Geography / Climate

GEOGRAPHY / CLIMATE

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? Use the following questions as a guide:
2. The hottest temperature should be no more than ______
3. The coldest it gets should be no lower than ______
4. The amount of rain/snowfall in an average year (circle all that apply)
5. High (Rain forest / coast): 60-180 inches per year
6. Medium: 25-60 inches per year
7. Low (Dry / desert): 0-25 inches per year
8. I would like to live in a place with (circle all that apply)
9. Mountains (with snow on top; like the Rocky Mtns; 8,000+ ft. elevation; trees no longer grow )
10. Foothills (maybe snow on top; like North GA)
11. Forests / woods
12. Piedmont / rolling hills (similar to this area)
13. Plains / flatlands (Kansas)
14. Rivers / Lakes
15. Beaches / coastline
16. The current country / region that best matches my criteria is ______

POPULATION DENSITY

1. How many people would you like to live around? This is known as population density, the number of people per square mile. Place an ‘X’ on the line to mark your ideal population density.

GOVERNMENT

1. PARTICIPATION: Who should be involved in the decision making for a country? This means, who gets to have their voice heard (in America, and most other places, this is done by voting for other citizens to represent you). You have a few options: (choose only one)
2. Everyone who is a citizen. There can be age limits and other criteria but for the most part all adults get to participate. This is known as a DEMOCRACY.
3. A small group of people who are either related or connected to one another in some way. This is an OLIGARCHY.
4. One person. This person is currently in charge because either (1) a family member was previously in charge and passed control to him/her or (2) this person executed/jailed/expelled the person previously in charge and will execute/jail/expel anyone who tries to take power. This is known as an AUTOCRACY. It may also be called a dictatorship.

1. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF POWER: Should the entire country follow all of the same rules? Can people in small towns have their own sets of rules that are slightly different from other towns or cities? There are different types of government to answer these questions, which would you prefer? (choose only one)
2. The nation-state is divided into smaller regions. Each region gets to make almost all its own rules. The only thing everyone has to agree on is national defense (will there be an army? A draft? Etc.). The only other thing that may be common is the type of money used and the value of that money. This method is called CONFEDERAL. It was used early in America’s history with the Articles of Confederation and then later by the Confederate States of America (CSA). It is currently used by the European Union (EU).
3. The nation-state has a large central government that makes all decisions affecting the entire country, but individual regions can make decisions that impact only them. This is known as a FEDERAL system and is currently used by the United States with a national government in Washington, DC and regional governments in each State capital.
4. One government makes the rules for the entire country. This is called a UNITARY system. It is used in Great Britain and is the most commonly used form of government in the world.
5. SUMMARIZING
6. I want to live in (answer from 1e) ______
7. With (#2) ______people per square mile
8. Operating under a (#3) ______form of government participation
9. And the distribution of power will be based on the (#4) ______system.