World Geography (SS7)

Unit 8: Australia and the Pacific

Mrs. Wethington

19 DAYS LEFT OF

SCHOOL

(Not including weekends)

May 22nd is the LAST DAY

to submit school work.

Objectives To Do List

Check Your Planners

End of Year Calls

Finishing Strong and Early

Australia and the Pacific

YOU AND YOUR LC’S

TO-DO LIST Are you returning to NCA?

Make sure we know

Called ITR – In the LC’s To Do List.

End of Year Call with Teachers/Counselors

Go over schedule, confirm next years

school, final plans for grades.

More details to come!!!!

LAST LIVE LESSON!!!

BUT don’t forget we have Lexia RAPID Testing next week!

Check Your Planners! Science finishes May 6th

Social Studies finishes May 6th

ELA finishes May 4th

Math finishes May 5th

Health and Physical Education finishes May 18th

Art finishes May 7th

End of the Semester – May 22ND (Last day to submit work!!!)

SO DON’T FREAK OUT…you have time to catch up!

End of Year CallsStart Monday, May 4

Check in with your HR teacher one last time.

Plans for next yearReturning

Or not

Plan to finish strong

We want to say goodbye and wish you a

great summer!

Book an appointment

Finish Strong! 1. Finish all lessons in all courses

2. Math & Language Arts v. Science & Social Studies

1. Core Classes that should take priority!

3. Revisions

1. Tests > Quizzes > Portfolios > Discussions

4. Extra Credit

1. See Message Boards or Webmail on May 14th

5. Call a teacher!

1. Make sure nothing has been missed, etc.

Finished Early? Remember to take attendance until May 22nd

Inside Connexus

• Revisions

• Extra Credit

Outside Connexus

• Read a book!

• Educational Program/Documentary

• Visit a museum

• Do extra PE

• Create your own research project

• MORE ideas to come in webmail

Australia and the Pacific

Unit 8B

Early Cultures of Australia and the Pacific

The Aborigines are Australia’s original people

Made up of hundreds of different ethnic groups

Most lived in temperate southeast part in small groups

Most were nomadic and hunter-gatherers

Believed it was their responsibility to care for the land

Did NOT have clan chiefs (Maori of New Zealand DID have chiefs)

Pacific island grouping of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia

Hundreds of different ethnic groups and languages

Hunter-gatherers who later grew yams, coconuts, sugarcane, and other crops

New Guineans were the first to develop farming before Aborigines

Polynesians

Groups living on eastern Melanesian islands of Samoa and Tonga

Developed important long-distance navigation skills

Allowed settlement of more distant Pacific islands

First people in the world to carry out lengthy voyages

Built huge canoes powered by oars and sails

Created maps of ocean swells and winds using twigs

Memorized directions from one island to another

Navigated by position of stars at night, ocean currents, and flight patterns of birds

European exploration

Ferdinand Magellan

1st European to cross the Pacific

Sailed for Spain in 1521

Dutch were first Europeans to reach Australia and New Zealand

Failed to see its value for trade or exploration so didn’t claim it

James Cook (British sailor)

Navigated from Tahiti to New Zealand

Reached southeast coast of Australia in 1770

Claimed both Australia and New Zealand for Britain

British later established colonies in Pacific

Populations

Australia

Most people live along eastern coast of Australia

Mild, humid climate = good for farming

Coastal location made overseas trade easier

Interior is too dry; few people live there despite its wealth of natural resources

Pacific Islands

Highlands of Central Papua New Guinea have high population density (only one)

Most of many Pacific Islands are rural

Small villages

Farming land

Most Pacific Island nations are small

New Zealand

¾ of population live on North Island

Includes cities of Auckland, Hamilton, and country’s capital, Wellington

CulturesPacific Islands

Most pacific islands are still home to indigenous, or original, cultures and ethnic groups in place before Europeans arrived

Each island has its own culture and language

Pidgin language is a simple language for people who speak different languages

Based on one language but influenced by others

Helped islands to adapt to ethnic mix

Governments

New Zealand

Independent nation but also belong to British Commonwealth of Nations

Led by an elected prime minister (British monarch is symbolic)

Government makes decisions are made at a national level

Citizens are encouraged to vote in elections but it is not required

Australia

Independent nation but also belong to British Commonwealth of Nations

Led by an elected prime minister (British monarch is symbolic)

Federal structures include national and individual state governments like U.S.

Citizens are required by law to vote in elections

ChallengesPacific Islands

Climate change is causing rising sea levels

Rising sea levels in pacific islands is causing some islands to disappear

Overfishing causes food to become scarce for years

Micronesian islands depend on ocean

Challenges

Australia and New Zealand

Rising sea levels ruin property and make coastline unlivable

85% of Australians live on or near coastline

New Zealand government limits construction in areas prone to coastal erosion

Drought causes destructive wildfires

Coral reefs dying off due to warmer ocean waters, exposure to the sun, and pollution

Mining unearths minerals which are toxic when exposed to air or water causing air and water pollution

Chemicals used in processing are also dangerous to the environment

Antarctica

Coldest and windiest region on Earth

Thick ice sheets covers 98% of the land and holds most of the world’s fresh water

Barren land w/ little vegetation

Wildlife depends on the sea for food

Antarctic Treaty

Preserves land for peaceful and scientific use ONLY

No military action is allowed on the continent

Mining and oil drilling is banned

Scientific research in Antarctica includes:

Studying objects in space

Understand why ice sheets are growing smaller

Learn about history and how life arose and developed

That’s All Folks!!!!

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