What Are Globes And Maps?

Transcription

1 What Are Globes And Maps? What Is A Globe? Earth is a planet. The earth orbits around the sun and spins on its axis. The axis is the line in the middle of the earth that runs from the North to the South Pole. A globe is a map of earth. Globes are shaped like a sphere, like a ball. Globes show land and oceans. Some globes show country borders, too. the earth. Maps can show continents, countries, and cities. Maps can also show bodies of water and land. What Are The Lines On Maps And Globes Of The World? Maps of the world often show lines. These lines are called coordinate lines. These lines help people find different parts of a map quickly. One map line running left and right in middle of the world is the equator. The equator line separates the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere. There are lines that run parallel above and below the equator. These lines are called lines of latitude. The equator is zero degrees latitude. A globe shows what Earth looks like. What Are Maps? Some maps of the earth are flat. A map of the world is like a flat globe. Maps can show the entire earth. Maps can also show a tiny part of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/HIP There are also lines that run up and down from the North Pole s to the South Pole. These lines are called lines of longitude. Many maps also show the prime meridian. The prime meridian is a line of longitude set at zero degrees. All lines that run east of the prime meridian are in the Eastern Hemisphere. Lines MapQuest.com, Inc. for HMH/HIP Lexile 540L: What Are Globes And Maps? PAGE 1

2 that run west of the prime meridian are in the Western Hemisphere. What Do Maps Of The World Show? Maps of the world can show many things. Maps of the world show continents. Continents are the largest bodies of land on earth. Maps of the world show water. Oceans and seas are big bodies of water. Maps of the world might also show countries. Countries are areas of land run by a government. People use maps to learn about the world. People use maps to move around the world. People use maps to look at for fun. Maps are globes made flat. eproductions/leonie Purchas/Blend Images/Corbis/HIP Lexile 540L: What Are Globes And Maps? PAGE 2

3 Harry Houdini: Chained to Magic Man Overboard A tugboat floated in New York s East River. It was summer and it was hot outside. The sun beat down on reporters who stood on the tugboat. All the people on the boat walked around freely. All except for one man. One man was handcuffed. His legs were chained together. The reporters jotted notes. Their cameras flashed. The man was put into a crate. Then the crate was nailed shut. It was covered with heavy metal. The crate was tied shut. Finally, it was lowered into the water. The reporters watched with surprise. Would the handcuffed man survive? Would he drown? The reporters didn t have much time to think. Less than a minute later, the man swam to the surface. Everyone cheered. They pulled the man back onto the tugboat. His chains were gone. The crate was lifted above the water. It looked untouched. When they opened it, they found the chains inside. People could not believe it. Who could go underwater locked inside a box and escape so quickly? Harry Houdini, that s who. Houdini was one of the most famous magicians ever. He had just shown reporters his Overboard Box Escape. It was one of many tricks he tricks did in his lifetime. From Hungary to the Circus Houdini could escape from chains in a matter of minutes. By McManus-Young Collection (Library of Congress) Harry Houdini was born named Erik Weisz. He was born in 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. Harry was the son of a rabbi. He had six siblings. When he was four years old, Harry s family immigrated to Wisconsin. When Harry s family got to the United States, they changed their last name to Weiss. Erik s name was changed to Ehrich. His nicknames became Ehrie or Harry. Later, Harry s family moved to New York City. Harry began working at circuses. At nine years old, Harry was a trapeze artist. Soon after that Harry began his magic career. He then changed his stage name to Harry Houdini. Lexile 600L: Harry Houdini: Chained to Magic PAGE 1

