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  • USA Geography, Part 1

    Vocabulary and NTD on Quizlet

    Here is what you know so far – do you remember?

    • official name of the country
    • form of state
    • capital city
    • population
    • languages
    • borders
    • major mountains, major rivers
    • some examples for natural resources and industries (e.g.: oil, cattle, orchards, forestry)

    There are… in the USA:

    • five great regions,
    • several sub-regions,
    • mountain ranges,
    • lakes and rivers,
    • plain (prairie) areas,
    • deserts,
    • and islands

    The 5 regions are the Northeast, the Southeast, the Central (Midwest), the Southwest, the West.

    Subregions: Mid-Atlantic (on the east coast); Central Plains; Great Lakes territory; New England; Pacific Northwest; Rocky Mountains region

     

    RIVERS – Play this game for revision and practiceRivers-USA

    • more than 250,000 rivers (about 5,6 million km in total)
    • the longest: the Missouri (+ the Mississippi)
    • the longest undammed: the Yellowstone
    • Rivers are important for:
    • drinking water-supply; irrigation; transportation; electrical power; drainage; recreation

    LAKES – Play this game for revision and practice

    Lakes-USA

    • The Great Lakes:
      • Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior.
      • The 5 likes combined make up the largest collection of freshwater lakes if the world.
        • only Lake Michigan is located entirely in the USA, the other four are located along the border btw Canada and the USA.
      • Great Salt Lake
        • located in Utah; its water is even more salty than the ocean (no fish live in it, only shrimps and algae)
      • Crater Lake
        • the deepest in the USA,
        • a caldera lake (formed from the collapsed land at the center of a volcano)
      • Lake Okeechobee
        • second largest US freshwater lake located in south Florida, a very shallow lake

     

    MOUNTAIN RANGES – Play this game for revision and practice

    Mountainranges-USA

    • Rocky Mountains
      • longest in N.-A.; highest point: Mt Elbert (4390 m)
      • forests: spruce, pines, oaks, firs
      • bighorn sheep, badgers, grizzlies, black bears, coyotes, elk…
    • Appalachian Mountains
      • Mt Mitchell (2037 m)
      • pine, spruce, birch, maple trees;
      • squirrels, cottontail rabbits, white-tailed deer, wolves, beavers, black bears, red-tailed hawks…
    • Sierra Nevada
    • Cascade Range
    • Ozarks

    Final game for this topic.

    NorthAmerican-trees

  • GRAND TEST 1

    To practise for the test, please revise the following:

    Choose the odd-one-out and write why it doesn’t match the others.

    E.g.:

    Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama – the odd-one-out is Benjamin Franklin, as he was not a US president (*however, he was President of Pennsylvania).

    a) tepee, wickiup, longhouse, spear

    b) Minnesota, Washington, Dallas, Alaska

    c) song, money, bird, flag

    d) Sioux, Cherokee, Creek, Pueblo

     

  • Celebrations, festivals and holidays – listed

    WEIRD HOLIDAYS

    GROUNDHOG DAY

    Here’s the list of events we discussed in class and had on the cards in the matching activity.

