World Affairs 2021

1. Set Focus 
Pose this essential question: What are atlases and almanacs? How can they help us make sense of current events?

2. List Vocabulary 
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary they’ll need to make the most of World Affairs 2021 (see below). Encourage them to use context clues to infer meanings as they read. 

• landmass (p. 15)
• population density (p. 15)
• urbanization (p. 15)
• per capita GDP (p. 15)
• native speakers (p. 15)
• life expectancy (p. 15)

3. Engage
Have students discuss times they have used, or could have used, an atlas or an almanac. Discuss why these reference tools must be updated regularly. 

4. Read
Ask students to preview the maps and almanac tables in World Affairs 2021. Draw their attention to the fast facts and figures related to each continent and region. Have students locate the countries mentioned in these blurbs on the maps and in the tables.

5. Discuss
Use the following prompts to explore the kinds of information students can extract from an atlas and almanac. These prompts appear without answers on the PDF Explore the Atlas & Almanac.  

• What map features do you notice in the continent and region maps in World Affairs 2021? What purpose does each feature serve? (Some of the map features include lines of latitude and longitude, which can help readers pinpoint the precise location of a place; a scale of miles to find the distance between places; a compass rose to determine directionality; and a key that helps identify what the markings on the map mean.) 

• Use the maps in the atlas to identify at least one place where physical geography (landforms, bodies of water, etc.) has shaped human geography (where people live, migrate, etc.). (Many links between physical and human geography are evident on the maps. For example, many cities around the world are located along coasts or rivers. That’s because cities often sprouted around ports, where trade was conducted. Another example is the narrowness of the Mediterranean Sea. Today, many people in Africa and the Middle East attempt to escape war and poverty by migrating across the Mediterranean to Europe, rather than across the vast Atlantic to North America.)   

• What is a country’s “date of origin”? Why do you think some fairly “old” countries (for example, China and India) have relatively recent dates of origin? (The date of origin is the year the nation was established, gained independence, or took on its modern form. Some countries, like India, were under colonial rule before becoming independent states. Other countries have had significant changes in form through the years. For example, China became a republic in 1912 after thousands of years of imperial rule.) 

• Based on the tables, which part of the world is seeing the greatest population increases? What challenges might a growing population present to a government? (The countries with increasing populations are mostly in Africa. A growing population requires more goods and services. This could create challenges for a government in providing adequate access to education and health care. A growing population might also create food and water shortages. If the economy does not keep up with population growth, unemployment rates could rise.)   

• What correlations do you notice in the tables between per capita GDP and life expectancy? What do these correlations suggest? (Countries with a higher per capita GDP, which is a way to gauge a nation’s wealth, tend to have a longer life expectancy, and countries with a lower per capita GDP tend to have a shorter life expectancy. This suggests that wealthier countries have better health-care systems, more doctors, and stronger health education.) 

• Study the sample almanac entry on page 15. If you were a business owner planning to expand internationally, which three pieces of data would you rely on most to select a country in which to do business? Why? (Answers will vary. Students should support their responses by explaining how each piece of data would help them. For example, per capita GDP may be important because it’s a measure of economic health. Population may tell students if there’s a sizable labor force or market for a business’s products. And a nation’s political system may help determine whether that nation is friendly to foreign businesses.

6. Research & Writing
Have students use World Affairs 2021, past Upfront articles, and outside sources to write a two-page paper comparing and contrasting the governments, economies, and other aspects of two nations from the same continent or region.

7. Quiz
Assess comprehension with our open-book quiz.

8. Blank Maps
Have students use the blank maps to map data, such as color-coding countries in Asia by ranges of per capita GDP.

9. Video
For a visual look at how the world has changed over the past two centuries, watch the video about 200 countries in 200 years on Upfront’s website. Discuss how the graphics bring the data alive and what other statistics from the almanac could be presented this way.