4 Life of Magic At first, Houdini struggled as a magician. He started with card tricks, but a lot of magicians did card tricks. Houdini needed to invent other acts so he tried other tricks. He performed escape acts. He locked himself in handcuffs and escaped. In 1899, Houdini got his big break. A traveling show hired him to do his acts. Houdini became known for escaping from handcuffs, chains, ropes, straightjackets, and jails. Many times he escaped while being strung upside down. Other magicians copied the famous magician. Houdini tried to stop the copycats. He began doing more dangerous and amazing escape acts. He began locking himself inside milk cans, coffins, and boxes. handcuffed. Then, Houdini was put inside a giant milk can. Next, the milk can was filled with water and shut. Sometimes the milk can would be placed inside a crate and tied shut. Houdini always escaped the milk can. Water Torture Cell Other magicians copied Houdini s Milk Can Escape. So Houdini invented another escape. In this new escape, he locked his feet together. Then Houdini was lowered, upside down, into a tank full of water. The tank was made of glass so people could see him. Houdini performed this escape for the rest of his life. Houdini s Most Famous Acts Daily Mirror Newspaper Challenge In 1904, a newspaper in England called the Daily Mirror challenged Houdini. The newspaper said it had handcuffs from which no one could escape. The newspaper also said it took a man five years to make the handcuffs. Houdini accepted the challenge. 4,000 people watched him being locked into the special handcuffs. Houdini struggled to take off the handcuffs. He had to cut his jacket off with a knife he held in his mouth. After more than an hour, Houdini escaped. The crowd cheered. Milk Can Escape One of Houdini s most famous escapes was the Milk Can Escape. Before the act began, Houdini challenged the audience hold their breath as long as it took him to escape. First, he was The Water Torture Cell was one of Houdini s most famous acts. Lexile 600L: Harry Houdini: Chained to Magic PAGE 2

5 Suspended Straitjacket Escape Another of Houdini s most famous escapes was the Suspended Straitjacket Escape. In this trick, Houdini was tied into a straitjacket. Then, he was hung upside down from a building. People on the street stopped to watch. Traffic would stop, too. Sometimes winds would knock Houdini against the building. Houdini escaped the suspended straitjacket in less than three minutes. Buried Alive Stunt One of Houdini s most dangerous acts was his Buried Alive Stunt. He did this act only three times in his life. The first time he did it, Houdini almost died. He was buried six feet under the earth. Then he started digging himself out. He panicked. He tried to call for help. No one could hear him. Finally, his hand broke free from the ground. Then Houdini passed out. The magician later said that the stunt was very dangerous. Lexile 600L: Harry Houdini: Chained to Magic PAGE 3

6 Heist: The Greatest Art Thefts of All Time Stolen Art A heist is a robbery. Heist is a word sometimes used for art thefts. Heists are illegal. Many times thieves get caught. Sometimes they get away. Thieves have made many heists in history. Here are some of the most famous. The Mona Lisa In 1911, a man worked in the Louvre, a famous museum in France. The museum showed one of the world s most famous paintings. This painting was the Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian painter, made it. One day this man stole the Mona Lisa. He hid it under his coat. The thief was Italian. He thought the Mona Lisa belonged in Italy. Police found the Mona Lisa two years later. The Scream The Mona Lisa is a famous and valuable painting. Stuart Gregory/Photographer s Choice FR/Getty Images/HIP Norway hosted the Winter Olympics in The world watched the Olympics on TV, but two thieves were not watching. Instead, they broke into a gallery. No one paid attention to the alarm. No one screamed. They might have been too busy watching the Olympics. The thieves took Norway s most famous painting, The Scream, by artist Edvard Munch. The thieves left a note to the museum guards. The note said, Thanks for the poor security. Police captured the thieves three months later and found the painting as well. The Gardner Museum Heist One day in Boston, two men dressed as police officers walked to the Gardner Museum. They knocked on the door. Museum guards opened the door. They said hello. They let in the Lexile 380L: Heist: The Greatest Art Thefts of All Time PAGE 1

7 police. The fake police handcuffed the guards. They put the guards in the museum basement. The two men weren t officers at all. They were thieves. They stole thirteen pieces of art. Experts think the art was worth a half billion dollars. It was the biggest art heist in history. The art is still missing. The thieves are still at large. This means real police have not yet caught them yet. Lost and Found Sometimes stolen art is found. Sometimes it is lost. The art that is stolen is worth a lot of money. In many ways the art is priceless. Lexile 380L: Heist: The Greatest Art Thefts of All Time PAGE 2

8 If We Didn t Have Magnets... Who Needs Magnets Anyway? A magnet is an object that has a magnetic field. A magnetic field is a force that pushes or pulls some kinds of metals. Some objects can be magnetized. This means the object can be made into a magnet. When a magnet touches some metal objects, some of those objects also become magnets for a short time. Sounds pretty boring, right? Who needs magnets anyway? Why do we need magnets? What would happen in a world without magnets? If We Didn t Have Magnets... Parents Could Not Buy Toys for Kids Not really. If we had no magnets, then grownups could not use credit or debit cards. Grownups use these cards to buy things like toys. Credit cards have a strip on the back. The strip is magnetized. The strip has information. The strip sends messages to a bank. Then the bank allows the card to spend money. If you set a magnet next to a credit card, you ll erase the information on the strip. Then your family won t be able to use the card. So don t do that. You want toys, right? Magnets help us buy things. There Would Be No More Performances Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/HIP Okay, there would still be performances. But they d be harder to hear. Do you like concerts? Theater? Do you like television shows? Well, you had better sit close to the show. Without magnets, you would not be able to hear your favorite performers well. Performers use microphones and speakers. Microphones and speakers have magnets. These magnets make the sound louder. Magnets help us hear well. You Would Get Lost Forever Just kidding. Not if you had a compass. A compass would help you find which way you Lexile 520L: If We Didn t Have Magnets... PAGE 1

