7-1 Soil
Geo means earth, and geology is the study of the solid portions of the earth. P
Someone who studies geology is called a geologist. P
Geology includes studying soil or dirt. P
Soil is the portion of the earth that we walk on every day. P
Plants grow in soil. Soil is made of three components. P
Soil includes rocks, many which have been worn into very small pieces, minerals and dead and living material, mostly plants and some animals. P
When soil is first formed, the rock that it comes from is very important. P
The older the soil gets, the less important the original rock is. P
Some soil is very good for plant life. P
It has many nutrients that plants need. P
Some areas, though, have very poor soil. P
The desert is one place with very poor soil. P
It is very difficult for plants to grow in this sandy soil. P
The best soil is on the first few feet of the earth's surface. P
It is better than the dirt below it because it has many living things in it which keep it healthy for plants. P
Soil is a darker color than dirt. P
The dark color comes from the plants that are alive in the soil and also the plants that are dead in the soil. P
7-2 Landforms
The earth is different and unique everywhere you go. P
There are mountains and seas, valleys and continents. P
All of these natural formations on the earth are landforms. P
Landforms can be small or very large. P
When geologists study landforms, they look at four characteristics: structure, process, slope and drainage. P
The structure of a landform tells us what it is made from. P
What type of rock is it? How was it made? How is it put together? P
Do the pieces come together in layers on top of each other or were they pressed together from the sides? P
This process tells us what outside factors and forces affect the landform. P
Is water changing it? Is pressure changing it? P
What other forces are changing the landform? P
The slope of a landform is how steep it rises. P
Is it steep like the face of a mountain or is it gentle like a small hill that is easy to walk over? P
The slope of a landform will affect how the landform changes in the future, and that is why scientists study it. P
Water can have a big impact on a landform, so drainage only deals with how water affects the landform. P
Erosion is a big problem in some areas. P
Erosion happens when water runs over a landform and takes large portions of the landform away. P
Erosion can have quick and severe affects on a landform. P
7-3 Religion and Spirituality
While many people consider religion and spirituality the same thing, there are actually large differences between the two. P
Religion deals with an institutional belief system defined and accepted by a given religious group. P
Religions of the world include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam among others. P
In each of these religious systems, there is a defined theology and set of affirmed beliefs. P
If someone rejects one or more of the doctrinal beliefs, they are considered to have rejected the religion. P
In addition to the theology or beliefs, there are certain rituals that each religion recommends to its followers. P
These rituals may include sacraments like marriage and confession as well as group meetings and the traditional elements of those meetings. P
Spirituality, on the other hand, is a personal devotion and pursuit or inner connection with a higher power. P
People who are spiritual are interested in questions of existence and salvation and their own personal achievements in those areas. P
Spiritual people may or may not participate in the rituals of a given religion, P
but they will seek to individually pursue a more advanced spiritual state of being. P
Oftentimes, this will include prayer and reading of Holy Scriptures, and many times will also include participation in a religion though the latter is not required. P
7-4 Superstition
A superstition is a belief based not on reason or knowledge but on emotion or tradition. P
Superstitions often have to do with bringing about good luck or avoiding bad luck. P
A superstition may be that you should not open an umbrella in the house or you will get bad luck or that wearing a certain piece of clothing may bring you good luck. P
People who do not believe in a given superstition often consider them irrational or ridiculous. P
Many people consider opposing religious beliefs to be superstitions, and atheists (people who do not believe in God) may consider all religious beliefs to be superstitions. P
In ancient times, Greeks and Romans who believed in many gods, also known as polytheism, believed the gods could reward or punish a person at any time for any reason. P
There were some that, because of this belief, would cower in fear of the gods. P
The Romans considered this superstition. P
The Catholic Church, on the other hand, believes that superstition is sinful or going against God's will. P
This is because superstitions show one's lack of faith and trust in God and his control over one's life. P
To some, superstition may be a serious offence against a supernatural being. P
To others superstition is a silly tradition that one follows in hopes of having good luck. P
Either way, getting too consumed with superstition is sure to have negative effects on one's life. P
7-5 Icons
The word icon comes from the ancient Greek for the word "image". P