    Independence Day July 4th Americans celebrate the day they became an independent nation (from the UK). Many go to parades, picnics and watch fireworks at night.
    Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in Nov. A day for remembrance and thankfulness, to celebrate the importance of family. This holiday has also an important historical link – the first settlers known as Pilgrim fathers.
    Christmas Day December 25th Most Americans have a great family lunch of turkey or goose, and people get the presents from under the tree and open them in the morning.
    New Year’s Eve 31st December Many Americans go to Times Square in NYC to watch the “ball drop”: a ball made up of crystal and electric lights descends a pole until exact midnight.
    Super Bowl Sunday 1st Sun. in Feb. The championship match of professional American football, the two best teams of the season play against each other.
    Groundhog Day February 2nd The groundhog (woodchuck) comes out of his hole in the ground – if he is frightened by his shadow, he returns into his hole and winter continues for 6 more weeks.
    Valentine’s Day February 14th The symbol of this day is a heart – made up of flowers or chocolate, doesn’t matter. Kids at school create valentines (poems, cards etc.) for each other.
    Easter Sunday March / April Americans color eggs, go for egg (and chocolate animal) hunts or even out for an early spring picnic and day of games.
    Memorial Day last Mon. in May The first 3-day weekend in summer. This day is to remember ancestors and those who have fallen in battles. It is a day of going to the beach and having barbecues.
    Labor Day 1st Mon. in Sept. Many celebrate this day as the end of summer rather than for historical reasons. Barbecues and beach parties are always part of this 3-day holiday.
    Halloween October 31st Children dress up as fantasy characters and go trick-or-treating. Many Americans attend hay mazes or haunted houses and hold parties in their homes. Those who don’t like celebrating “Halloween” hold a “Harvest Day” instead.
    Columbus Day 2nd Mon. in Oct. To celebrate the Italian explorer’s arrival to the shores of the new land in 1492. Some states don’t hold this day of remembrance since they believe the land was formed by the Native Americans and not the European settlers.
    Presidents’ Day 3rd Mon. in Feb. This day is to honor George Washington on his birthday – a day typically remembered in schools, however, it’s not an over-celebrated event.
    Martin Luther King Day 3rd Mon. in Jan. A “Day ON not a day OFF”, says the slogan, and the communities keep it – many people do charity or community work on this to remember church leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
    St Patrick’s Day March 17th Although many Americans celebrate this day, they have no idea about the man (St Patrick), so they commemorate the origins of the Irish migrants to the USA.
    Cinco de Mayo May 5th A day of Mexican culture (food, music, dancing etc.) on Mexico’s independence day.
    Inauguration Day January 20th Every fourth year the new (or current) president is inaugurated into office. If the day falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is Inauguration Day.
    April Fool’s Day April 1st A day of playing tricks and pranks on each other. Companies publish advertisements on fake products.
    Earth Day April 22nd Many communities (companies, schools etc.) do community work by cleaning the neighborhood, beaches etc.
    Mother’s Day 2nd Sun. in May Many Americans give their mothers chocolates, flowers, and jewelry or take her out to lunch. Others may make her breakfast and serve it to her while she is still in her bed.
    Father’s Day 3rd Sun in June Traditions vary from family to family, but many people choose to celebrate by having a barbecue dinner and possibly playing some sort of sport in the park.
    Juneteenth June 19th The day when the Afro-American slaves were set free. It is still a state holiday as 18 out of the 50 American states don’t celebrate Juneteenth.
    Kwanzaa December 26th – 31st A week to celebrate African culture – usually ends with friends giving gifts to each other.

  • Celebrations, festivals and holidays

    Here’s a list of the most important and probably the most popular special days in the USA. –> Names, terms and dates + Quizlet.

     

    Inauguration Day – 20 January

    (St) Valentine’s Day – 14 February

    St Patrick’s Day – 17 March

    Easter

    Independence Day – 4 July

    Halloween – 31 October

    Veteran’s Day – 11 November

    Thanksgiving – 4th Thursday in November

    Christmas – 25 and 26 December

    New Year’s (Eve and Day ) – 31 December & 1 January

     

     

     

  • Pick a Bale of Cotton – extra

    Click HERE, listen and join in.

  • Slavery

    Go to Names, terms and dates and practise the terms on Quizlet.

    Who fought for freedom in the history of the USA?

    • the settlers for independence from Britain;
    • Native Americans;
    • the slaves for freedom from their masters.

    How did slaves arrive in America?

    They were carried there on ships from West Africa. African tribes were usually at war wth each other. Those who were captured were sold as slaves. Some tribal leaders gave “slavery” as a punishment. Others were simply kidnapped.

    After being sold as slaves in America, families were separated – men, women and children were all sold as slaves and often worked for different masters on different plantations.

    Some slave masters were very cruel – they would beat their slaves and gave them very little food. These slaves lived among really bad conditions. They tried to escape but hose who were captured were mutilated (e.g. feet cut off) or killed.

