Social Studies Alive Mrs. Cottrell Chapter 1

Where in the world is our community? In chapter one we will explore our world with some vocabulary words. Once we know the vocabulary words we will explore maps to find where our community is.

Where are we heading? By the end of this chapter we will be able to read about and identify: ~the equator, the prime meridian, and the four hemispheres on a map. ~the four oceans and seven continents. ~countries on a map of North America. ~states and communities in the United States.

Vocabulary sphere hemisphere equator prime meridian ocean continent country state city town

Sphere an object that is shaped like a ball.

Hemisphere Half of a sphere, such as a half of the planet Earth.

Equator The imaginary line that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Prime Meridian The imaginary line that divides Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Ocean One of the four largest bodies of water on Earth.

Continent One of the seven large bodies of land on Earth.

Country An area of land with its own government. Each color represents a separate country that is in the continent known as North America. Our country’s name is the United States of America.

State A smaller part of a country; the United States has 50 states. We live in the state of Illinois which is found in the country known as the United States of America, which is a part of the North American continent.

City A community that has lots of buildings and people. Chicago is a large city in Illinois. It is much larger than Bloomington.

Town A community with buildings and people that is smaller than a city.