Answer Key: Comparing Two Societies with Maps and Data

Full credit for any reasonable notice + prediction. Notice examples: "the two countries are very different," "one has factories and one has farms," "one is islands and one is inland/coastal." Predict examples: "people do different kinds of jobs," "one eats/grows different food," "one lives in bigger cities." Accept any on-topic prediction — this is a warm-up graded for effort.

Accept any reasonable idea in the student's own words: flat, fertile land and rain help farming; mountains and little farmland push people toward factories and cities; a warm climate lets certain crops grow; a place near the ocean may fish or trade. More than one answer is defensible.

a) Manufacturing and technology = Japan.
b) Warm all year with wet and dry seasons = Kenya.
c) Chain of mountainous islands = Japan.

Similarities — accept any two supported by the packet, e.g.:

• Both have a coast / border the ocean (Japan the Pacific, Kenya the Indian Ocean).
• Both sell important goods to other countries (Japan: cars/electronics; Kenya: tea/coffee).
• Both have leaders the people elect (Japan's parliament; Kenya's president/assembly).
• Both have growing cities where more people are moving.

Differences — accept any two supported by the packet, e.g.:

• Landform: mountainous islands (Japan) vs. coast plus inland highlands and plains (Kenya).
• Climate: temperate with four seasons (Japan) vs. warm all year with wet/dry seasons (Kenya).
• Main economic activity: manufacturing/technology (Japan) vs. farming, animals, tea & coffee (Kenya).
• Government type: constitutional monarchy with an emperor (Japan) vs. republic with a president (Kenya).

Watch: a common error is listing a difference in the "similarities" blanks (or the reverse). A similarity is something the two share; a difference is something they do not share.

Model: "Kenya has warm weather all year and large areas of highlands and plains, so the land and climate are good for growing crops like tea and coffee and for raising animals — this gives many families farming jobs. Japan is mostly steep mountainous islands with little flat farmland and a cooler climate, so instead of farming, many people work in factories and cities. The difference in land and climate leads to a difference in how people earn a living." Award credit for connecting Kenya's warm climate/farmland to farming and Japan's mountains/little farmland to factories (a clear cause → effect). See rubric.

a) F — checkable in Profile B (the Equator crosses Kenya, so it is warm all year).
b) I — reasoned conclusion using "probably" (Japan's little farmland → depends more on factories).
c) O — a personal belief/preference ("far more interesting"); cannot be proven.
d) F — checkable in Profile A / the table (Japan is a chain of mountainous islands).
Fact = checkable; interpretation = reasoned from facts (often "because/probably"); opinion = personal belief.

Correct: B (No). The packet shows Japan's main activity is manufacturing and technology (cars, machines, electronics), while Kenya's is farming, raising animals, and crops like tea and coffee. Reject A (Kenya does not depend mainly on factories) and C (both profiles clearly describe how each earns a living). Explanation must cite one such detail from Profile A or Profile B.

Model answer. Claim: Landform best explains the difference in daily life between Japan and Kenya. Evidence: (1) Table/Profile A: Japan is a chain of steep, mountainous islands with little flat farmland, so most people crowd into coastal cities and work in factories. (2) Table/Profile B: Kenya has coast plus inland highlands and plains, so many families can farm and raise animals across the land. Reasoning: Because the shape of the land decides how much farmable space there is and where people can live, it drives the differences in jobs, cities, and daily life — which is why landform best explains the contrast.
Defensible alternates: a student may instead choose climate (warm all year vs. four cold seasons shapes crops and life) or economy (manufacturing vs. farming shapes daily work) and still earn full marks if two accurate pieces of evidence support the chosen factor. Grade the quality of the evidence and reasoning, not which factor is named.

Articulate: accept any accurate plain-language definition (e.g., "to compare two societies is to look at how they are alike and how they are different").
Connect: the cited row/line must actually show a difference — e.g., landform row (islands vs. highlands/plains), climate row (four seasons vs. warm all year), or economy row (factories vs. farming).
Extend: any reasonable like/unlike comparison of the student's own community with a reason (e.g., "like Japan, my city is crowded"; "unlike Kenya, few people here farm"). More than one answer is defensible; grade the reason, not the choice.