miles may show only major highways and between countries studied. Students major cities. This difference in detail is a function of the scale of the map. can write mathematical word problems comparing the distances. Longitude and Latitude, Coordinates, and Degrees Around the center of is an called the . It is 0º lat- itude and is located halfway between the North and South Poles. The Equator divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Teaching Idea Imaginary lines that run parallel to the Equator are called parallels of latitude, For a source of latitude and longitude or parallels. Latitude is measured north and south of the Equator. The North and coordinates for world and U.S. cities, South Poles are at 90ºN and 90ºS, respectively. Any area between the Equator and check world almanacs. the North or South Poles is some measurement from 0º to 90º north or south. The dividing lines for the Eastern and Western Hemispheres are the (also called the Meridian) and the . These two imaginary lines are on opposite sides of Earth. The Prime Meridian refers to 0º longitude, an imaginary line that runs from the to the , Teaching Idea passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, a suburb of London, Have students play a version of England. The also runs from the North Pole to the South “Battleship.” Provide each student Pole, generally following the 180th Meridian (it deviates in a few places to avoid with a copy of Instructional Master 13, dividing and again to include the with ). Longitude and Latitude. For purposes Imaginary lines that run east and west from the Prime Meridian are called of the game, only degrees are shown. meridians of longitude, or meridians. Longitude is measured east and west from the Prime Meridian, or 0°. The International Date Line marks the difference in between east and west. When crossing the International Date Line going west, a traveler moves forward to the next (Tuesday becomes Wednesday). When going east, a traveler goes back one day (Wednesday becomes Tuesday). Name Date Meridians of longitude are not parallel, because Earth is a . The widest Longitude and Latitude Study the map below. The on the map represents an airplane in flight. Using lines of longitude and latitude, you can pinpoint its as latitude 40°N, longitude 20°W. distance between lines measuring degrees of longitude is at the Equator, and the These coordinates, or set of numbers, are written as 40°N, 20°W. lines converge as they approach the poles. You can see this clearly on a globe. Relief Maps: Elevations and Depressions Washington, D.C., lies at 25 feet (7.62 m) above level. This is its eleva- tion. A relief map, also called a physical map, shows elevations and depressions of land areas. A relief map shows height and depth above (elevation) and below (depression) . The map uses different colors to show different levels of land, and the map key reproduces those colors in boxes along with numerical Now use the map to play a “Find the Plane” game with a partner.

• First, draw four on intersecting lines on the map. Write the coordinates below. Answers will vary. equivalents in feet or meters. A relief map, like a road map or a natural resources

• Then take turns giving those coordinates to a partner to draw on his or her map, but without viewing yours. map, is a special-purpose map. e Knowledge Foundation • Work together to verify the location of each “plane.”

Purpose: To review longitude and latitude by locating coordinates on a map Copyright ©Cor

Master 13 Grade 4: History & Geography

Use Instructional Master 13.

94 Grade 4 Handbook CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:01 AM Page 95

Draw the following example on the board to help you illustrate the map key Name Date for a relief map. Make a Relief Map Connect each set of dots that indicate the same elevation. For example, draw a line Harris Campsite to connect all the dots labeled “450 and under.” Once you are done, color the land according to the chart below.

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Elevation • Land Color = 801– 900 Feet 450 and under green 451–500 brown = 701– 800 Feet 501–550 yellow = 601– 700 Feet 551–600 orange e Knowledge Foundation 601–650 blue Scale 1 Inch = 1 Mile = 501– 600 Feet Purpose: To interpret directions to create a relief map Copyright ©Cor

Master 14 Grade 4: History & Geography

B. Mountains and Mountain Ranges Use Instructional Master 14. Background A mountain range is a series of connected mountains considered as a sin- gle system because of geographical proximity or common geologic origin. Cross-curricular Mountains are considered to have a common geologic origin if they formed at Teaching Idea the same time by the same set of geologic events. You may wish to teach the Science A large mountain system, like the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern section “How Mountains Are and the , may be called by different names in different Formed,” on pp. 497–498, prior to areas. For example, the Appalachians in the are called introducing major mountain ranges. the Blue Ridge, Great Smokies, Cumberland Plateau, and Black Mountains. South America: Andes

The Andes Mountains are over 5,000 miles (8,046 km) in length, the longest Name Date Major Mountains of North and South America mountain system in the . The mountains begin as four ranges Study the map and use it to answer the questions that follow.

