Year 2 Geography

We suggest that you use a good world history atlas so that your students can have practice at the skill of using maps and legends. Click the link below for our recommendation. The next choice is to use the supporting links that you find here. Please only let your student look at the teacher map in Map Aids as a last resort.

General

Online Maps, Map Vendors, and More!

• Euratlas
• Interactive maps, quizzes, puzzles and downloads!
• HyperHistory: Page for links to maps, time lines, and much more!
• National Geographic MapMaker
• Outline Maps: US 50 States and Countries and Continents.
• Historical maps: Great site with lots of maps!
• MegaMaps: Printable maps from a single page up to 7 ft. across.
• Imperial History of the Middle East: A 90-second flash presentation!
• Maps for Western Civilization, 5/e by Jackson J. Spielvogel, great maps for Year 2!
• Map Library
• Political Medieval Maps: 476-1500 A.D.

Unit 1 – The Middle Ages

Week 1: Twilight of the Western Roman Empire

• Geography terms for younger students.
• The Germanic Kingdoms and the East Roman Empire in 486 AD.
• Invasions of the Roman Empire

Week 2: Byzantine Empire & the Eastern Orthodox Church

• World Map (This is a pdf file.)
• Byzantine Empire
• Barbarian and Byzantine Empires

Week 3: Byzantine Empire & Rise of Islam

• Map of the Muslim Empire
• The Expansion of Islam
• The Rise of Islam
• Muslim Majority Countries

Week 4: The Making of Medieval Europe: Charlemagne

• The bard kingdom before Charlemagne’s quest.
• Full map of Europe in 700 AD.
• Saxon land holdings in 600 AD.
• Charlemagne’s Empire

Week 5: Developments During the Viking Age

• Origins of the Vikings
• Check out a Viking village!
• Viking Facts
• Explore the Scandinavian Peninsula.
• Explore the Danish Peninsula.
• Climate of Nordic countries
• What are Fjords?
• Vikings, why were they good sailors and ship builders?
• How did climate affect their desire to leave or stay in their homelands?
• What were their amusements?
• Viking clothing
• What form of stories or literature came from the Vikings and why?
• Who were the Magyars and where did they settle?
• Norwegian, North, and Baltic Seas
• Barents Sea
• White Sea
• Viking trade routes
• Viking settlements
• Bay of Bothnia
• Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland, Lake Ladoga, and Lake Onega
• Skagerrak and Kattegat
• Kola Peninsula
• Aland and Gotland Islands

Week 6: Medieval Life: Feudalism

• Grammar levels: There are no Geography objectives this week.
• Political Map of Europe (12th Century)
• Upper and Lower Lorraine
• French-Comte
• French Royal Demesne(domains of the King)
• County of Barcelona
• Kingdom of Aries

Week 7: The High Middle Ages

• Europe at the time of the Crusades
• Map of the first four Crusades
• Map of the First Crusade
• Map of the Second Crusade
• Map of the Third Crusade
• Map of the Fourth Crusade
• After the 4th Crusade
• Map of the Muslim Empire

Week 8: The Mongols, Marco Polo, and the Far East

• Blank map of Japan. For answers click on upper left corner.
• A map showing the route of Marco Polo’s travels.
• “Sights & Sounds of The Marco Polo Odyssey”: This is a nine minute flash movie!
• The Mongol Dominions
• Map of Medieval Trade Networks

Week 9: The Reshaping of Medieval Europe

• Main Mediterranean and Black Sea Routes in Medieval Times.

Week 10: Early Lights of the Reformation

• Use this world map to do your unit review. (pdf file)

Unit 2 – Renaissance & Reformation

Week 11: Introduction to the Southern Renaissance

• Italy during the Renaissance, and a physical map of Italy.

Week 12: The Southern Renaissance & the Early Explorers

• Simple explanation of longitude and latitude.
• Excellent worksheet on using latitude and longitude.
• PBS activity for working with latitude and longitude.
• Learn to use a use a compass!
• See how charts and maps are made.
• Map of Columbus’ four voyages
• Learn about the Line of Demarcation.
• Prince Henry the Navigator: travel routes
• Bartolomeu Dias (Diaz): travel routes
• Vasco da Gama: travel routes
• Christopher Columbus: travel routes
• Parts of a Map
• Map Keys
• Compass Rose
• Map Grids
• Map Scales
• Map Legends

Week 13: The Southern Renaissance & the Age of Exploration

• Simple explanation of longitude and latitude.
• PBS activity for working with latitude and longitude.
• Learn to use a compass!
• How charts and maps are made.
• A map of Columbus’ four voyages.
• Learn about the Line of Demarcation.
• Sir Francis Drake: trace the path of his voyages.
• John Cabot: click on the map to view the path of his voyages.
• Giovanni da Verrazano: trace the path of his voyages.
• Jaques Carrier: trace the path of his voyages.
• John Hawkins: trace the path of his voyages.

Week 14: Spanish Dominion & the New World: Aztecs & Incas

• Blank map of South America. For answers click on upper left corner.
• Blank map of Central America. For answers click on upper left corner.
• Map of major landforms in South America and Central America.
• Exotic plants and animals from South America: Pantagonia, Panama, and Brazil.

Week 15: The Northern Renaissance & Its Scholars

• Blank European map to label where the artists and thinkers lived. (pdf file)
• Locate Wittenberg, Germany where Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
• Historic festival commemorating Luther’s wedding in Wittenberg!
• The Hapsburg Empire: the Hapsburg Territories are included.