It is not surprising to know, then, that an icon is supposed to be an image of God or another religious figure. P
Icons are used primarily in Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism. P
They are an artistic representation of Jesus or a saint or some other religious figure. P
An icon can take many forms including sculpture, metal work, mosaic or fresco, but by far the most common icons are paintings. P
Many of these paintings are ornate with gold leafing and exacting detail. P
People use icons for many different reasons. P
Some find icons inspiring, and the icons may aid these people in making a personal connection with a heavenly being. P
For others, the icon is more significant and is itself an object of worship. P
Some people will set up a shrine before an icon in their homes. P
Some consider icons to have an effect quite the opposite of their intention. P
These people would say that icons are actually sinful or offensive toward God because the person making the icon is seeking to capture the essence of the divine being in the icon itself. P
These people would say the person favoring the icon is worshiping an idol, an offence of one of the basic tenants of Christianity. P
7-6 The Bible
The Bible is considered one of the most important religious books of all time. P
Christians believe that the Bible is a collection of writings given to men from God himself through the hands of the people who wrote them. P
The Bible is divided into sixty-six books and two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. P
The Old Testament, also known as the Torah by Jews, is divided into three parts. P
The first part of the Old Testament is the historical books. P
These books tell of the story of Israel and the history of the Jewish people. P
After the historical books come the books of poetry. P
These include the Book of Psalms (songs) and Proverbs and others. P
After the poetical books come the books of prophesy. P
These books, each named after the person who wrote it, are the words God's prophets spoke to the people of Israel. P
The New Testament is also divided into three sections. P
The first section is composed of the gospels (the stories of Jesus' life) and Acts (the story of the early church). P
After that come the letters. P
These are letters written by godly men to people and churches of the day often explaining Christian theology. P
The last book in the New Testament is the book of Revelation, a prophetic book which examines the end of the world and of all time. P
7-7 Divine Grace
The concept of divine grace, or God's grace, is something present in many religions in the world. P
The understanding of what grace is, though, varies from religion to religion. P
In Christianity, grace is God's favor or goodness on an undeserving person. P
According to this belief, all people have estranged or separated themselves from God and are unable to repair this separation. P
God chooses to give grace to humankind though the death of Jesus and repair that separation, the separation that cannot be fixed by man's hand. P
Humankind has done nothing to earn God's love or favor. P
God gives freely of himself and because it is only due to his love and nothing that humankind has done, it is grace. P
In the Hindu religion, on the other hand, grace is something which must be earned. P
Grace is the key to spiritual realization or enlightenment, and was not given by God but must be attained on one's own. P
A person must therefore work to attain grace as it will not be given by God. P
These contrasting uses of the word grace show that though different religions may seem to have similar beliefs, P
until a person looks deep into those beliefs and understands the meaning behind the words, one will never truly understand that religion. P
7-8 Karma
Karma is a belief that stems from the shramana religions of which Buddhism is a descendent. P
A traditional understanding of karma attributes a person's karma to simple cause and effect. P
Karma is the natural extension of the choices a person makes and it is possible to change one's karma by making an alternate decision. P
The belief in karma has become fairly popular in some western cultures today. P
The understanding of karma, though, is not consistent with the traditional understanding. P
In some western cultures, the people believe that karma is a system of repayment for one's choices and actions. P
When one chooses to harm others or make hurtful decisions, people believe that karma, or the force of repayment, will make retribution on that person. P
Rather than being the natural consequences of one's choices, karma becomes almost like a god in itself which will seek revenge on a person for their hurtful actions. P
Likewise, these same people believe that for those who make good decisions bestowing kindness and love on others, this same force of karma will give positive rewards and benefit to that person. P
In this case, karma becomes an example of a traditional religious belief that has been adapted to fit the existing cultural value of fairness and reward or punishment. P
7-9 Religious Pluralism
Religious pluralism is often confused with religious tolerance, but the two are quite different. P
In religious tolerance, a person has full belief in his or her own faith. P
The tenants they practice and the values they hold as true are accepted without compromise. P
A person practicing religious tolerance knows that people of other religions may hold beliefs contrary to their own, P