8 0 7 N 0 N in the area on the northeastern coast of South America. In Peru and 60

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40N M NORTH O NORTH O U U ATLANTIC PACIFIC N NORTH as the . The Andes then form a single range that separates from N OCEAN T T OCEAN A AMERICA A I APPALACHIAN 30N IN N MOUNTAINS SS

Argentina. 20N With an average height of 12,500 feet (3,810 m), the Andes are the - 10N 0 Equator

A N D SOUTH highest mountain range in the world. The Himalayas are the highest. 10S E S AMERICA

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Approximately 50–60% of Peru’s people live in the altiplano. About one-third A I

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0 500 1000 miles 0 500 1000 kilometers of the nation’s population live in the narrow lowlands between the Andes and the 40S 50S 160W 140W 120W 100W 80W 60W 40W 20W . Because the Andes run north to south along the entire length of 60S Chile, most Chileans live in the Central Valley between the Andes and low coastal mountains. e Knowledge Foundation Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring major mountains of North and South America Copyright ©Cor The Andes Mountains were the home of Inca people, whom students in Core Master 15a Grade 4: History & Geography Knowledge schools studied in Grade 1 and will study again in Grade 5. Use Instructional Masters 15a–15b. North America: Appalachians and Rockies The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountain chain in North America and stretch from to central Alabama. They are about 1,800 miles

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fifty-three north latitude, and seventy-seven degrees and two minutes Teaching Idea west longitude.” The first set of numbers specifies a latitude north of the Equator, Give students coordinates to locate on and the second specifies a longitude west of the Prime Meridian. Although the the map. After this becomes effortless, Sequence only stipulates that students learn about degrees, you may want to men- ask them questions such as “What city tion minutes as well, since this will enable them to locate places more exactly. is located near X coordinate, Y coordi- Students need to practice finding coordinates on maps. One way to do this is nate?” Or you might ask them to esti- to have them work with maps of countries you are studying in this grade (e.g., mate the coordinates of cities in the England, , and ). Also, activities such as those suggested in the side- United States. bar will help students become familiar with the geographical terms and concepts You can play a game called they are learning. “Wet/Dry.” Give students a coordinate and ask them to determine if they and would be wet or dry if they were at that The area between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of coordinate (i.e., would they be on land Capricorn (23.5° S latitude) is known as “the ” or “low .” It has the or in the water). warmest on Earth. The Tropic of Cancer is a parallel that measures 23.5º N You can also play “Hot/”: have (or 23°27' N) and runs through , the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, them find a coordinate and say whether and southern China. The Tropic of Capricorn measures 23.5º S (or 23°27' S), and they would be hot or cold at that loca- runs through , Chile, southern Brazil, and northern South Africa. The tion. This will reinforce the connec- tropics were so-named because of the particular constellations that the was in tions between latitude and climate. at the time of their respective , or the time when the sun is the farthest You can also play “Twenty north or south of the Equator. At the time, the sun appeared directly over the Questions.” Choose a coordinate and Tropic of Cancer during the ’s and directly invite students to try to determine over the Tropic of Capricorn during the ’s . where you are by asking questions, Earth rotates on its own axis and at the same time, it revolves around the sun. e.g., “Is it north of the Equator?” and Earth is tilted at an of 23.5º, which means that all on Earth do not “Is it west of the Prime Meridian?” receive the same amount of direct . The areas close to the Equator receive the most direct sunlight and, therefore, have the hottest average temperatures round. As a result, the tropics have no sharply defined . The North and South Poles, the areas farthest away from the Equator—and farthest from the sun— have extreme cold temperatures year round. The polar regions have two defined seasons. Because of the tilt of Earth, polar areas—and the high latitudes in gener- al—have 24 of sunlight in the summer and 24 hours of darkness in the win- ter. The farther a place is from the Equator, the more pronounced the differences will be between summer and in terms of length of the days and . Climate Zones: Arctic, Tropical, Temperate There are three main categories of climate—arctic (also known as polar), tropical, and temperate. • The arctic climate is often referred to as the by geographers Teaching Idea because the polar makes it clear that the climate includes both the Arctic and Note that latitude is not the only indica- areas. Polar have cool to cold and cold to very cold tor of climate. Elevation and location in . Temperatures average below 32ºF year-round on the Antarctic and relation to landforms and bodies of ice caps, and drop to well below 0ºF during the long, dark winter water, prevailing , currents and . Precipitation is scant, averaging only a few inches each year, and most of other phenomena also contribute to it falls in the form of . A band of subpolar climate stretches across northern climate patterns. North America and . Here, one gets short summers with average temper- atures above freezing for two or three months; then the temperature plunges below freezing throughout the remainder of the year. Most of this region receives between 5 and 10 inches of precipitation, with some areas receiving up to 20 112 Grade 5 Handbook inches. Snowfall can occur during any . CK_5_TH_HG_P104_230.QXD 2/14/06 1:14 PM Page 113

