Natural, Historical & Cultural Heritage
Explore the natural and historical heritage of the U.S. through the activities from the National Park Service Webrangers program. Hispanic Heritage Month: Read about Hispanic Americans, their culture and contribution to the United States. Find out about notable books, holidays, Spanish loan words, ethnic terminology preferences, and more. Circle of Stories: A KPBS project that uses documentary film, photography, artwork and music to honor and explore Native American storytelling. Listen to these VOA Learning English weekly podcasts (with scripts) on different aspects of American culture: This Is America looks at major issues in American life and society and explores popular places across the U.S.; The Making of a Nation explains how the country and its people have developed; American Mosaic talks about music and pop culture. Read more about American history at Digital History and The History Place. Selected Topics
See this commemorative Google Doodle and read about how the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York. Use these questions to create your report of the event. Local History
Read about two events in the history of San Diego: the 1915 Panama California Exposition and the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, which created Balboa Park as we know it today. In 1916, San Diego suffered a historical drought and a historical flood. Watch this documentary about Charlie Hatfield "The Rainmaker" who was paid $10,000 by the City to bring rain. A hundred years later, science and technology have greatly developed. Why are we not reverting to chemical methods to alleviate the persistent problem of drought in California, or anywhere else? To learn more about the climate of San Diego, see this climate graph. See also the local precipitation and temperature charts. Finally, read about a strange local phenomenon called May Gray/June Gloom. Use the comprehension questions to guide your reading. Courtesy of our weather specialist Berta Haselboeck. Learn more about the current 'historic' drought from the three articles in News for You. Use this worksheet to guide your reading. Use this worksheet to start working on your essay. Read about these 10 solutions to California drought for more ideas. Read about how on January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Creek in northern California. Use these comprehension questions to guide your reading. |
Values, Beliefs & Myths
Dear Abby is an advice column found in 1956 by Pauline Phillips. It has since then been syndicated to dozens of newspapers and read by millions of readers. A similar column, Ask Ann Landers, was written from 1955 to 2002 by Pauline's twin sister. Just think how the two women have influenced the ways of thinking of millions of Americans ... So Where You From? If you have found that your foreign accent invites an uncomfortable inquisition, read this article from Smithsonian Magazine. An anthropologist describes body rituals among the people of a little known tribe called the Nacirema. Check out these radio ads, TV commercials, and inspirational quotes about popular American values from The Foundation for a Better Life. Read about these American youth subcultures that dominated the cultural landscape in the decades since World War II. Go to the Urban Dictionary to find out more information. Read also these articles about how American culture has changed over the last three generations: Multigenerational Characteristics | Boomers Vs. Millennials: You're More Alike Than You Think Songs Holly Cole: Cry (If You Want To) Phil Ochs: I'm Going to Say It Now Inspiring People Read these inspiring words from strong women (contributed by Yoshi) Ella Baker Maya Angelou reading The Brave and Startling Truth Selected Topics
Weddings in the U.S. How to become a wedding officiant in the U.S. | How to have a friend legally officiate your California wedding | FAQ by marriage officiants in California |
Holidays
January 23 is the National Handwriting Day. Valentine's Day vocabulary slides from dictionary.com: 8 expressions with heart | head over heels in puppy love | 10 Shakespearean terms of endearment Learn about Thanksgiving through paintings. Go to this site to practice the vocabulary. Read Two Thanksgiving Day Gentleman: A short story by O.Henry. Learn more about the First Thanksgiving. Learn basic vocabulary related to Veterans Day. Practice more at this site. Learn about Christmas traditions from this dictionary.com slideshow: The language of the Nativity . Learn about several other Christmas traditions from these videos and games . Print out the cheat sheet and prepare for the 2014 Winter Sing Fest: Feliz Navidad | Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer | Jingle Bells | It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year | We Wish You a Merry Christmas | Cupid Shuffle . You can read the real story behind Rudolf and learn about the reindeer's names . * * * * * * * * * * Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A.: 23 chapters discussing the ten federally recognized holidays, as well as many celebratory days. AE Content Spotlights: More resources on selected American and international holidays. * * * * * * * * * * January Countdown Calendar January Countdown Text |