TAS MS Library        
         
Introduction

Activity A: Geography

 Activity B: Sociology

Activity C: Economics

Draw Borders!
         

Kenbrena Activity A

Kenbrena is a fictitious continent.

  • It stretches for nearly 2,500 miles east to west.

  • The north to south dimension is about 2,100 miles.

  • The population is about 250,000,000.

Download the Data Collection Sheet to record your answers to the Kenbrena Activity Quesitons.  (Just click on the link to the right and "Save" into your personal files.)

1. Study Maps 1-3 at the right.  What information does each of the maps primarily give? Hypothesize how and why you might use the information for each map.

2. List the longitude and latitude of Kenbrena.

3. What does "up to 1000" and "5000…" mean on Map#1?

4. Civilization first grew up on rivers such as the Nile River, the Huang He River, the Indus River and the Tigris and Euphrates River.  Did people in Kenbrena settle near rivers?  Why do you think having a river might be important for a country?

 

Resources:
Map 1: Topographical Map
Map 2:
Social Groupings
Map 3: Population Density
Blank Map
Data Collection Sheet  
Social Groups  
Glossary  
Rubric  

Credits

  
   
Cool Topics to Discuss:
  • Climate:  Is it possible to guess where the cold and warm places of Kenbrena are?  In which parts might "surviving the cold" make it more expensive to live there?
     
  • Natural Borders:  The borders that governments draw between peoples sometimes use the borders that nature provides:  rivers, mountain chains and oceans. Look up examples in an online atlas like Grolier's or World Book Online at the library's web site.
     
  • Countries with contiguous land are easier to defend.  Look up "contiguous" in our Kenbrena Glossary (at right) and explain why that is so.  Do you know any countries with lands that are not contiguous?
     
  • Access to the Sea: In history, kings and emperors have sometimes fought wars to gain land that gives their territory access to the sea. Rivers and shorelines provide that access and are important to importing and exporting. Countries that don't have access to the sea are often quite poor.  Why do you think that's so?  Will you provide access to the sea for each of your 4 Kenbrena countries?
     
  • Use the atlas in the World Book Online or Grolier's Database to find examples of countries with natural borders or that may suffer because they don't have access to the sea.  Do you find cities near rivers and seas?