• Tropical climate includes some belts of climate with hot, wet year- round and some with hot weather that is dry part of the year and wet part of the Teaching Idea year. Areas with wet weather all year are typically rainforests. Rainforests can Create an overhead from Instructional receive as much as 400 inches of annually. Hot areas with alternating wet and Master 12, Latitude as Climate dry patterns are savannas, or plains with tall grasses. Savannas receive about 50 Indicator, and distribute a copy to inches of precipitation a year. Temperatures average above 68ºF throughout the each student. As you discuss the year in the tropics. Tropical rainforests thrive around the Equator in Africa and in location of the Equator at 0º, the South America, , Indonesia, , and New . A large belt Tropic of Cancer at 23.5° N, and the of savanna exists north and south of the rainforests in Africa. Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5° S, indi- • Temperate zones of climate are found in the , between the cate that the tropics are in the low tropics and the polar areas. In general, temperate climates are characterized by latitudes; that the area between the warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters, with variations depending on lat- tropics and the polar regions is in the itude. Throughout much of these regions, temperatures can rise above 100ºF in middle latitudes. Have students label the summer and drop well below freezing in the winter. The temperate zones their maps as you label the overhead. experience dramatic changes in seasons, with pronounced periods of and Then have students create a map key fall. Precipitation varies from a few inches in the midlatitude desert regions to and color in the regions using differ- more than 100 inches in some areas. Snowfall occurs during winter months in ent-colored markers. many temperate zone locations. These are regions of considerable variability in Divide the class into five teams both weather and climate. The northeastern and north United States, western and assign each team a region to Europe, and eastern Asia have temperate climates. research (North frigid zone; North temperate zone; tropical zone; South Time Zones temperate zone; South frigid zone). Each team member must find and Time zones were developed to bring uniformity to the hours of the day as the share 1 unique fact about the region. sun moves from east to west. Time zones generally follow the rule of one for every 15º of longitude (360º of longitude divided by 15 equals 24 time zones, which correspond with the 24 hours of the day). However, the lines divid-

ing time zones are not perfectly straight. Sometimes they zigzag to avoid dividing Name Date countries, states, or metropolitan areas. Latitude as Climate Indicator Study the map. Then follow the directions below.

North Pole 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E To understand why time zones are important, consider this. Imagine there are FRIGID 60°N

TEMPERATE EUROPE three cities, City A, City B, and City C. City B is 100 or so miles west of City A, AMERICA 30°N Tropic of Cancer PACIFIC ATLANTIC AFRICA OCEAN OCEAN and City C is 100 miles west of City B. 0° Equator SOUTH TROPICAL PACIFIC AMERICA OCEAN Tropic of Capricorn Prime Meridian AUSTRALIA 30°S N CITY C CITY B CITY A 0 1,000 2,000 miles W E TEMPERATE 0 1,000 2,000 kilometers Scale at Equator S 60°S

FRIGID

The sun rises first in the easternmost city, which is City A. In actuality, of South Pole

