With the war in Iraq dominating today’s news, it is helpful for students to have access to a trusted source that not only explains what’s going on but provides historical context essential for understanding how we got there.

As Middle Eastern expert, author, and NPR commentator Peter Sluglett has said, “I recommend the Iraq report wholeheartedly as a guide for anyone wanting to steer their way through the maze of disinformation currently being disseminated on Iraq. The material is clearly and accurately presented, and the questions raised are pertinent and given authoritative answers.”

Do you know which sovereign state Saddam Hussein referred to as Iraq’s “nineteenth province,” the name Saddam Hussein’s executioners used to taunt him before they hanged him, and how many Iraqis had died in war-related violence in 2006 according to the British medical journal Lancet?

Find the answers to these and other interesting and important questions when you read the Iraq report in World Conflicts Today (free trial).

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1. Which Central American country is home to 32 volcanoes, some of which are active?
   
   
2. What country’s cuisine is some of the least spicy in Central America and is characterized by pupusas (thick tortillas stuffed with meat, beans, or cheese)?
   
   
3. Which indigenous empire flourished in the area now called Honduras until about AD 800?
   
   
4. What instrument is similar to a xylophone and is popular throughout Central America?
   
   
5. The majority (87 percent) of citizens in which Central American country have a European heritage?
   
   
6. Which country connects Central and South America?
   
   
7. In which countries are Creole and Garífuna common languages among the black population, while Miskito, Sumo, and Rama are spoken among indigenous groups?
   
   
8. In the 17th century, British pirates used which country’s islands and reefs to lure ships onto the rocks for looting?
   
   
9. During Lent, rather than eating red meat, Nicaraguans eat the meat of what animal ground into a paste or in garrobo soup?
   
   
10. The people of Costa Rica are commonly known by what name throughout Central America?

1. The Mayan Empire flourished in what is now Guatemala for more than one thousand years until it began to decline in the 1100s. As one of the chief centers of the Mayan culture, Guatemala abounds in archaeological ruins, notably the majestic ceremonial city of Tikal in the Petén region.
   
   
2. During the 1880s, France attempted to build a canal across Panama’s narrow isthmus. Planning and financing were poor, and yellow fever claimed more than 20,000 lives. Canal rights were sold to the United States in 1903. Construction of the Panama Canal began in 1907 and was completed in 1914. It quickly became an important passage for ships traveling between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
   
   In 1978, the U.S. Senate narrowly ratified a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter that would allow Panama to assume control of canal operations in 1999, which it did in December of that year. The government is considering how best to administer the canal, and further expansion of the canal is planned. Panama is also trying to find a productive use for the 70,000 acres of former U.S. military land and the more than five thousand buildings that reverted to Panama when the United States left the region.

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• After escaping from slavery, Harriet Tubman, a native of Maryland, risked death to return to the South 19 times to help other slaves to freedom.
• There are no natural lakes in Maryland. All are man made.
• The National Aquarium is located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
• The United States Naval Academy was founded at Annapolis.
• Elizabeth Ann Seton, who started the Sisters of Charity in Maryland, was the first person born in the United States to be named a saint.
• Maryland claims the first umbrella factory and the first dental school in the United States.

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World Holidays Featured This Month

Ireland – St. Patrick’s Day – March 17
Features street parades in every city, but the largest is in Dublin. In honor of St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, the Irish wear a shamrock and have banquets.

Kingdom of Lesotho – Tree Planting Day – March 21
A day for government-sponsored tree-planting projects, which provide future building and fuel supplies and to guard against further erosion.

Kazakhstan – Nauryz – March 22
Traditional Kazakh New Year and Spring Festival. Many communities have a street festival with Kazakh food, music, and dancing.

U.S. Virgin Islands – Transfer Day – March 31
Celebrates the transfer from Danish rule to U.S. rule.

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Grade level: 3–5

Objective: Students will learn state or country locations, capitals, and physical features.

National curriculum standard(s):

McREL Geography Standards

The World in Spatial Terms

Standard 2: Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment.

Level II [Grade 3–5] Benchmark 2: Knows the location of major cities in North America.

Level II [Grade 3–5] Benchmark 3: Knows the approximate location of major continents, mountain ranges, and bodies of water on Earth.

Developed by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning

Time requirements
Preparation: 15 minutes
In-class: 1 hour and 30 minutes, two different days; less if part is assigned as homework.

Materials

CultureGrams Kids or States Edition

Instructions

1. Divide the class into several groups. Give each group a list of countries/states they are to study. (You may split up the world/United States however you wish.)
   
   
2. Assign students to read and take notes on the Land and Climate sections and the maps of their assigned countries in the CultureGrams Kids Edition. Or, if your class is focusing on states, assign students to read and take notes on the Climate and Geography sections and the detail maps in the CultureGrams States Edition. Instruct students to pay particular attention to the:

   Location (borders)
   Capital city
   Major physical features
   (e.g., lakes, mountains, etc.)

3. Compile the notes the class has taken into one master list. Include only the most significant physical features. Have the students memorize this list, using group work, flashcards, etc.
   
   
4. After the students have had a chance to memorize elements from the list, test their knowledge by playing “Around the World.” To play, Student A stands next to the desk behind him or her. A geographic question is posed to both Student A and Student B. If Student A answers the question correctly before student B, he or she moves on to the next desk, where another question is posed to student A and student C. If, however, Student B beats Student A, Student A sits down in Student B’s desk and Student B moves on to challenge Student C. This process continues until one student is able to move throughout all of the desks in the classroom -- that is, “around the world.”

Extension activity

• Discuss with the students the various elements that make up a map, including a key and typical symbols used to denote mountain ranges, bodies of water, capitals, etc. Then, using printouts of either the political map of the United States from the States Edition or maps of world regions from the World Edition (both in PDF formats), have students fill in capitals and significant physical features using the symbols you have discussed. You may have students do this from memory or using reference materials.

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