Cultures of Europe and Russia

7th Grade UBD - Unit 6 – Europe

Reach Into Your Background

Think about your community and your way of life. Now think of another community that you have visited or heard about from relatives or friends. How are the ways of life in each community different? How are they the same? List some differences and similarities. (5 minutes)

Partner ActivityWork with a

neighbor and compare your list with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)

Preview The Cultures of Western Europe- Most Western European

cities are a mix of the old and the new. The Cultures of Eastern Europe- Movement throughout

much of Eastern Europe is easy. For thousands of years, groups have entered or crossed this region. This movement from place to place, called migration, is still happening today.

The Cultures of Russia- More than 80 percent of the Russian people belong to the ethnic group of Russian Slavs. These people generally live in western parts of the country.

Key Ideas- The Cultures of Western Europe

Most Western European cities are a mix of the old and the new.

Public buildings and houses from Middle Ages are a common sight. They stand next to modern apartments and office buildings. Cars and buses drive along cobblestone streets.

Factories in Western Europe make consumer goods that are in great demand around the world. Western European workers also make steel, cars, machines, and many other vital products.

Key Term

Paris- The capital city of France.

Key Term

London- The capital city of the United Kingdom.

Key Term

Madrid- The capital city of Spain.

Key Term

Berlin- The capital city of Germany.

Travel In most of Western Europe,

high speed trains have made travel between countries easy and fast.

Europeans can be in another country in a matter of hours.

France has the world’s fastest trains.

Eurail PassVideo- Eurail Pass

Cultural Centers When people travel in Europe

they are usually heading for a city.

Travelers usually go to cities to enjoy the cultural attractions.

People move from small towns and villages to cities to find jobs, while others move to cities to go to school.

Cultural Centers

Most Western European cities are a mix of the old and the new.

Public buildings and houses from Middle Ages are a common sight. They stand next to modern apartments and office buildings.

Monuments stand for leaders who lived hundreds of years ago.

Cultural Centers Each city in Western

Europe is different from the other.

Paris, the capital of France, attracts scholars, writers, and artists from all over the world.

England’s capital, London, is known for its historic buildings.

Cultural Centers

The Spanish capital city of Madrid is known as a friendly place where people meet in cafes to relax after work.

While the German city of Berlin is always full of activity.

The Louvre MuseumVideo- The Louvre Museum

Eyewitness to HistoryReading Activity- Eyewitness to History 16

Growing Cities, Growing Wealth

People in most Western European countries enjoy a similar lifestyle.

That’s because these countries are prosperous, or wealthy. This prosperity is based on industry.

Growing Cities, Growing Wealth

Factories in Western Europe make consumer goods that are in great demand around the world. Western European workers also make steel, cars, machines, and many other vital products.

Industry and the Growth of Cities Industry has

been developing in Western Europe since the late 1700s. It has not always been so important to the economy, however. In the past, farming played a bigger role.

Industry and the Growth of Cities

About 200 years ago, there were few machines to help do farm work. To meet basic needs, most of the people worked on farms. Gradually, things changed. New and better machines were invented.

Industry and the Growth of Cities

New machines could do tasks that once required many workers.

Farmers also learned ways to improve soil quality and fight insects. With these advances, farms could produce more and better crops.

Industry and the Growth of Cities

This revolution in farming came at the same time as the Industrial Revolution. Thus, as the need for farm workers fell, the need for industrial workers grew. Many people began moving to cities, where the factories were.

Industry and the Growth of Cities

The growth of cities, known as urbanization, sped up after World War II. The United States provided billions of dollars to help Western Europe recover from the war. With this help, the region’s industries came back stronger than ever.

Key Term

Urbanization- The growth of city populations caused by the movement of people to cities.

Industry and the Growth of Cities Today most of

Western Europeans work in factories or in service industries such as banking and food service.

Most Western European workers earn good wages and have a comfortable life.

A Home for Immigrants

Europeans speak more than 50 languages

The predominant religion is Christianity.

In recent years, the number of Muslims in Europe has increased.

A Home for Immigrants

Today, immigrants, or people who move to one country from another, make up about six percent of the workers in Western Europe.

A Home for Immigrants

Food traditionally varies around the Europe; however, many foods that were once unique to a region are now available elsewhere.

How It's Made HaggisVideo- How It's Made Haggis

A Home for Immigrants

Many Western European countries have become multicultural.

A multicultural country’s way of life is influenced by many different cultures.

Links Across The WorldStaying In The Same Neighborhood New immigrants typically

feel most comfortable with people from their own country- and often form their own little cities within a city.

For example early Italian and Russian immigrants in New York would combine their money to build a church or synagogue.

Key Term

Multicultural- Influenced by many cultures.

The RenaissanceVideo- An Introduction to the Renaissance

Sharing Culture and Knowledge

Starting in the 1300s, the ideas of the Renaissance in Italy began to spread around the continent.

At this time, artists, scholars, and writers from all over Europe were influenced by the rediscovery of past traditions in Italy.

Sharing Culture and Knowledge

The rediscovery of these old traditions became the foundation for new and important works that helped unite the scholarly and scientific worlds in Europe.

During the Renaissance, scientists shared their ideas across the continent.

Key TermThe Renaissance- The rebirth of art, literature, and learning which marked the transition from the medieval to modern periods of European history.

The Rebirth of EuropeReading Handout- The Rebirth of Europe

Open Borders

After World War II France and Germany agreed to help rebuild Europe.

Other nations soon joined them. Now there is an organization called the European Union (EU).

The EU works to expand trade in Europe.

Open Borders

One way to do this is to end tariffs, or fees that a government charges for goods entering the country.

