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1
PENNSVALLEY
Geography Skills
Lesson 1:
Where In TheWorld Is TheWesternHemisphere?
Hello, andwelcome to theWesternHemisphere!Thiswill be yourmajor topicof study for the year.
Let’s dig right in. What is the Western Hemisphere, anyway? That is a short question with a long
answer.Most of us do not like long answers.However, we can break it down into simpler terms.
Our planet earth is in the shape of a ball, or
sphere
.Whenwe draw an imaginary line around the
middleof theearth fromwest toeast, wehavea circle.This circle, also knownas the
Equator
, divides
the earth into two equal parts. So,
hemisphere
is a word that means to divide the earth into two
equal parts. We have names for the two equal parts. Any area north of the Equator is called the
Northern Hemisphere
. Any area south of the Equator is called the
Southern Hemisphere
. That
seems simple enough.
ACTIVITY 1:
Use the
boldface
terms above to label
Sphere A
with the
correct terms.
ACTIVITY 2:
Now, take a round object, or sphere, and draw a line around
themiddle of it with a pen.Have your teacher cut the sphere
into two equal parts. Make sure you label which is the
Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. You
could get themmixed up!
Now, take another sphere.Remember what hemisphere
means.Wealsohaveanotherway todivide theearth into two
equal halves.This timewearegoing todivide theearth inhalf
by drawing a line from north to south. This circle has two
names.Onesideof theearth, it iscalled the
PrimeMeridian
.
On the other side of the earth, it is called the
International
Date Line
. Any area to the west of the Prime Meridian is
called the
WesternHemisphere
. Any area to the east of the
PrimeMeridian is called the
EasternHemisphere
.Using the
sphere, or aglobe, your teacher will show youhow thePrime
Meridian connects to the International Date Line.
ACTIVITY 3:
Use the
boldface
terms above to label
Sphere B
with the
correct terms.
ACTIVITY 4:
Let’s use a sphere again. Start at the top and draw a line around your sphere. Have your teacher cut
the sphere into two equal parts. Make sure you label which is the Western Hemisphere and the
Eastern Hemisphere. If you did not label, the west could be the east, or the south, or maybe the
north.Wewouldbeveryconfused!Didyounotice thatweactuallyhave four hemispheres?Mapmakers
have simply divided the earth twice into two equal halves.Youwill find it helpful to locate these places
on a globe.
Sphere
A
Sphere
B
Geography Skills