Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 1: The
Geography of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
Instructions: Read the section and complete each item with words from
the passages in this section.
1. _____________________ is located at the far eastern edge of Southwest Asia.
Afghanistan is _____________________, which means it does not border any
major bodies of water.
2. ___________________ is located to the west of Afghanistan and is one of the
largest countries in Southwest Asia.
3. Located just west of Iran is the country of __________________.
4. It has a small amount of coastline on the Persian Gulf, and two of the largest
rivers in Southwest Asia - the _______________ and
__________________flow through Iraq.
5. Although much of the land is covered desert, _________________ does have a
coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.
6. Directly north of Syria is the country of _________________.
7. ___________________ borders Iraq, Syria, and Iran in Southwest Asia.
8. In 1948, following World War II, the United Nations divided
__________________ between the Arabs and Jews. __________________ was
created as a Jewish homeland.
9. Then you should arrive at the Kingdom of ________________
_______________, the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula.
10. _________________ has a large amount of oil and has an important location on
the Persian Gulf.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 1: The
Geography of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
11. As a result of this hot and dry climate, ___________________ are very
important to the region’s people.
12. The _____________________ River is one of the longest rivers in the world. It
begins in Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq before joining with the
__________________ River to finish its journey to the Persian Gulf.
13. In fact, all countries in Southwest Asia that produce oil depend on the
________________ Gulf as a shipping route.
14. Before the Persian Gulf flows into the Arabian Sea, the water must pass through
a strait (narrow waterway) called the Strait of __________________.
15. The largest all-sand __________________ in the world is located on the
Arabian Peninsula.
16. ____________________ is a very important resource in Southwest Asia for
both farming and trading.
17. Because of the short supply of water, _________________ is necessary for
those who want to farm and raise livestock.
18. Countries in Southwest Asia have also used technology to modernize their
____________________ techniques. These new techniques allow farms to be
more productive, but they have also led to water ___________________.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 2: The
People of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
Instructions: Read the section and complete each item with words from
the passages in this section.
1. In human geography, there are two main ways people are divided:
________________ groups and _________________ groups.
2. An ________________ group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and
beliefs that have been a part of their community for generations.
3. These things make up a common __________________ that is shared by
people in the same ethnic group.
4. The __________________ live in a mountain region that spans Iran, Iraq,
Syria, and Turkey.
5. Kurds speak _________________, and most are ________________ Muslims.
6. __________________ are the largest ethnic group in Southwest Asia.
7. Many Arabs are __________________ Muslims. However, some Arabs are
_________________ Muslims, while others are Christians.
8. __________________ are another ethnic group of Southwest Asia.
9. A ___________________ group shares a belief system in a god or gods, with a
specific set of rituals and literature.
10. Three of the largest religions in the world began in Southwest Asia:
___________________, _____________________, and _________________.
11. These religions also all have a sacred _______________ and place of worship,
and __________________ is an important figure in all of them.
12. ___________________ is the oldest of the three dominant regions in Southwest
Asia.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 2: The
People of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
13. Followers of Judaism are called _______________. The sacred text is called
the ________________.
14. __________________ is a religious movement that grew out of Judaism during
the time of Roman rule in Palestine.
15. The founding figure in Christianity is _________________, a man who was
born in Bethlehem in Judea to a Jewish family in about 4 BC.
16. By the year 300 AD, __________________ had spread to most parts of the
Roman Empire.
17. The biggest difference between _________________ and Christianity is that
Christians believe Jesus was the _________________.
18. The third religion that began in Southwest Asia is __________________.
19. Those who were willing to agree to this monotheistic belief became known as
_________________, which means “ones who submit” to the will of God.
20. After _______________________ death, his followers collected the teachings
from the angel Gabriel into the ________________, the holy book of Islam.
21. Some Muslim countries have based their laws on the law of the
_________________. This is called _______________ Law.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 3:
OPEC and Oil in Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
Instructions: Read the section and complete each item with words from
the passages in this section.
1. Much of the world’s economy relies on _____________.
2. Southwest Asia has large amounts of ______________ and natural gas. The
high demand for these two resources brings _________________ into the
region.
3. In 1960, several Southwest Asia countries that had large oil
________________ joined with other oil-rich countries, like Venezuela, to
create the Organization of ________________ _________________ Countries
(OPEC).
4. The primary function of OPEC is to control the ________________ of oil in
the world market.
5. The OPEC countries have worked throughout the last fifty years to try to
influence world events by controlling the oil ___________________.
6. Occasionally, OPEC has called for an _________________ of oil supplies to
get political and economic agreements from other countries.
7. While many countries in Southwest Asia, such as _______________
_____________ and ______________, have benefitted from the money that
comes from exporting oil, other countries, such as ________________, have
not been as lucky.
8. Those countries without oil reserves have had a much more difficult time trying
to __________________ living conditions for their populations.
9. While _________________ and _________________ do not have large oil
reserves, their economies have had a lot of success and their people have
enjoyed an increasing standard of living.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 4: A
Brief History of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
Instructions: Read the section and complete each item with words from
the passages in this section.
1. Until the end of World War I, much of Southwest Asia was controlled by the
________________ Empire, as it had been since the 1300s.
2. After the San Remo Agreements in 1920, the remains of the empire were
__________________, or divided, into smaller countries. Many of these new
countries, like ___________________, are part of Southwest Asia today.
3. When the European politicians drew borders for the new countries, they paid
little attention to the _________________ and ________________ groups
living in these areas, and the groups were not allowed to have input into these
decisions.
4. As a result, there has been ongoing _________________ in the region.
5. One of the most important conflicts that resulted from the new boundaries is the
__________________-_______________ conflict. In May 1948, the United
Nations announced the creation of the country of _________________ as a
Jewish homeland.
6. Another source of conflict in Southwest Asia is the division in Islam between
_________________ and _________________.
7. These divisions within Muslim communities remain even today, though there is
little difference in their basic religious __________________.
8. The ___________________ Muslims have always been the largest branch of
Islam.
9. The ___________________ Muslims have always been a minority, but they
make up a large portion of some countries today, like Iran, Iraq, and
Lebanon.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________ Class: ____________________
World Studies for Georgia Students-Grade 7
Chapter 4: The Geography and History of Southwest Asia Section 4: A
Brief History of Southwest Asia
Guided Reading
10. After the dust settled and the new borders drawn, the ________________ found
their land divided among four countries: Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.
11. The United States has had major ________________ and _________________
interests in Southwest Asia since the 1800s.
12. The United States helped with __________________ between countries after
the fall of the Ottoman Empire and has been one of the biggest supporters of
_________________ since 1948.
13. As the 21st century began, the United States focused on Southwest Asia with
the goal of trying to end __________________ and promote
_________________ within the region.
14. This war was called the _______________ _______________ conflict and is
sometimes referred to as Operation Desert Storm. It began in August 1990,
when Iraq invaded ________________ in an attempt to gain control over
________________ large supplies of oil.
15. After these terrible attacks, United States intelligence sources identified a
_________________ group called al-Qaeda, or “the Force,” as the people who
had planned and carried out the attack.
16. One of the goals of _________________ was to stop the influence of American
and European culture in Southwest Asia.
17. As a result of this view that _________________ was a threat, the United
States invaded _______________ in 2003. This invasion is often referred to as
Operation ________________
________________.
18. In 2005, elections were held in ________________ for the first time in many
years, but the new government was not strong or stable, and conflict continued
throughout the country.