The EU also works to create a place where money, goods, and services can move freely among other countries that belong to the EU.

Key Term

European Union - An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

Europe’s New Money- the Euro

To make it easier for member nations to trade among themselves, the European Union adopted a single currency called the Euro.

The Euro was meant to make travel and trade in European countries easier.

Key Term

Euro- The basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union.

Questions

1. How did the growth of industry affect cities in Western Europe?

2. Why is there ease of movement among the countries in Western Europe?

Answers

1. How did the growth of industry affect cities in Western Europe? Factories in Western Europe make consumer goods that are in great

demand around the world. Western European workers also make steel, cars, machines, and many other vital products.

2. Why is there ease of movement among the countries in Western Europe?

The European Union (EU) has worked to expand trade in Europe by ending tariffs, or fees that a government charges for goods entering the country. The EU also has worked to create a place where money, goods, and services can move freely among member countries.

Key Idea- The Cultures of Eastern Europe

Movement throughout much of Eastern Europe is easy. For thousands of years, groups have entered or crossed this region.

The Slavs are one of the major ethnic groups in Eastern Europe.

Large numbers of Eastern Europeans still live in rural areas and work as farmers.

Cultures of Eastern Europe

Movement throughout much of Eastern Europe is easy. For thousands of years, groups have entered or crossed this region.

This movement from place to place, called migration, is still happening today.

Key Term

Migration- The movement of people from one country or region to another in order to make a new home.

Cultures of Eastern Europe

There are many reasons for migration in Eastern Europe. Long ago, people moved to find places with a good supply of natural resources.

In more recent times, people have fled places where their religious or political beliefs put them in danger or to find a better life.

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe

Among the groups that long ago migrated to Eastern Europe were the Slavs. These people first lived in the mountains of modern Slovakia and Ukraine. By the 700s, they had spread south to Greece, East to the Alps, and North to the coast of the Baltic Sea.

Slavic Cultures

Today, the Slavs are one of the major ethnic groups in Eastern Europe.

People of the same ethnic group share things, such as a culture, a language, and a religion, that set them apart from their neighbors.

Slavic Cultures

Today, some ten Slavic languages are spoken in Eastern Europe. These include Czech, Polish, and Russian.

Also, even two Slavs who speak the same language many not speak the same dialect.

Key Term

Dialect- A version of a language found only in a certain region.

Dialect In North CarolinaVideo- Dialect In North Carolina

Slavic Cultures

Though the Slavs now have different languages and live in different nations, they still have many of the same customs.

Large numbers of Eastern Europeans still live in rural areas and work as farmers.

Key Idea- The Cultures of Russia

More than 80 percent of the Russian people belong to the ethnic group of Russian Slavs.

Besides the Slavs, more than 75 different ethnic groups live in Russia. Most of the minority groups live far from heavily populated western areas.

Russia has produced many great artists, thinkers, and writers.

Key Term

Moscow- The capital city of Russia.

Russia’s Ethnic Mix

More than 80 percent of the Russian people belong to the ethnic group of Russian Slavs.

These people generally speak the Russian language and live in western parts of the country.

Other Ethnic Groups

Besides the Slavs, more than 75 different ethnic groups live in Russia.

These groups speak languages other than Russian and they follow different religions.

Many are either Muslims or followers of Buddhism.

Russian Culture and Education Russia has produced

many great artists, thinkers, and writers.

Russia’s artistic heritage includes outstanding architecture, fine religious paintings, great plays, and intricate art objects.

A Faberge Egg

In Russia, people used to exchange eggs as gifts at Easter.

The eggs were elaborately decorated on the outside and held a surprise on the inside. Some played songs while others even contained cleverly packed toys.

Russian Culture and Education Under communism, the

creation of great new works of art nearly came to a halt.

The Soviet government believed that the purpose of art was to glorify communism and banned any art it did not like and jailed countless artists.

A Monument to Heroic Workers

Socialist realism was one of the only acceptable styles of art in the Soviet Union.

Socialist realists showed views of heroic workers and farmers, often struggling against great odds.

The only purpose of socialist realist art was to further the aims of the Soviet government.

Russian Culture and Education

With the collapse of communism, the Russian people eagerly returned to their artistic traditions. Creating new works was once again possible.

Eyewitness to HistoryReading Activity- Eyewitness to History 17

Russian Ballet Dance of the SnowflakesVideo- Russian Ballet Dance of the Snowflakes

Education in Russia

Russia has free public schooling for children between the ages of 6 and 17.

Schools are updating their old courses of study.

New courses, such as business management, are preparing students to compete with the rest of the world.

Education in Russia

These changes show that Russia is trying to recover the riches of its past even as it prepares for a new future.

Russia’s young people unlike their parents, can grow up deciding their future for themselves.

Questions

1. What is Russia’s major ethnic group?

2. What are some examples of ways in which Russians are reconnecting with their past?

Answers

1. What is Russia’s major ethnic group? More than 80 percent of the Russian people belong

to the ethnic group of Russian Slavs. 2. What are some examples of ways in which

Russians are reconnecting with their past? With the collapse of communism, the Russian

people eagerly returned to their artistic traditions. Creating new works was once again possible.

Independent Activity

If you had friends who were visiting Europe and Russia for the first time, what information would you want to share with them? Starting with the title “A Guide to Europe and Russia,” write a brief travel guide your friends can use to plan an educational and enjoyable trip.

Independent Activity

What has been the

“muddiest” point so

far in this lesson? That

is, what topic remains

the least clear to you?

(4 minutes)

Partner Activity Work with a

neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)