but accepts that person even though they may disagree about their religion. P
The first person will allow the second to choose his own beliefs and hold them as true even if they are contrary to those of the first person. P
They can tolerate another's beliefs even if they cannot agree with them. P
Someone practicing religious pluralism, on the other hand, will do more than acknowledge that another person holds beliefs different from his own. P
The religious pluralist will also acknowledge and accept the beliefs of the other person as true. P
For pluralists, there is no one truth in religion. P
Many systems have many beliefs and all of them are true. P
There should be difficulty when a pluralist's religious beliefs come in direct conflict with the religious beliefs of another. P
In this case, though, the pluralist will simply emphasize the similarities in the two religious belief systems and ignore the aspects of the religions that conflict with each other. P
7-10 Syncretism
Have you ever eaten at a salad bar? P
You choose your lettuce as a base and then add all the different toppings you like. P
You might add peppers and cucumbers while another person may add carrots and celery. P
When you are done, you have a salad that is perfect for your unique tastes and preferences. P
This salad bar approach is similar to the religious practice of syncretism. P
Religious syncretism culminates in a religion tailor made to a person's preferences and beliefs. P
A person who practices religious syncretism does not look to one belief system and hold to its values. P
This person may look to several very different religious belief systems and simply select portions of each one which support or encourage the beliefs that this person already holds. P
For example, a person may embrace the simplicity and anti-materialism attitude of Buddhism and at the same time profess belief in animism. P
This person, at the same time, may practice the Jewish tradition of the Passover. P
Each of these religious systems are separate and inconsistent with one another, P
but the practice of religious syncretism is happy to select these isolated values and beliefs from each of the religions and combine them to make a religious belief system unique only to that person. P
7-11 Salvation
The religious study of salvation is called soteriology. P
Salvation is a belief that mankind needs God to save him from various punishments. P
One can be saved from death when he or she receives eternal life or life after death. P
One can also receive salvation from punishment, commonly considered Hell, by reception into Heaven. P
A person can be saved from a natural inclination to do evil by God's reforming of his character. P
In Christianity, humankind is shown to have made decisions that have put him in opposition to God. P
This understanding of separation from God is called sin. P
Because of sin, mankind is doomed to death and suffering. P
Through salvation, man is able to be reunited to a relationship with God despite his imperfection and sin. P
Different religions believe that one attains salvation in different ways. P
Some religions believe that through meditation or good behavior or gaining wisdom or spiritual knowledge one can achieve salvation. P
Other religions believe that salvation comes from a loss of individuality and self and a full connection and absorption in a greater consciousness or force. P
Still others believe that humankind does not possess within himself the ability to save himself and therefore must depend on the love and grace given by God. P
7-12 The Passover
One of the most important religious traditions in Judaism is the celebration of the Passover. P
This meal and event commemorates the miraculous escape of the Jewish nation from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. P
At that time, the Jewish people had become slaves in the nation of Egypt. P
They were mistreated and abused and desired freedom and release from their oppression. P
God called Moses to lead the Jewish people out of their slavery. P
Moses had been raised as an Egyptian prince in the house of the king but left his wealthy life after he murdered an Egyptian guard. P
Many years later he returned to Egypt as a common man and as a Jew. P
God used Moses to talk to the pharaoh to try and convince him to release the Jewish people. P
When the pharaoh refused, God brought a series of ten plagues, or uncontrolled diseases, on Egypt to convince the pharaoh to release the Jewish people. P
The last plague was called the death of the first born. P
God instructed the Jewish people to put the blood of a lamb over the doors to their homes so that when the spirit of death came, it would pass over their houses and not bring death there. P
The Jewish people obeyed, and that night the spirit of death came to all the Egyptian households and killed the first born child. P
This was so tragic and brought so much sorrow on the Egyptians that they finally released the Jews. P
Today Jewish people everywhere still celebrate the Passover to remember how God freed them from slavery to the Egyptians. P
7-13 King Tut
King Tutankhamen, also known as King Tut, is probably the most well known king in Egyptian history. P
He was a young king, only around nine years old when he took reign of the Egyptian empire. P
At that time he changed his name, possibly to win over his people. P
