1. North America
UNIT 3

2. 5 Themes of Geography Location Place Human-environment Interaction
absolute or relative
Place
describes the human and physical characteristics of a location
Human-environment Interaction
how humans adapt to and modify the environment
Movement
migration across the planet
Region
Includes a set of characteristics that unifies an area

3. Focus Questions
In what ways are the countries and cultures of North America alike and different?
What global patterns exist between the past and the present in North America?

4. I can…
Describe cultural diffusion and how it affects the way people live by comparing and contrasting regional cultures and economics in North America.
Understand global patterns that exist from the past and the present and how it relates to cultural diffusion.
Understand that through cultural diffusion we learn and integrate new ways of life both socially and economically into our own communities.

6. Countries 1 Mexico 2 Puerto Rico 3 Cuba 4 El Salvador 5 Costa Rica
6 Guatemala
7 Belize
8 Honduras
9 Nicaragua
10 Panama
11 Jamaica
12 Eastern Canada
13 Central Canada
14 Western Canada
15 Northern Canada

7. KWL Charts
What I Know
What I Want to Know
What I Learned

8. Takes detailed notes on…
Culture
Language & religion
food, clothing, leisure activities
Economic system (give a description)
Governmental system (give a description)
History
Who originally settle there? When?
Are they independent? If so, since what year?

9. Review Interregional: Migration:
Now, think about what cultural diffusion means?
Lesson 3 9

10. Cultural Diffusion
Definition: the movement of customs and ideas; the spread of culture from one society to another
Examples?

11. Cultural Diffusion Examples: Causes? How does this occur?
Spanish class in American schools
McDonalds and other fast food restaurants in Central and North America
Soccer in United States and Mexico
Spanish taking over lands in the Americas and forcing the original inhabitants (people) to convert to Roman Catholicism in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Popularity of Italian food and other international cuisines
Causes? How does this occur?

12. Cultural Diffusion
Technology, mass media, and the internet are all playing a huge role in promoting this type of cultural diffusion around the world today.
Other Ways?

13. History Why is history important?
Why should we care what happened in the past?

14. History
History is important to learn about our past. We gain knowledge about our own background as well as other cultures around the world. It sets the foundation to why things are the way they are today. We can identify the cause and effect of events and learn from our mistakes. Most importantly, we can plan for a better future.

15. History
Why do historians use eras and periods to study the past?

16. History
Historians use conceptual devices (eras, periods, calendars, time lines) to organize their study of the world.
Historians use eras and periods to organize the study of broad developments that have involved large segments of world’s population and have lasting significance for future generations. They use this information to explain change and continuity.

17. History
What historical patterns do you observe from the countries of North America and what explanations can you draw from them?

18. History Example of a pattern:
Observation: Honduras speaks Spanish and their dominant religion is Roman Catholic.
Pattern: Many countries in Central America, including El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and others, speak Spanish and their dominant religion is also Roman Catholic.
Historical explanation: The Spanish arrived and settled in Central America. They took over the lands converted the people to Roman Catholicism.
What other observations/patterns/explanations can you think of?

19. Economic Systems Traditional Command Market Think about…
What should be produced?
How will it be produced?
How will it be distributed?
Who will receive the benefits of production?

20. Economic Systems Traditional Economy
An underdeveloped economy that often depends on agriculture as its main base, also known as a subsistence economy
A system where traditions, customs and belief systems determine its operation
Example: The Inuit in Northern Canada have a subsistence economy. They fish and hunt animals for their own food and clothing, which has always been an important part of their way of life. 20

21. Economic Systems Command Economy
Prices and supplies are determined by the government
The focus of the control is on the industrial goods that are manufactured with the country
Example: Cuba has a command economy. As part of their power, the government has recently eliminated 500,000 state jobs. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s. 21

22. Economic Systems Market Economy
Prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system set by supply and demand
Includes mixed economies, where the price system is not entirely free but under some government control
Example: Mexico has a free market economy with industry and agriculture as their major economic activities.
Example: Jamaica has a mixed economy. Both the public and private sectors make significant contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

23. Revisit What should be produced? How will it be produced?
How will it be distributed?
Who will receive the benefits of production?

24. Making a Connection…
What kind of economy do we have in the United States?
What type of economy does your assigned country have?

25. Economic Systems
Write a short essay analyzing two different economies. One should be your assigned country’s economy. (4-5 sentences)
Compare and contrast two economic systems. Give specifics examples of countries with those economies.
Think about how economic systems can be associated with the type of government?

26. Calendar Systems Mayan Calendar: Tzolkin
Religious calendar – 20 day names combined with a cycle of 13 day numbers (260 days)
Tzolkin calendar - 18 months with 20 days, plus 5 unlucky days which made up the days in a year
Each day had a name and a number
A year has 19 months called Uinal
The basic unit of a year is called Kin that means day or sun.
The first eighteen months have twenty days and the last one, called Uayeb, has only five.
The days within a month are numbered from 0 to 19 with the exception of Uayeb which is numbered from 0 to 4.

27. Calendar Systems Aztec Calendar: Sun Stone
Religious year – 20 days and 13 numbers (260 days)
Solar year – 18 months each 20 days long and 5 spare days. (365 days)
In 1479 that this stone was carved and dedicated to the principal Aztec god: the sun.
Each picture or “glyph” meant something and most were related to one of their gods.

28. Calendar Systems
Why similarities and differences do you notice between the Mayan and Aztec calendar systems?
How are their systems related to their cultural beliefs?

29. Other Calendar Systems
How do these calendar systems compare to the Mayan and Aztec systems?
7th grade: the Hebrew calendar, the Chinese calendar, and the Islamic calendar