9 are going. A compass has a magnetized pointer. The pointer is pulled by Earth s magnetism. If you re walking in the forest and know where you are going, a compass can help you. Magnets help you find the right way. Your Laptop Would Run Out of Battery Power Well, not exactly. Some laptops have magnetized chargers. These magnets help connect the power cord to be connected to the laptop. The magnet helps keep the charger in place. If someone trips over the charger, the cord would not be damaged. The cord would be pulled out easily. Magnets keep your things connected. Doctors Would Not Be Able to Heal Anyone That s not exactly true. What is true is that doctors use a special machine that has magnets. Doctors call this machine an MRI. An MRI can look deep into your body. An MRI can see if anything is wrong. Magnets can save your life. You Would Have to Eat Rotten Food No you wouldn t. If your family has a fridge, thank your lucky magnets. A refrigerator uses magnets to keep the fridge door closed. A closed door helps keep food fresh. Magnets help us eat well. Who Needs Magnets Anyway? We do! We all need magnets. They help us in our daily lives. They help us stay healthy. They help us find fun. Magnets give us direction. A world without magnets would be a difficult one to live in. Learning more about magnets might help you discover other ways they can be used. The magnets in this MRI machine can detect illness. Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock/HIP Lexile 520L: If We Didn t Have Magnets... PAGE 2

10 It s a Map, Map, Map, Map World Maps Show Places Maps show something about a place. Different maps can show different things. Read on to discover maps you might see. Political Map Look at a map of the United States of America. Do you see the states? See the capitals? If you do, the map you are looking at is a political map. These maps can show borders of countries. They can show cities and towns. Sometimes political maps show states or counties. Different colors represent water, land, snow, and ice. Topographic Map A topographic map is similar to a physical map. This map shows more land features than a physical map. A topographic map shows more elevation facts. These maps show contour lines. Contour lines show elevation. Contour lines drawn close together means steep elevation. Contour lines drawn far apart show flatter land. VanHart/NASA/Shutterstock/HIP Close up of map showing Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. Physical Map Another kind of map is a physical map. These maps show what the earth looks like. These maps show water. Physical maps show mountains. They also show elevation. Elevation is how high or low land is. sgreer721/fotolia/hip 13,600 14,000 13,800 14,200 14,000 13,600 13,400 13,800 13,600 Contour lines and numbers show elevation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/HIP Lexile 670L: It s a Map, Map, Map, Map World PAGE 1

11 Climate Map For instance, a cow s head icon might mean that a place herds cattle. A plant stalk icon might mean that a place has lots of farming. Some maps show climate a place s weather over a period of time. Different colors on climate maps show different climates. For instance, a dark green color might stand for the tropics. A yellow color might stand for the desert. The map key tells you what the color means. Top Ten Cattle-Raising and Oil-Producing States CANADA ND SD WI IA NB UNITED STATES CO MO KS CA Pacific Ocean OK NM AK Atlantic Ocean MS LA TX MEXICO Gulf of Mexico Map Key 0 0 MEXICO MILES 100 KILOMETERS MILES 500 KILOMETERS Top oil-producing states Top cattle-raising states Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/HIP WY Top Ten Cattle-Raising and Oil-Producing States Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy/HIP Road Map Road maps are common maps. Have you ever seen a GPS? Have you ever needed directions to get from one place to another? If so, you might use a road map. Road maps show streets and highways. Many smart phone apps show road maps. These apps can also show traffic patterns. They show the best ways to get to another place. Green shows the tropical areas and yellow the desert areas in this map of Africa. Some maps show the economy or resources of a place. An economy is the way people make, buy, sell, or trade things. Economic/resource maps have icons that show what kinds of resources the place has. Reading the map key of an economic or resource map is important. These map keys tell you what the icons mean. Image Source/Getty Images/HIP Economic or Resources Map GPS can show road maps. Lexile 670L: It s a Map, Map, Map, Map World PAGE 2