His original name was Tutankhaten which means living image of Atan. P
He changed his name to Tutankhamen which means living image of Amun, the favored god of his people. P
He only reigned ten years (1333 BC to 1323 BC) and died with no heirs. P
He did have two children, daughters, but they were both still born or born already dead. P
King Tut in himself is a paradox. P
He was not regarded as a significant king during his lifetime. P
He was too young to make significant decisions as ruler and reigned such a short time he had little impact on his people. P
In death, though, he has become the most important pharaoh in history. P
His significance came in the discovery of his tomb in the 1920's. P
His tomb, which seems to have been forgotten by his people, was discovered nearly intact, that is without having been changed. P
There were many valuable gold items found in his tomb, and much has been learned about Egyptian history from these relics. P
7-14 Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh was a famous artist who lived between 1853 and 1890. P
He was a complicated man who suffered from anxiety and struggled with depression. P
He discovered art late in his life; he didn't start painting until he was in his twenties. P
During his lifetime, he completed around 900 paintings and 1100 sketches and drawings. P
The pieces for which he is best known were mostly produced during the last two years of his life. P
He died at 37 from complications of a gun wound he gave himself. P
Van Gogh's work was unique because he used color in radical way. P
Whereas most artists used colors to represent the reality in front of them, van Gogh painted with colors greatly different than the colors around him. P
Van Gogh chose colors he knew would evoke a certain mood or feeling in his observers. P
The significance of this was not realized until much later. P
As an artist, he was not very appreciated during his lifetime. P
His work is significant, though, because of its impact on future art. P
People now regard him as one of the best and most influential artists in history. P
His work made significant contributions to the future of modern art. P
7-15 Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is one of the most impactful politicians in African history. P
He was born in South Africa in 1918 and worked to abolish apartheid practices in his country. P
In the apartheid rule of South Africa, people who were not white in ethnicity were segregated or separated from those who were. P
The people were divided into four ethnic groupings. P
They were forced to live in different regions of the country and attend different schools. P
Also, resources like hospitals and parks were not equally available to people of the different racial categories. P
Mandela became politically active in 1948 after South Africa elected the National Party which encouraged apartheid. P
He began his work as a lawyer legally representing blacks for little or no charge. P
Although he began his political activity with nonviolent intentions, P
Mandela later became the leader of a violent group working against apartheid. P
This group bombed significant places associated with the apartheid regime. P
He was arrested in 1962 and spent the next twenty-seven years in prison for sabotage and crimes similar to treason. P
Mandela was finally released from prison in 1990 and continued his political fight against apartheid. P
He was eventually elected as president of South Africa in 1994. P
He held the presidency until June of 1999. P
7-16 Socrates
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BC to 399 BC. P
Most of what is known about Socrates comes from the writings of his followers Plato and Xenophon. P
There is difficulty, though, in learning about Socrates' life because his followers and contemporaries did not write biographical tales of his life but wrote instead philosophical texts. P
The information about Socrates must therefore be taken from these pieces that have other purposes. P
The information about him, then, is not necessarily accurate historically. P
It seems, though, that Socrates' beliefs put him at odds with his fellow philosophers in Athens at that time. P
Socrates made his greatest contribution to philosophy and education with his way of approaching a subject, what we now call the Socratic Method. P
Through this method, an inquirer approaches a problem with a series of questions. P
Through question after question, this inquirer eventually comes to the answer he or she is seeking. P
This method helps unearth the inquirer's deep rooted beliefs as well as his or her existing knowledge about the subject. P
Socrates used this method to examine questions of morality and good. P
Today, this approach is applied to scientific research through the scientific method. P
In this model, the researcher poses a hypothesis and then performs tests or experiments to either confirm or reject that hypothesis. P
7-17 Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte was a leader in the latter part of the French Revolution. P
Though born Italian, he was emperor of France from 1804 to 1815 and is most known for the Napoleonic Wars. P
He was a small man, and many believe this was part of his drive for political greatness. P
He fought wars against all the European political powers of his time with the goal of spreading revolutionary ideals throughout Europe. P