course, the sun is not “rising”; rather, Earth is rotating. But from our position on 1. Color the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn red. This area is known as the tropics. Earth, it looks as if the sun is rising. After some time passes and the planet rotates 2. Color the areas north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle blue. 3. Find the areas between the tropics and the arctic climates. Color these temperate a little more, the sun will rise in City B. Then, after a little more time and a bit climate areas yellow. more rotation, the sun will come up in City C. If each city based its time com- pletely on its position relative to the sun, then the time would be slightly differ- ent in each city, and this could be very confusing. It might be 8:20 in City C, 8:10 Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle, and Antarctic Circle in City B, and 8:00 in City C. And if you were on a train halfway between Knowledge Foundation Copyright ©Core Master 12 Grade 5: History & Geography City B and City C, it would be 8:05. To avoid this kind of confusion, people have agreed to divide the globe into 24 time zones, each one apart. If City A, City Use Instructional Master 12. B, and City C are all in the same time zone, this means that the people in these locations have agreed to refer to a particular in time as 8:00 AM, even though the actual “” may be a few minutes earlier than that in one of the cities and a few minutes later in another. As noted earlier, longitude is measured east and west from the Prime Meridian, or 0°, located at Greenwich, England. The 180º line is in the Pacific Ocean; it is History and Geography: World 113 CK_5_TH_HG_P104_230.QXD 2/14/06 1:14 PM Page 114

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called the International Date Line. The International Date Line marks the difference in time between east and west. (The International Date Line actually zigs and zags from north to south to avoid running directly through settled islands.) When cross- ing the International Date Line going west, a traveler moves forward to the next day (Tuesday becomes Wednesday). When going east, a traveler goes back one day (Wednesday becomes Tuesday). The International Date Line is a hard concept to explain. At this age it is sufficient that students know the date line exists and under- stand that it is related to time zones and to the rotation of Earth. They do not need to understand exactly why the IDL was created. Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle The Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle are imaginary lines that are drawn around Earth near the North and South Poles. The Arctic Circle is at 66.5º N (or 66º33' N) latitude and the Antarctic Circle is at 66.5º S (or 66º33' S) latitude. The North Pole is within the Arctic Circle; the South Pole is within the Antarctic Circle. Earth tilts slightly on its axis. As it makes its 365-day orbit around the sun, this tilt causes first the Northern Hemisphere and then the Southern Hemisphere to be tilted toward the sun for a period of months. When this occurs, the polar area of the hemisphere—either the Arctic Circle or the Antarctic Circle—has six months of daylight for 24 hours a day. When the hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, the polar area has 24 hours of darkness per day. This effect lessens further from the poles, with the Arctic and Antarctic Circles experiencing just one day of complete light and dark per year. The circle marks the boundary of 24-hour day or 24-hour , depending on what time of the year it is in the hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, 24-hour daylight within the Antarctic Circle—and sum- mer—begins on 22. For the Northern Hemisphere, December 22 marks the beginning of 24-hour night and winter within the Arctic Circle.

Teaching Idea From a Round Globe to a Flat Map You may wish to review relief maps Although globes are more accurate models of Earth than flat maps, you can’t fold with students. Those in Core a globe up and take it with you on a trip. Maps—pictorial representations of the loca- Knowledge schools studied relief maps tion of various places—are a way to make the information on a globe portable. in Grade 4. If Earth were flat, it would be easy to make a map of it on a flat sheet of paper. But Earth is a sphere. This poses certain difficulties for mapmakers and cartographers. Whenever you transfer information about a spherical planet onto a flat piece of paper, there will be a certain amount of distortion. The act of transferring infor- mation from a globe to a flat map is called projection. There are various ways of projecting information from a globe onto a flat page. Each way distorts the origi- nal information in a distinctive way. To understand how projection works, take a long, blank sheet of paper and wrap it around a globe in such a way that the paper touches the globe at the Equator but not at the poles. Now imagine that the globe is made of transparent plastic with the and other features drawn on the plastic in a darker color. Also imagine that this transparent globe has a light bulb in the center. If the light bulb were turned on, the light would shine through the transparent orb and the marked parts would cast shadows on the paper. You could trace the shapes cast by the shadows and then unroll the paper to make a rectangular map. In the 114 Grade 5 Handbook places where the paper sits right next to the globe, the sizes and shapes of the CK_5_TH_HG_P104_230.QXD 2/14/06 1:14 PM Page 115

continents and on your map would be very accurate. However, in those areas where the paper is a long way from the globe, there would be distortion. Teaching Idea Thus, the areas around the Equator will be rendered very accurately and the areas Create an overhead from Instructional near the poles will be distorted and rendered less accurately. Master 13, Three Different Map Projections, to illustrate the differ- ences among the Mercator, conic, In 1569, the cartographer developed a projection scheme and Robinson projections. that is still widely used today. Mercator projected the globe’s features onto a cylin- As you explain the distortions, der, in roughly the way described above. The Mercator projection is accurate for have students point them out by iden- the tropics but distorts the areas near the poles (such as Alaska and Greenland), tifying the continents and oceans making them look much larger on the resulting map than they are. The shapes of where the differences are apparent. the landmasses are accurate but the sizes and distances between areas are not. Direction, however, is accurate, which is what Europeans moving east and west between Europe and the during the Age of Exploration wanted to know.

