Critical Thinking Skills Activity

Name ______Date _____ Class _____

Physical Geography of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica

Summarizing Information Learning the Skill When you summarize information, you focus on the main idea and the most important points. As you summarize information, you reduce many sentences or a great deal of information into a few well-chosen phrases. You can summarize a book, a movie, an article, a speech, a graph, or statistics. It is even possible to summarize the detailed visual information found on a map into just a few main ideas. For example, you could summarize a climate map of Australia by saying" Australia is mainly a dry country." To summarize information, follow these steps: • Read the material, or look at the visual information. • Identify and list the main ideas and most important details. • Organize the main ideas and details into a concise, brief explana tion. Your summary should be in your own words.

(I Practicing the Skill Directions: Read this article on New Zealand. Then answer the questions that follow. New Zealand lies at the edges of the New Zealand's Australian and Pacific tectonic plates (see Tectonic Plates the map). Underneath North Island, the Pacific Plate is moving toward and going KEY under the Australian Plate. Underneath c:::::::J Australian Plate c:::::::J Pacific Plate South Island, the two plates are also mov ---- Plate boundaries ing toward each other, but the Australian - Alpine Fault Plate is moving under the Pacific Plate. The two plates move in a series of small, rapid motions, each of which is accompanied by one or more earthquakes. The Australian Plate under North Island has been stretched, and it is thinner than Australian Plate normal Earth crust. Molten rock rises to the ~~ surface through this thinned crust, and it ,- ~, AlpineP;ult I erupts through volcanoes on North Island. I I I A large fault, the Alpine Fault, runs down I I I the west coast of South Island. Along the I I I fault, the plates are moving toward and past ( ( ( ( 250 kilometers each other. This movement is causing the I o I I Southern Alps to be uplifted, forming a high, I o 250 miles elongated mountain range parallel to the fault.

45 Name ______Date _____ Class _____

Critical Thinking Skills Activity continued

1. Summarizing What is the main reason behind the earthquakes and volcanic activity in New Zealand?

2. Summarizing How would you summarize the potential for earthquakes in New Zealand?

3. Comparing How are tectonic forces changing North Island? South Island? t;!J Applying the Skill - Directions: Read the paragraph below. Then circle the letter of the correct answer for each question that follows. New Zealand is about 1,000 miles long, iron, and natural gas. Abundant construction north to south, and about 280 miles across materials are also quarried. The country has at its widest point. The country includes two made extensive use of its great hydroelectric main islands, North Island and South Island, potential. Hydroelectricity supplies nearly along with many smaller islands. About two-thirds of the country's power. New two-thirds of the land in New Zealand is eco Zealand's electricity grid contains a direct nomically useful, but the rest is very moun current cable linking the two main islands, tainous. The country has an extremely long which allows the South's surplus power to be coastline relative to its area. The land holds used by the North's concentration of industry metallic and nonmetallic minerals, but few and people. Since the early 1970s, geothermal are found in sufficient quantities for com and coa1- and gas-fired electric generating mercial use. The exceptions are gold, coal, stations have been constructed. 1. Identifying Which is the best summary of this article? A. New Zealand has small coal deposits. B. New Zealand takes advantage of its available natural resources. C. Most of New Zealand is mountainous. D. New Zealand is an island with a long coastline. 2. Specifying Which detail best supports the main idea of the article? A. Two-thirds of the land is economically useful. B. New Zealand has two main islands. C. Abundant building materials can be found in New Zealand. D. Hydroelectricity supplies nearly two-thirds of the country's power.