1. Notes for CultureGrams Users
2. Did You Know?
3. Holiday Focus/Upcoming World Holidays
4. Teaching Idea: Australian Comparison
5. Oceania Quiz
6. Recipes from Oceania
7. In the News: The Bali Bombings
8. Email Service Information & Forwarding Tool

[ TOP ]

• Since most of the Solomon Islands are without electricity, villages use solar-powered two-way radios to communicate.
• Linguists have catalogued around 836 distinct languages in Papua New Guinea, most of which fall within two basic language groups: Melanesian and Papuan.
• The banjo is a favorite instrument in Guam.
• In Tonga, on a date outside the home, a girl is often accompanied by her mother or another family member.
• New Zealand’s indigenous name is Aotearoa, which means “Land of the Long White Cloud.”

[ TOP ]

Some Upcoming World Holidays

Tunisia – Evacuation Day – October 15
Marks the day in 1963 when the last of the French troops returned to France.

Azerbaijan – National Independence Day – October 18
Commemorates the nation’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Kenya – Kenyatta Day – October 20
Celebrates Jomo Kenyatta's arrest in 1952 for opposing British authorities.

Marshall Islands – Compact Day – October 21
Commemorates the 1986 agreement that established the Marshall Islands as a self-governing nation in free association with the United States.

Thailand – Chulalongkorn Day – October 23
Honors Chulalongkorn, the “beloved monarch” (1868–1910) who abolished slavery and introduced many reforms.

[ TOP ]

Standard for Culture:
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity, so that the learner can:

C. Apply an understanding of culture as an integrated whole that explains the functions and interactions of language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs and values, and behavior patterns.

E. Demonstrate the value of cultural diversity, as well as cohesion, within and across groups.

Conforms to National Standards for Geography (developed by the National Council for Geographic Education)--

Standard 10: The geographically informed person knows and understands the characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

• CultureGrams World Edition
  
• Report for Australia
  
• Report for the United States
  
• Build-Your-Own Comparison Table

1. Introduce this activity by discussing some of the similarities between Australia and the United States (e.g., large areas, former British colonies, English-speaking). Then highlight a few of the differences (population size, unique idioms, etc.).
2. Distribute to each student a copy of the four-page PDF of the Australia report. Ask them to identify similarities and differences between Australia and the United States by highlighting passages in the Australia report with a different color for each (e.g., green for similarities, red for differences). Instruct them to make notes in the margins where appropriate. You may also want to distribute copies of the United States report to help them generate ideas.
3. Using the build-your-own Comparison Table, select Australia and the United States in the nations field. For the categories field, select “Add All.” The click “Create Comparison Table.” How do the two countries compare?
4. To summarize their findings, students should divide a sheet lengthwise in half. In the left column, have them describe ten characteristics of Australian culture. In the right column, students should discuss whether the same characteristic is found in U.S. society. What similarities surprised them? What differences surprised them?

[ TOP ]

1. New Zealand has two official languages--what are they?
2. In this U.S. territory, the indigenous Chamorros comprise 37 percent of the population and Filipinos comprise 26 percent.
3. Tuvalu, one of the world’s smallest countries (10 square miles, or 26 square kilometers), joined which international body in 2000?
4. In this French territory, one-third of the population lives in and around the capital city, Papeete.
5. What island, located south of Samoa and east of Tonga, is one of the world’s largest coral islands as well as one of the world’s smallest self-governing states?

[ TOP ]

Main Dish from French Polynesia
Poulet Fafa (Chicken, Coconut Milk, and Spinach)

Ingredients:

6 chicken leg quarters
1 to 2 tablespoons oil, for browning
2 bunches fresh spinach
Salt and pepper
Cornstarch
1 can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Remove chicken skin. Cut thigh in half through the bone and do the same with the leg. Brown chicken pieces in a heavy pan.

2. Add salt and pepper to the chicken and add enough water just to cover chicken.

3. Bring to a boil and turn down to medium low until the chicken is done.

4. Wash spinach and tear off stems. Add to chicken and cover and simmer until spinach
is done.

5. Add about half can of coconut milk. If sauce is runny, thicken with a cornstarch that has previously been mixed with water.

6. Simmer 10 more minutes.

7. Serve over hot steamed rice.

Dessert from Papua New Guinea
Peanut and Sweet Potato Cakes

Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground peanuts
2 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, beaten
Milk or thin coconut cream
Oil or fat

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together. Add enough liquid to make a fairly stiff consistency.

2. With floured hands, shape into about 20 flat cakes and fry in hot oil until brown.

[ TOP ]

[ TOP ]