Name Date Three Different Map Projections Study each below. Then discuss their differences with your teacher.

Mercator Projection

Conic Projection Conic Projection In a conic projection, a piece of paper is twisted into a cone and placed over

the globe so that the circular “top” of the cone touches the globe. Features on the Plane Projection

Purpose: To distinguish between a Mercator projection, a conic projection, and a plane projection Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation Copyright ©Core globe are then projected onto the paper. The resulting map is reproduced as a rec- Master 13 Grade 5: History & Geography tangular map with curved parallels and meridians. This is different than the Mercator projection, which has straight lines. A map made using conic projection Use Instructional Master 13. is most accurate for the areas on the globe that touch the cone. Conic maps are not good for showing large areas, like the whole globe. However, they are good for showing smaller areas, especially smaller areas in the middle latitudes. Direction and distance are also relatively accurate.

Plane Projection In a plane projection a flat sheet of paper is placed against the side of globe so that it touches the globe at one point only. (Recall that in a Mercator projec- tion the paper was wrapped around the globe to make a cylinder and made con- tact with the globe all along the Equator.) Plane projection produces a map that History and Geography: World 115 CK_5_TH_HG_P104_230.QXD 2/14/06 1:14 PM Page 116

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is accurate at the point where it touches, but is less accurate as you move away Teaching Idea from the point of contact. The plane projection is also called the azimuthal Note that the convention of north at the [AZ-em-MUTH-al] projection. A common form of this projection is a polar pro- top of maps came about because navi- jection, in which the North or South Pole is used as the central point of contact. gators used a magnetic to determine direction. In Grade 4, stu- dents in Core Knowledge schools learned about the invention of the com- pass by the Chinese. Point out compass roses on a variety of maps.

Robinson Projection The is the most commonly used representation in text- books. It is called a “compromise projection” because it tries to strike a compro- mise between some of the other kinds of projection. The goal is to minimize the limitations and distortions inherent in the other schemes while capturing their strengths. In a Robinson projection, the shape and size of continents is somewhat distorted, but less so than with the Mercator projection. The areas around the poles appear somewhat flatter than they are on a globe, but the areas at the Name Date eastern and western edges of the projection are fairly accurate. As is the case Great of the World Fill in the chart with information about the great lakes of the world. with conic projections, the parallels and meridians on the resulting map are Name Superior Lake Michigan Lake Huron Lake Ontario Lake Erie Lake Titicaca Location curved.

Latitude/ Longitude Elevation B. Great Lakes of the World Approximate Area Saltwater or Freshwater Background Characteristics A lake is a large inland body of water. A river may feed into a lake and a river may flow out of it. The of has several lakes and rivers running through it. There are lakes on most continents and most Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation Copyright ©Core Master 14a Grade 5: History & Geography of them contain fresh water. Lakes are often important sources of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power, as well as transportation and recreation. Use Instructional Masters 14a–14b. Asia: and The Caspian Sea actually lies between Europe and Asia, in the area known as Eurasia. The Caspian borders the countries of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, , and . It is the world’s largest inland sea, spanning 143,000 square miles (370,368 sq. km), and has no natural outlets to the ocean; a canal links the Teaching Idea Caspian Sea to the . The sea lies 92 feet (28 m) below sea level and is Before introducing the lakes on each fed by rivers such as the Volga. In recent , the sea has been shrinking because continent, take stock of what students water is being drawn off the rivers that feed it for use in irrigation. The Caspian already know about each continent. For Sea is used for fishing, especially in the northern regions, and is an important example, before talking about Asian source of oil and natural gas. lakes, discuss what students already The Aral Sea is bordered by Uzbekistan to the south and Kazakhstan to the know about Asia. north. The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth-largest lake. However, in recent years, it, too, has been shrinking due to diversion of the rivers that feed it to irri- gate fields devoted to cotton production. In fact, it has shrunk by more than 40% 116 Grade 5 Handbook since the 1960s. This has caused the water in the sea to become highly saline,