Southwest Asia

27 Cards with Facts & Images

Southwest Asia Words:

2015 Brain Wrinkles

Euphrates River
Jordan River
Tigris River
Suez Canal
Persian Gulf
Strait of Hormuz
Arabian Sea
Red Sea
Gaza Strip
Ethnic group
Religious group
Arabs
Persians
Kurds
Judaism

Christianity
Islam
Sunni
Shia
Ottoman Empire
Holocaust
Anti-Semitism
Zionism
Persian Gulf War
Afghanistan
Operation Iraqi
Freedom

SS7G5
SS7G5 The student will locate selected features in
Southwestern Asia (Middle East).
a. Locate on a world and regional political-physical
map: Euphrates River, Jordan River, Tigris River, Suez
Canal, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Sea, Red
Sea, and Gaza Strip.
b. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map
the nations of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Saudi
Arabia, and Turkey.

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SS7G6
SS7G6 The student will discuss environmental issues
across Southwest Asia (Middle East).
a. Explain how water pollution and the unequal
distribution of water impacts irrigation and drinking
water.

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SS7G7
SS7G7 The student will explain the impact of location,
climate, physical characteristics,
Distribution of natural resources and population
distribution on Southwest Asia (Middle East).
a. Explain how the distribution of oil has affected the
development of Southwest Asia (Middle East).
b. Describe how the deserts and rivers of Southwest
Asia (Middle East) have affected the population in
terms of where people live, the type of work they do,
and how they travel.

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SS7G8
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.
b. Explain the diversity of religions within the Arabs,
Persians, and Kurds.
c. Compare and contrast the prominent religions in
Southwest Asia (Middle East): Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity.
d. Explain the reason for the division between Sunni and
Shia Muslims.
e. Evaluate how the literacy rate affects the standard of
living.
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SS7CG4
SS7CG4 The student will compare and contrast
various forms of government.
a. Describe the ways government systems distribute
power: unitary, confederation, and federal.
b. Explain how governments determine citizen
participation: autocratic, oligarchic, and democratic.
c. Describe the two predominant forms of
democratic governments: parliamentary and
presidential.

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SS7CG5
SS7CG5 The student will explain the structures of
the national governments of Southwest Asia (Middle
East).
a. Compare the parliamentary democracy of the
State of Israel, the monarchy of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, and the theocracy of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, distinguishing the form of leadership
and the role of the citizen in terms of voting rights
and personal freedoms.

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SS7E5
SS7E5 The student will analyze different economic
systems.
a. Compare how traditional, command, and market
economies answer the economic questions of (1)
what to produce, (2) how to produce, and (3) for
whom to produce.
b. Explain how most countries have a mixed economy
located on a continuum between pure market and
pure command.
c. Compare and contrast the economic systems in
Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
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SS7E6
SS7E6 The student will explain how voluntary trade
benefits buyers and sellers in Southwest Asia (Middle
East).
a. Explain how specialization encourages trade
between countries.
b. Compare and contrast different types of trade
barriers, such as tariffs, quotas, and embargos.
c. Explain the primary function of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
d. Explain why international trade requires a system
for exchanging currencies between nations.
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SS7E7
SS7E7 The student will describe factors that
influence economic growth and examine their
presence or absence in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
a. Explain the relationship between investment in
human capital (education and training) and gross
domestic product (GDP).
b. Explain the relationship between investment in
capital (factories, machinery, and technology) and
gross domestic product (GDP).
c. Explain the role of oil in these countries economies.
d. Describe the role of entrepreneurship.
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SS7H2
SS7H2 The student will analyze continuity and change in
Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21st century.
a. Explain how European partitioning in the Middle East after the
breakup of the Ottoman Empire led to regional conflict.
b. Explain the historical reasons for the establishment of the
modern State of Israel in 1948; include the Jewish religious
connection to the land, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and
Zionism in Europe.
c. Describe how land and religion are reasons for continuing
conflicts in the Middle East.
d. Explain U.S. presence and interest in Southwest Asia; include
the Persian Gulf conflict and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Euphrates River
Begins in Turkey and flows south
through Iraq
In southern Iraq, the Euphrates
River joins with the Tigris River to
form one waterway called the Shaat
al-Arab
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Jordan River

Begins at the southern end of the Sea of

Galilee & flows south until it reaches the
Dead Sea
Main source of water for Israel, Jordan,
parts of Syria, & many of those living in the
West Bank & the Gaza Strip
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Tigris River
Begins in Turkey and flows south
through Iraq
Provides water for both drinking and
farming
Many countries have had problems over
how the rivers water should be shared
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Suez Canal
120-mile man-made waterway
that is used to transport goods
to and from all three continents
Connects the Red Sea with the
Mediterranean Sea
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Persian Gulf
Located between the country of
Iran and the Arabian Peninsula
All of the countries that produce
oil in that region depend on the
Persian Gulf as a shipping route
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Strait of Hormuz

Located at one end of the

Persian Gulf
Connects the Persian Gulf to
the Arabian Sea

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Arabian Sea
Located north of the Indian
Ocean
Forms part of a key shipping
route between Europe and
India through the Suez Canal
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Red Sea
Inlet of the Indian Ocean
that lies between Africa and
Asia
Heavy shipping traffic takes
place here
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Gaza Strip

Rectangular territory that is about

25 miles long and 4 to 5 miles wide
One of the worlds most densely
populated areas
Often politically unstable

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Ethnic Group
Group of people who share
a common culture traditions, foods, language,
etc.
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Religious Group
Believe in the same god (or
gods) and have common
sacred text with a specific
set of rules about how to
live
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Arabs
Most (not all) practice
Islam and speak Arabic
Majority found in Southwest
Asia and Northern Africa
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Persians
Majority live in Iran and are
Shia Muslims
Speak Farsi

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Kurds
Most live in the mountains of
Turkey, Iran, Syria, & Iraq
Largest ethnic group without
own country
Most are Sunni Muslim
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Judaism
Monotheistic religion
Followers are called Jews

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Islam
Followers are called Muslims
Based on the religious
teachings of the prophet
Muhammad
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Christianity
Religious group who believe that
Jesus is the Messiah (savior)

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Sunni
Largest denomination of Islam (90% of Muslims)
Do not believe spiritual leaders have to be related to
Muhammad

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Shia
2nd Largest denomination of Islam
Believe spiritual leaders have to be related to
Muhammad

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Ottoman Empire
Empire that controlled much
of the Middle East from the
1300s to WWI

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Holocaust
Over 6 million Jews were
murdered by Hitlers
Germany

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Anti-Semitism
Hatred of Jews

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Zionism
Movement for the
worlds Jews to return
to a homeland in Zion
(Palestine)
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Persian Gulf War

Operation Desert Storm
Military force to liberate
Kuwait from Iraq invasion in
1991
U.S. won after 6 weeks
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Afghanistan Invasion
U.S. invaded Afghanistan
Government was believed to be
aiding Osama bin Laden
U.S. defeated Taliban
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Operation Iraqi Freedom

Invasion led by U.S. in 2003 to
stop Iraq from developing
nuclear weapons
Hussein was captured, tried, &
executed
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OPEC
Organization of
Petroleum Exporting
Countries
Founded to set oil prices
and policies
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Ansley at Brain Wrinkles

2015 Brain Wrinkles