Comparing Two Societies with Maps and Data
Overview
This is a self-contained, no-technology substitute packet in which students compare two real societies — Japan and Kenya — using two short original profiles and a simple comparison table. Working alone with a pencil, students read maps/data, find two similarities and two differences, explain a difference using geography and economics (cause and effect), distinguish fact from interpretation and opinion, evaluate a claim, and write an evidence-based comparison about which factor best explains how the two societies differ. Prompts are non-partisan.
At a glance
Grade: 6
Subject: Social Studies (Contemporary World Cultures & Geography)
Time: about 45 minutes core plus a 15-minute optional extension
Materials: printed packet and a pencil (no calculator, computer, atlas, or textbook)
Work mode: independent
Standards (provisional): 19 TAC §113.18 (Grade 6 Social Studies, Contemporary World Cultures) — comparing how societies use their physical environment and how geography shapes economic activities, plus a social studies skills strand on analyzing maps/tables and distinguishing fact from interpretation and opinion. Provisional — pending educator verification against the current official TAC source. Standards are paraphrased, not quoted.
Accessible version of the student activity
The full student activity is reproduced below in plain, screen-reader-friendly HTML. It reflows on phones and at 200% zoom. Write your answers on the printed packet.
Start (5 minutes) — Notice & Predict
Short summary (written for this packet): "Two countries can sit far apart on a map and be very different. One is a chain of mountainous islands where most people live in crowded cities and factories make cars and electronics. The other is a warm inland-and-coastal country where many families farm the land and raise animals, and tea and coffee are important crops." (Type: original summary; focus: comparing two societies.)
- Write one thing you notice in the summary, and predict one way the two countries' daily life might be different.
- Why do you think a country's land and climate might change how its people earn a living? Give one reason in your own words.
Build (5–10 minutes) — Read the profiles
Profile A — Japan (written for this packet)
Japan is an island country in eastern Asia, made up of a long chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Much of the land is steep and mountainous, so most people live packed into cities and towns along the coasts and in the flatter valleys. Japan has a temperate climate with four seasons — warm summers and cool-to-cold winters. Because there is little flat farmland and few mines, Japan buys many raw materials from other countries. Its economy is built mostly on manufacturing and technology: factories make cars, machines, and electronics that are sold around the world. Japan's government is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, which means it has an emperor as a ceremonial symbol but its laws are made by leaders the people elect. (Type: original country profile; facts: well-established geography/economics.)
Profile B — Kenya (written for this packet)
Kenya is a country in eastern Africa with a coast on the Indian Ocean and a large inland area of highlands, plains, and savanna. The Equator runs across Kenya, so much of the country is warm all year, with wet and dry seasons rather than four cold seasons. Many Kenyan families make a living through farming and raising animals; tea and coffee grown in the cooler highlands are important crops that Kenya sells to other countries, and tourists visit to see wildlife on the plains. More people are moving to growing cities such as the capital, Nairobi. Kenya's government is a republic with a president and an elected assembly, so its leaders are chosen by the people through voting. (Type: original country profile; facts: well-established geography/economics.)
Word bank
- society
- a group of people who share a land, ways of living, and a government.
- climate
- the usual weather of a place over many years.
- landform
- a natural shape of the land, such as a mountain, plain, or island.
- economy
- the way people in a place make, sell, and use goods and money.
- manufacturing
- making goods in factories, such as cars or electronics.
- republic
- a government in which people elect their leaders.
- fact
- a statement that can be checked and shown true or false.
- interpretation
- an explanation of what evidence means; reasoned from facts.
- opinion
- a personal belief or preference; not proven by evidence.
- Using the table, fill in each blank with Japan or Kenya: (a) main economic activity is manufacturing and technology; (b) warm all year with wet and dry seasons; (c) made up of a chain of mountainous islands.
Apply (20–25 minutes) — Read & compare
- Compare and contrast: using the profiles and table, write two similarities and two differences between Japan and Kenya.
- Explain a difference using geography or economics: Kenya has many more farmers than Japan. In 2–3 sentences, explain why the land and climate might cause this difference (cause → effect).
- Fact (F), interpretation (I), or opinion (O)? Mark each:
- a) The Equator runs across Kenya, so much of it is warm all year.
- b) Because Japan has little flat farmland, it probably depends more on factories than on farming.
- c) Japan is a far more interesting country than Kenya.
- d) Japan is made up of a chain of mountainous islands.
- Evaluate a claim: a student claims "Both countries earn a living in exactly the same way." Do the profiles and table support it? Choose: (A) Yes — both depend mainly on factories; (B) No — Japan's main activity is manufacturing and technology while Kenya's is farming, animals, and crops like tea and coffee; (C) The packet says nothing about how either country earns a living. Then explain your choice with one detail from Profile A or Profile B.
Explain (5–10 minutes) — Claim, Evidence, Reasoning
Question 8. Which one factor — landform, climate, or economy — best explains why daily life in Japan and Kenya is so different? Write a claim naming the factor, support it with two pieces of evidence from the profiles or the table, and explain your reasoning.
Sentence stems you may use: "The factor that best explains the difference is…"; "One piece of evidence is… (from Profile A / Profile B / the table)."; "A second piece of evidence is…"; "This matters because it shapes how people…".
Close (5 minutes) — ACE
- Articulate: explain in your own words what it means to compare two societies.
- Connect: point to one row in the table or one line in a profile that shows a clear difference.
- Extend: name one way your own community is like or unlike Japan or Kenya, and give one reason.
Continue (optional, ~15 minutes) — Early finisher
Change one factor and predict: imagine Kenya's cool highlands suddenly became too dry to grow tea and coffee. Using only the profiles and table, predict two ways Kenya's society might change (jobs, trade, where people live). For each, name the factor you changed and the effect you expect.
Turn in
Hand in the whole packet with your name, class period, and date, with questions 1–8 and the ACE box answered. Include the optional prediction if you did it.