Caribbean Region Map and Questions

Mia R.

March 2016

Yellow Group (Day 2, Block 2)

this takes you to a page about Jamaica this takes you to a page about the Dominican Republic this takes you to a page about Puerto Rico this takes you to a page about Cuba

Homework questions and answers

PREVIOUSLY ANSWERED "READING CHECK" QUESTIONS:

1. What formed the islands of the West Indies?

Most of the islands of the West Indies are the tops of underwater mountains, that were formed by underwater volcanoes. Some islands, however, are the tops of limestone mountains that have surfaced because of pressure from under the earth's crust. Still more, like Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (parts of the West Indies islands) are continental islands, which means that they are parts of the Earth's crust itself.

2. What is the major industry in the West Indies?

The major industry in the West Indies is tourism, because of the warm climate.However, especially in the British West Indies (AKA the British Virgin Islands), the sugar industry flourishes as well.

Main Point of the New Reading:

The main point of this reading is to inform readers about the West Indies, a group of islands commonly known as the Caribbean. It specifically looks at Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. The sections also describes the economy, landscape, history, and culture of the West Indies. It also describes some basic relationship factors between the United States and these islands.

THEN... do the 3 "Recalling Facts" Questions, found on page 219.

1. Region- What three archipelagos make up the West Indies?

The three archipelagos that make up the West Indies are the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles. However, there are several smaller island groups, like the Dutch Caribbean , which are a group of Caribbean islands that belong to the Dutch.

2. History- Name four groups who have influenced the culture of the Caribbean region.

The Spanish, French, African, and Asian cultural groups have all influenced the culture of the Caribbean, along with several other nations/cultures/groups. In addition, Caribbean culture has been influenced by the people who were there before Columbus "discovered" the region. They are generally from Central and South America , although they moved to the Caribbean a very long time ago.

3. How is Cuba different from every other country in the Western Hemisphere?

Cuba is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that has a fully communist government. In fact, the goverment has gone to lengths to get rid of people who were against communism . (This was in the 1960's, when the country was converting to communism in the first place.) Note: the link is to a FOIA site, or Freedom of Information Act site. That means that the document is a CIA document that somebody probably requested to see at some point, so the CIA posted it to their FOIA server.