Week 16: The Reformation: Martin Luther & the German States

• Map of Worms, Germany.
• Map of Prussia 1415 – 1914
• Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1180, 1360, 1460, 1550
• Links for many German and European maps.
• Map of the present religious distributions of the world.
• Geographical Distribution of Major World Religions

Week 17: Reformation in Switzerland, England, & Scandinavia

• Map of Switzerland
• A blank outline map of Switzerland
• Swiss Cantons
• Map of England
• Map of Sweden
• Use this blank European map as your resource.
• Useful map of religious divisions in the sixteenth century.
• Compare with map of Ancient Roman Empire. Click on “Spread of Christianity” while here.
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Week 18: Counter Reformation, French Huguenots, & the Netherlands

• Map of the Netherlands and Belgium.
• More helpful maps and information for this week.
• Pictures of windmills
• History of windmills
• Dikes: history and photos

Week 19: Elizabethan England & the Scottish Reformation

• Use this blank map of the British Isles this week.
• A map of the British Isles
• Cities of the British Isles here.
• England
• Inner and Outer Hebrides

Unit 3 – Of Crowns & Colonies

General Resources for this Unit

• A map of the 13 Colonies is found here.

Week 20: Early New World Colonies & Eastern Europe

• A blank map of North America (pdf file)
• How to make a salt map.
• Map of 13 Colonies (pdf file)
• Map quiz of 13 Colonies Answers
• Oceans around North America
• Major Geographical Regions of North America
• Waterways of North America
• Cape Cod Bay
• Delaware Bay
• Long Island Sound
• Chesapeake Bay

Week 21: Puritans in New England

• Blank map of Colonial America. (pdf)
• Blank map of the New England states (pdf file)
• Agriculture of New England
• Places in New England for your geography assignment.
• Narragansett Bay
• Native crops of Massachusetts
• Climate of New England

Week 22: Charters, Creeds, & the English Civil War

• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)
• To see a map of New France, click here.
• John Smith’s map of the Chesapeake Bay.
• Chesapeake Bay
• The White Mountains
• Narragansett Bay, Block Island, Block Island Sound, and Rhode Island Sound
• Long Island, Long Island Sound, and the Connecticut River
• Chesapeake Bay
• The Potomac River
• Susquehanna River
• Locations of early settlements (Portsmouth (New Hampshire), Providence, Hartford, New Haven, St. Mary’s City)
• Early settlements in Rhode Island (Portsmouth, Providence, New Port)
• Early settlements in Delaware (Dover)
• Early settlements in Maryland (Annapolis)

Week 23: Restoration Colonies & the Age of Louis XIV

• History and map of New York
• History and map of New Jersey
• Map quiz of North Carolina
• Map quiz of South Carolina
• New France
• Blank map of the New England states. (pdf file)
• Map of Colonial America. (pdf file)
• Landforms of New York: (Lake Champlain, Albany, New York City, Hudson River)
• Landforms of Vermont: (Green Mountains)
• Landforms of New Jersey: (Delaware Bay, Cooper’s Ferry (later Camden, NJ), Trenton, Elizabeth, Newark)
• Landforms of New France: click here and here.
• James Bay

Week 24: Dissenters in America & the Age of Reason

• Map quiz of Pennsylvania
• Map quiz of Delaware
• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)
• Map of Europe in the 18th Century
• Landforms of Pennsylvania (Monongahela River, Allegheny River, Susquehanna River, Philadelphia)
• Landforms of Delaware (Delaware River, Delaware Bay, Dover, Wilmington)
• The Allegheny Mountains
• Rohoboth Beach

Week 25: Colonists & Native Americans

• Map of Russia
• Map of Iroquois “Six Nations”
• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)

Week 26: Empires at Odds

• Map quiz of Georgia
• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)
• Map of Georgia
• Altamaha River

Week 27: Thirteen Established Colonies

• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)

Unit 4 – Age of Revolutions

Week 28: Shaping Influences on Colonial Culture

• GeoNet: click on “Northeast” for fun online games to play for review.
• The 13 Original Colonies
• The Colonies Commerce with England
• Economy of the Colonies
• Spanish land holdings in North America in the early 1750’s
• Major seaports of the colonies: Boston, Rhode Island, New York, Philadelphia, and Charles Town (now Charleston, SC) can be found on this map.
• New France territories of Acadia and Louisbourg.
• Appalachian Mountains

Week 29: French & Indian War

• Territorial holding before and after the Treaty of Paris.
• Spanish land holdings in North America in the early 1750’s
• The terrain of Canada and the Appalachian Mountains.
• Locations of key battles of the French and Indian War
• French and Indian War battles

Week 30: Give Me Liberty!

• Map of Colonial America (pdf file)

Week 31: First Battles for Independence

• Good, clear map of New France
• Use this blank outline map of North America this week.

Week 32: Waging the Revolutionary War

• A nice animated atlas that you can use for the rest of this year-plan.
• Battles of the Saratoga Campaign

Week 33: America under the Articles of the Confederation

• Early Boston maps here and here.
• Daniel Boone’s travels in Kentucky.
• Yadkin River
• Boone’s Station
• Sycamore Shoals
• Rockcastle River
• Cumberland Gap
• Appalachian Mountains
• Northwest Territory
• The Northwest Territory created a new boundary between states where slavery would or would not be allowed as America expanded west. Look to see where this boundary was located.

Week 34: Writing the Constitution

• Blank outline map of France

Week 35: Federal Republic & French Revolution

• A simple map for the Northwest Territory.

Week 36: Perilous Times: The Adams Administration

• If you have time, use this great link for reviewing geography of the states and 13 colonies.