SS6G11 Name_________________________Per______



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SS6G11 Name_________________________Per______

SS6G11 The student will describe the cultural characteristics of Europe

Journal prompt: 50 words…Other than your primary language, which language do you feel is the most important and why?

A. Comparing the languages of German, English, Russian, French, and Italian

Three main categories- Germanic, Romance, and Slavic

Europe is home to more than 200 native languages.

Germanic- largest of the three language categories; derived from the Germanic tribes 750 BC- AD1; found in Northwest and Central Europe

German- spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, European Union; 100 million people speak German

English- United Kingdom, Ireland, European Union; 62 million speak English

Slavic- Russian is the most widely spoken Slavic language; Russian is the largest native language in Europe. Found in Central and Eastern Europe. Many Slavic languages (such as Russian) use the Cyrillic alphabet instead of the Roman alphabet.

Russian- Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrguzstan, United Nations, Commonwealth of Independent States; 140 million people speak Russian.

Romance- derived from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire; Latin is no longer spoken as a native language in any country. Found in the South and West of Europe.

French- France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, United Nations, European Union; 65-80 million people speak French.

Italian- Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican, European Union; 63 million people speak Italian.

Having so many languages in Europe can be a problem. It is hard to live, work and trade with people who do not speak your language. To help solve this problem, European children learn more than one language in school. The European Union has 23 official languages to make sure people can understand laws and decisions made by the government. Although they want a unified Europe, there are laws in place to protect the languages and cultures of the people.

Guided reading questions:

1) What are some of the problems of having over 200 languages in Europe?

2) Which languages come from the Ancient Roman Empire language?

3) What is the prominent Germanic language in Europe?

4) What is the prominent Slavic language in Europe?

5) What is the prominent Romance language in Europe?

6) What do the French and Italian languages have in common?

7) Which language has the most native speakers?

8) What is unique about the Russian language?

9) Which language do people in the Vatican speak?

10) Which language do people from Kazakhstan speak?

B. Major Religions in Europe: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

There are three main religions in Europe: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They have some similarities and some differences. Some even have a common history. Throughout history in Europe, religion has caused wars and toppled governments. Most countries in Europe have “official” religions. Today, Europeans have the right to choose their own religion.

| |Judaism |Christianity |Islam |

|Founder |Abraham- about 2000 BC |Jesus Christ- about 30 AD |Muhammed- about 610 AD |

|Holy Book |Torah |Bible |Koran |

|Followers called |Jews |Christians |Muslims |

|# of followers |About 15 million |About 2.1 billion |About 1.3 billion |

|Additional facts |1) Torah is the first 5 books of|1) the 5 books of Moses make up |1) Muslims believe that Muhammad|

| |the writings of Moses, believed |the first 5 books of the bible |was the last of the prophets |

| |to be given to Moses by God at |2) beliefs are based on the |which included Moses and Jesus. |

| |Mt. Sinai |teachings of Jesus: love of God |2) the main duties of Muslims |

| |2) Talmud is the written |and neighbor, a regard for |(the 5 Pillars) are prayers, |

| |version of the Oral law |justice, a belief that Jesus is |giving to charity, belief in and|

| |3) belief is in the laws of one |the son of God. |submission to one God (Allah), |

| |God and the words of his |3) Christianity is divided into |fasting during the month of |

| |prophets |three major groups: Eastern |Ramadan, and a trip to Mecca |

| |4) actions and following the |Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and |once in a lifetime. |

| |laws are important. |Protestant. |3) Two largest groups: Sunnis |

| |5) Three main types of Judaism: |4) Protestants include: |(90%) and Shiites |

| |Orthodox, Conservative, and |Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists,|4) it is the main religion of |

| |Reform |Presbyterians, Episcopalians, |the Middle East, North Africa, |

| |6) Jews in Europe were nearly |and other non-Catholic and |and Asia |

| |wiped out by Hitler and Nazi |non-Orthodox Christians |5) number of followers is |

| |Germany |5) Christianity is in most parts|rapidly growing |

| | |of the world today. | |

1) Which religion is the oldest?

2) Which religion is growing the fastest?

3) How are these religions alike?

4) Which religion uses the torah?

C. The Literacy Rate and the standard of living in Europe

Literacy is the ability to read and write. High rates of literacy are found in developed or industrialized countries. Most of Europe has a high literacy rate. More industrialized countries are wealthier and can provide education, health care, and technology to its citizen’s. Countries with a high literacy rate usually have a high gross domestic product per capita. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of the goods and service produced in a country by a single individual. Russia is the exception. It has a high literacy rate but a low GDP. Russia’s government is developing ways to improve the economy.

|Country |Literacy Rate |Per person Gross Domestic Product |

|United Kingdom |99% |$35,100 |

|France |99% |$33,000 |

|Russia |99% |$14,700 |

|Germany |99% |$33,200 |

|Italy |98% |$30,400 |

1) Why does Russia have such a low GDP?

2) What does GDP stand for?

3) Which countries have the best literacy rate?

4) What can industrialized countries provide for its citizens?

Graphic organizer

Using the graphic organizer of you choice, compare and contrast the languages of Europe and the religions of Europe.

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