1. Also known as Saigon, what is the largest city in Vietnam?

2. What temple, built in the 12th century, is Cambodia's most cherished national symbol?

3. East Malaysia, about the size of Louisiana, is located on what island, which Malaysia shares with the nations of Brunei and Indonesia?

4. What Southeast Asian nation gained independence from the United States on 4 July 1946?

5. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past 17 years for leading the campaign for democratic change in what country?

6. What nation, independent since 2002, has a population that is around 98 percent Timorese?

7. Located off the southern tip of the Malaysian Peninsula, what is one of the most densely populated nations in the world?

8. Once known as Siam, what country is proud of never having been colonized by Europeans?

9. Kartor, played by trying to keep a rattan ball in the air without using the hands, is the national sport of what country?

10. What country of some 13,670 islands is locally called Tanah Air Kita (“Our Land of Air and Water”)?

1. In East Timor, as in many other countries, cockfighting is a major spectator activity. Opposing roosters, each with a razor-sharp blade tied to one leg, are pushed against one another to agitate them into fighting to the death. Betting is a critical component of the event. The owner of the winning rooster receives his betting winnings as well as the body of the losing rooster.
   
   
2. In Myanmar, most couples prefer a traditional wedding ceremony, set on a day chosen for good luck by an astrologer. The bride and groom wear wedding costumes of gold, white, or pink silk. A respected elder or professional wedding speaker begins with a blessing on the couple. He places the right hand of the bride in the right hand of the groom, wraps the joined hands in a white scarf, and pours perfumed water over them. After their hands are unwrapped, the couple bows to the guests three times (symbolizing once each for Buddha, parents, and elders). Coins (wrapped in gold paper) and rice are then thrown out over the guests. The ceremony is followed by a reception with presents, food, and drink.

[ TOP ]

[ TOP ]

• Nevada became a state on October 31 (the same day as Halloween) in 1864.
  
  
• Camels were used as pack animals in Nevada until around 1870.
  
  
• Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other place in the world.
  
  
• Nevada produces more gold than any other state in the country.
  
  
• The federal government owns more than 80 percent of the land in Nevada. Federally-owned land includes mountains, deserts, forests, rangeland, and national parks.

[ TOP ]

World Holidays Featured This Month

Kazakhstan – Independence Day –
December 16
Honors those slain in riots in Almaty in 1986. Government troops violently suppressed the riots, which broke out after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev replaced Kazakh Communist Party leader Dinmukhamed Kunaev with an ethnic Russian unfamiliar with Kazakh language and culture. Kazakhstan eventually achieved independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Guatemala – Noche Buena – December 24
On Christmas Eve, families set off firecrackers at midnight and then eat a large meal of tamalitos (cornmeal dough wrapped in corn husks and steamed) and hot chocolate. The Christmas season begins on December 7, when people clean house and burn their garbage to ceremonially cleanse their homes of evil in preparation to receive Christ.

Greece – New Year’s Eve – December 31
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, a special cake (vasilopitta) with a coin in it is cut into various pieces. Whoever gets the coin is supposed to have good luck during the new year.

Swaziland – Lusekwane – Late December
Young men bring branches of this tree to the royal residence to build a cattle enclosure. Incwala, a few days later, is highlighted by the king tasting the new harvest’s fruits. Lasting several days, it includes feasting, singing, dancing, and the slaying of a bull.

[ TOP ]

National Standards for History (K–4)

The History of Students’ Own State or Region

• Standard 3: The people, events, problems, and ideas that created the history of their state.

D. The student understands the interactions among [various] groups throughout the history of his or her state.

[Grade 3–4]: Therefore, the student is able to list in chronological order the major historical events that are part of the state’s history.

Developed by the National Council for Geographic Education

• CultureGrams States Edition
• Posters
• Drawing utensils

1. Have the students study their state’s timeline, available from the States Edition.
   
   
2. Divide the students into groups according to the number of entries on the timeline. Give each group a poster, and instruct students to make a creative representation of their assigned event from the timeline by drawing illustrations. They may write down the name of the event, but not the date itself.
   
   
3. On the chalkboard, draw a horizontal line that has all of the dates indicated from the States Edition timeline, but none of the events. Collect all the posters and mix them up.
   
   
4. Divide the class into two groups, Group A and Group B. Hold up two posters and ask the Group A to place them in chronological order in relation to each other. (Note that they don’t need to know the exact date of the event.) If they do so correctly, they get a point. Attach the posters to the correct dates on the board. Move on to Group B, this time holding up one poster. In order to get a point, Group B must correctly place the poster in relation to the two posters on the board. Continue until all of the posters are placed correctly on the timeline. The group with the most points wins.
   
   
5. Questions for further discussion: If the students had to characterize each century on the state’s timeline, how would they do it? (i.e. centuries of exploration, settlement, development, etc.) Which events do the students think were the most important in forming the state that we live in today and why? Which ones have they heard of before or celebrate in some way?
   
   
6. Extension activity: Outside of class, have each group research their timeline event in more depth, so that they are able to write at least a couple of paragraphs about it. Include these paragraphs on their posters, and hang them in the classroom as a permanent display on one of the walls.

[ TOP ]