    12 Years a Slave – Cotton Field Song:

    The beginning and ending of slavery:

    • first slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619;
    • slavery officially ended by the proclamation of the 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865: it abolished slavery within the whole USA

    12 Years a Slave – Bottom of the River

    HOMES

    • some slave masters and plantation owners supported the slaves with housing, others had to build huts on their own
    • houses were made of wood and some stones and adobe, had thatched roofs and usually lots of people, up to 10 slaves had to share a hut
    • very little furniture, beds were made of straw and rags; pots were either given to them or also made by themselves -> received cornbread, porridge and the fatty part of the meat
    • better conditions for those who worked directly for the masters (these slaves didn’t work on the fields), they were even allowed to have a small garden for growing vegetables
    • they wore ragged clothes made of rough and coarse material, they were given a pair of shoes and several other items annually
    • depending on the cruelty of the master slaves were given a day-off per week (usually Sundays), but others had little free time of few days-off per month

    SYMBOLS of slavery and the black movements for freedom in the USA

    • Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    • the Underground Railroad
    • Harriet Tubman
    • Martin Luther King Jr’s speech – “I have a dream…”
    • spirituals

  • Amerindians 4 – The Trail of Tears

    • referred to the march of the Cherokee Indians in 1838, when they were forced to leave their homelands in Georgia and move westwards to Oklahoma;trailoftears04-route
    • due to harsh circumstances on the way (cold weather, no shelter and not enough water and food), more than 4,000 (one fourth of the Cherokee nation) died – mostly of pneumonia, freezing to death or drinking polluted water

    Symbols:

    • several painting showing people walking in harsh conditions and horses / mules pulling their wagons
    • Amazing Grace (the anthem of Cherokee Indians)

    CherokeeindiansThe Cherokee

    By the early 19th century, from a simple farming nation the Cherokee became a really civilized community as they had their own:

    • written language (invented by Sequoia),
    • schools,
    • newspaper,
    • constitution (laws),
    • they built houses of brick,
    • had towns with stores, mills etc.

    Fighting for new lands

    As the number of settlers was growing rapidly by the end of the 18th century, territories of the 13 original colonies were not enough for the white people. They began to move north (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan), south (Georgia. Louisiana) and west (Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky). These lands were settled by Amerindians who attacked the settlers’ farms – in reply the settlers destroyed the belongings of the Natives.

    Trying to make peace

    • 1787, Northwest Ordinance: a law; “lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent (= saying yes) and their property, rights and liberty shall never be disturbed”

    Changes in the way of thinking

    1820s: President James Monroe said that Native Americans either become civilized or adopt the lifestyles of the American society, or they move west to unsettled land where they can live free.

    Gold was found in Georgia ⇒ the Americans needed the land.

    AndrewJacksonIn 1830, the idea become law by President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act: “all Indians living east of the Mississippi River will be moved to west to a place called Indian Territory so that they can live undisturbed according to their own laws in reservations”.

    ⇒ some Indian tribes agreed, some not ⇒ those who didn’t agree (Cherokees) wanted the Congress to help ⇒ the vote was close to tie, but finally Jackson’s idea won and the Cherokee were forced to leave their lands in Georgia

    ⇒ in 1838, General Scott and his men rounded up the Cherokee in stockades (prisons) and drove them from their homelands

    THE TRAIL OF TEARS

  • Amerindians EXTRA – The story of Pocahontas

    Pocahontas was born in 1595, in the Eastern part of what we now call the USA. In 1607, English explorers arrived, made a colony and named it Virginia (in the honor of Queen Elizabeth I, the “Virgin Queen”).

    Pocahontas was a Native American. Native Americans hunted and farmed for food. They hunted deer, went fishing and grew crops in their fields. Pocahontas was like a princess as her father was the leader of the Powhatan tribe. He was a very important chief.

    Pocahontas lived in a wooden “long house” which was built of wood and bark. Inside fire was burning in the middle of the floor. The long house was home to several families. A Native American village had several long houses which were surrounded by a fence.

    The colonists built a fort and village called Jamestown.  The Native Americans welcomed them at first and Pocahontas learnt to speak English. The Powhatans traded with the English, and Pocahontas carried messages to them. The Native Americans showed the English how to hunt and grow crops.

    The most famous, but not surely true story about Pocahontas was told by Captain John Smith, the leader of the colonists. According to Smith, he was taken prisoner by the Powhatan. As a Powhatan raised his war-club to execute Smith, Pocahontas ran there and begged for his life.