He appointed many of his friends and relatives to rule the countries that he defeated and established them as French client states. P
These client states were lower in status than the state of France and would answer to French authority. P
Though Napoleon had been successful up until that point, his great defeat was at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. P
In this battle, Napoleon's army was defeated by a combined army of English and Prussian armies. P
The Waterloo Campaign, a three day battle ending with the Battle of Waterloo, began with the French army attacking the English army on June 16, 1815 in what is present day Belgium. P
Napoleon attacked this army in hopes of defeating them before the Prussians could join forces against him. P
When the Prussians arrived, they attacked Napoleon's army from one side while the English army attacked from another. P
All of Napoleon's army scattered, and the English and Prussian army invaded France. P
Because of this, the French ruler Louis XVIII was reinstated over France and Napoleon abdicated, or gave up, his throne. P
7-18 Marie Curie
Marie Curie, also known as Madame Curie, was a woman of firsts and a pioneer in the fields of chemistry and physics. P
Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867. P
Her parents were both reputable teachers, and perhaps is it no surprise that she also had a career in academia. P
Her achievements were not easy to attain, P
Both her mother's family and her father's family, at one point wealthy, lost their fortunes supporting national uprisings in Poland. P
Because of this, Curie did not have a family fortune to send her to school. P
To solve this problem, she made an agreement with her older sister to help them both. P
Curie agreed to financially support her sister during her medical studies if her sister would do the same for her two years later. P
The sisters followed this general plan, and Marie worked as a governess taking care of children in wealthier families. P
In 1891 after some romantic complications, she began attending the Sorbonne where she studies physics, chemistry and mathematics. P
Marie Curie became a successful physicist and made great strides in the field of radioactivity. P
She was the first female professor at the University of Paris and the first person to receive two Nobel prizes, in physics and chemistry. P
She discovered the elements polonium and radium, and she created the theory of radioactivity. P
There are few men or women who have made such significant contributions to scientific history as Marie Curie. P
7-19 Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, one day to become one of the most significant political leaders in the United States, was born to a poor family in Kentucky in 1809. P
Though his father attained wealth and success and then lost it again, Lincoln did not like the hard and physical life of the pioneer. P
He did not like hunting and fishing and was considered lazy by his family and neighbors. P
In reality, Lincoln was an academic. P
He didn't have much formal instruction, but he did love to read and he educated himself. P
He was successful enough in his education to become a lawyer, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and finally president of the United States in 1860. P
Lincoln is most known for his movement to end slavery in the United States. P
This disagreement over human rights was of foremost importance in the beginning of the United States Civil War through which Lincoln shepherded the nation. P
His famous Gettysburg Address has been memorized by countless American school children and states that all men are created equal. P
It is one of the most important speeches in American history. P
Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, the first American president to be killed. P
Historians regard him as one of the most influential and important presidents in American history. P
7-20 Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy, also known as Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, was a novelist in nineteenth century Russia. P
Because of his works War and Peace and Anna Karenina he is considered by many to be one of the world's greatest authors. P
His primary works are fictional tales of everyday Russian life. P
Unlike many artists, Tolstoy was esteemed by his peers, and many attributed the greatest writing of their time to Tolstoy. P
He took the inspiration for many of his novels from his own life. P
His first novel, called Childhood, Boyhood and Youth was based on his experiences in a wealthy aristocratic family. P
The main character in this work comes to an understanding. P
He realizes the great difference between himself and his family and the peasants working for them. P
Tolstoy's most famous book is War and Peace. P
This lengthy novel has over 580 characters. P
It is considered one of the greatest novels of all time. P
Tolstoy would disagree, however. P
He considered War and Peace, as well as his other novels, social commentaries and works of political and philosophical ideals. P
His purpose in writing was bigger than mere entertainment. P
Tolstoy was well admired during his lifetime and continues to be admired today. P
His writings, whether social commentary or novels, have had a great impact on the world and will continue to do so for many years yet to come. P