1. The Middle East (Southwest Asia)
FSMS
7th Grade Social Studies; Unit 2
Ethnic Groups & Religious Groups of SWA
Georgia Standard SS7G8a.b

2. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Standard
SS7G8 The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
(a) Explain the differences between an ethnic group and a religious group.

3. First Five
Agenda Message for Monday September 17th: Start Ethnic Groups of SWA.
Standard: Describe the diverse cultures of the people of SWA.
Essential Question for Monday September 17th: What is the definition for an Ethnic group?
Warm-Up: What two natural resources are unequally distributed in SWA?
TODAY WE WILL:
Complete viewing of documentary “World Without Oil”
Start unit on Ethnic and Religious groups of SWA

4. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Essential Question Answer for Monday September 17th:
An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part of their community for generations.
Warm-Up:
Fresh water (Only Turkey & Iraq have all the water they need)
& Oil (Those countries that have oil are unbelievably rich while those who don’t have oil are poor)

5. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part of their community for generations. The characteristics they may have in common could include;
A language
A religion
A shared history
Types of food
A set of traditional stories
Beliefs, or
Celebrations
These things make up a common culture shared by those in a particular ethnic group.

6. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Ethnic Group cont.
The predominant ethnic group in Southwest Asia are the Arabs.
The second largest ethnic group are the Persians who are primarily found in Iran.
The third largest ethnic group from Southwest Asia are the Kurds.
(This group lives in a mountain region that includes Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Kurds speak Kurdish, and most are Muslim. Kurds do not have their own homeland or government. They are a minority group ruled by the country where they live.)