    By 1613, the colonists and the Native Americans started fighting. The English kidnapped Pocahontas and held her hostage. They wanted to exchange her for English prisoners and guns taken by the Indians. While being a prisoner, Pocahontas became Christian and got a new name, Rebecca. She met a colonist called John Rolfe who married her some months later and they had a son called Thomas. Their marriage stopped the fights.

    In 1616, Pocahontas went to England. They sailed over in a small, wooden ship, the “Treasurer”. Pocahontas was a great success in England, everyone wanted to meet her. She and  her family spent seven months travelling around. Unfortunately, Pocahontas never saw her home again. On the voyage back to Virginia she became ill, she caught smallpox. The ship turned back to England, but Pocahontas died. She was 22 years old.

     

  • Amerindians 3 – Lifestyle of the Indians

    FOOD

    NOMADIC tribes

    • collecting edible plants (berries; plant roots)
    • fishing
    • followed the buffalo
    • hunting: deer; rabbits; ducks

    SETTLED tribes

    • farming: maize, pumpkins, squash; beans; potatoes
    • fishing
    • hunting: deer; rabbits; ducks

     

    HOUSING

    WEAPONS and tools

    • knives; bows and arrows; war clubs; spears; harpoons (to hunt fish, even whales with); tomahawks; shileds

    FOLLOWING THE BUFFALO – how it was used?

    • bones: carved and sharpened to make knives, arrow heads and war clubs
    • skin: clothes, moccasins, tepees, waterbags
    • hooves: cups
    • sinew: bowstring; thread
    • tongue: hairbrush
    • fat: soap; cooking oil
    • tail: fly swat; decoration
    • hair: filling saddles

    PICTURE VOCABULARY

    A powwow:

     

  • Amerindians 2 – Six tribes

    Here is an alphabetical list of all Amerindian tribes.

    Let’s have a look at six important tribes. Here’s a map first to see where exactly they lived.

    indiantribes

    The PUEBLO (NAVAJO):

    • lived in the Southwest (today’s Arizona and New-Mexico states);
    • organized farming people (beans, maize)
    • lived in „pueblos” (villages / towns) on top of cliffs in houses made from adobe, stone and wood
    • clothes made of cotton; shoes were moccasins
    • built canals across the deserts to bring water
    • a famous Pueblo was Popé (Popay) – a religious leader who led the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish in 1680

    The APACHE:

    • lived in the Southwest, were neighbours of the Pueblo
    • never settled – wandered  across mountains and deserts
    • stole lands and food from the Pueblo
    • a famous Apache: Geronimo (a leader and medicine man)

    The IROQUOIS:

    • lived in the Northeastern Woodlands
    • a group of five tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk, formed as a confederation called the Iroquois Leauge in 1570) in the Eastern Woodlands;
    • skilled farmers (maize, beans), hunters and fishermen; lived in longhouses (home to cca. 15 – 20 families)
    • used canoes to move on rivers & lakes
    • fierce warriors
    • a famous Iroquois was Chief Logan (was friendly with settlers, but after they killed his brother, C.L. made his revenge)

    The SIOUX (Lakota; Dakota)

    • lived in the Great Plains
    • they called themselves Dakota (allies); other Indians called them Sioux (enemies)
    • grew no crops, built no houses
    • followed the buffalo from pasture to pasture (for clothes, shelter etc.)
    • lived in tepees (= tipi; teepee)
    • carried fire from one place to another
    • a famous Sioux: Sitting Bull (leader and medicine man); won at the Battle of Little Bighorn against General Cluster

    The HAIDA:

    • lived in the Northwest
    • history of the tribe on totem poles
    • gathered nuts and berries; fished for salmon
    • lived in wooden plank houses

    The CHEROKEE:

    • lived in the Southeast (in the territory of today’s Georgia state)
    • one of the 5 most civilized tribes (Cherokee, Chikasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole)
    • had their own schools and constitution
    • a Cherokee band was led by two chiefs: a war-chief and a peace-chief
    • a famous Cherokee leader was Sequoyah: he created a writing system for his tribe

    Go to the Names, terms and dates and on Quizlet for vocabuary and definitions.

    Click HERE for more about Amerindian lifestyle and picture vocabulary.