G u i d e
t o
G e o g r a p h y
C h a l l e n ge
Ancient Egypt, Kush, and Israel
ASIA
E UROPE
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Medite
rranean Sea
ISRAEL
Persian
Gulf
Nile Delta
T
ER
DES
AN
LIBY
Red Sea
ARABIAN
PENINSULA
NUBIAN
DESERT
Nile
River
KUSH
n
f Ade
Gulf o
AFRICA
INDIAN
OCEAN
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
N
W
E
S
Ancient Egypt,
about 1500 B.C.E.
Kingdom of Kush,
about 1500 B.C.E.
Kingdom of Israel,
about 1000 B.C.E.
0
500
1,000 miles
0
500
1,000 kilometers
Sinusoidal (Sanson-Flamsteed) Projection
AW_LG_U02_01.eps
Africa and the Middle
East
©
Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Geography
and the Early Settlement of Egypt, Kush, and Canaan 1
Second Proof
TCI18 110
G u i d e
t o
G e o g r a p h y
C h a l l e n ge
Geography Skills
Score 1 point for each correct answer. Use the
map on the previous page to check shading and labeling.
1. Students should label the Arabian Peninsula on
the map. The Arabian Peninsula is part of Asia.
2. Students should shade ancient Egypt on the
map and key. Egypt is part of Africa.
3. Use the annotated map to check student labels
for the Nile River and the Nile River delta.
4. Use the annotated map to check student labels
for the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the
Gulf of Aden, and the Persian Gulf.
5. Students should label Israel and Kush on their maps.
6. Students should label the Nubian Desert and
the Libyan Desert.
7. The two major vegetation zones in both ancient
Egypt and the Middle East are desert and desert scrub.
8. Egypt was by far the largest of the ancient
kingdoms. Israel and Kush were similar to one
another in size.
Critical Thinking
Questions may have more than one correct
answer. Score 1 to 3 points for each reasonable
answer, depending on the strength of students’
geographic reasoning.
9. Students should note that the land to the west
of Egypt, in central North Africa, is entirely
desert. There is no body of water that would
support life in this region.
12.Students should realize that flat land provides a
natural area for farming and herding.
13.The deserts provided protection from attack
by invading armies that did not want to risk
crossing these harsh areas. To do so would
have meant carrying enough water and food to
last for the long trip across the desert.
14.The Nile River had a great impact on the lives
of the ancient Egyptians. Its life-giving water
and yearly floods allowed people to survive and
prosper. It might have been natural for them to
consider the river as a sort of god bestowing
blessings on its people.
Using Scores to Inform Instruction
Geography Skills A score of 6 out of 8 or better
indicates that students have acquired sufficient
geographic information to proceed.
Critical Thinking A score of 12 out of 18 or
better indicates that students are beginning to
understand the relationships between physical
geography and the different ways in which people live.
Modifying Instruction
ELL or Learners with Special Education
Needs Consider focusing on map-reading
questions or limiting the number of “Critical
Thinking” questions.
Students with Weak Map or Critical Thinking
Skills Assign appropriate pages from the Social
Studies Skills Toolkit in the back of the Lesson Masters.
10.Early people were not likely to settle in a desert region. Rather, they would likely choose
land near rivers or seas, which would provide
drinking water, a means of transportation, and
a source of food such as fish.
11.Kush was located on the Nile River between
Egypt and both central and southern Africa.
This location enabled people from all three
regions to bring goods to Kush to trade.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Geography and the Early Settlement of Egypt, Kush, and Canaan 2