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CultureGrams & World Conflicts Today Updates
Did you know that an Email option is available for every report in your CultureGrams online research tool?
Find the main page for any country, state, or province, and an "Email report" link appears in the upper right-hand corner. For example, access the main page for our newest World Edition report -- Kosovo -- and you'll see the "Email report" link in the area above the "Did You Know?" box.
Click on the link and you'll open a small window in which you can enter the recipient's Email address. You can also enter your (the sender's) name, a subject line, and a message, if desired.
It's also possible to Email the information on any section page -- such as Population, Language, Greetings, Diet, etc. -- by clicking the "Email this section" link underneath the heading.
Users can email CultureGrams content to anyone. Or, when students find a report or section they're interested in, emailing that content to themselves is a convenient way to keep track of it -- without the expense of paper and toner!
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Teaching Idea:
Country Unification Challenge
In this month's activity, students will examine similarities and differences between two countries and imagine a hypothetical scenario in which they merge into a single country.
Assign each student two countries to research. The countries may be assigned within a particular region the class is studying, or they may be assigned at random from any part of the globe.
Using the CultureGrams Distance Calculator, students should determine how far apart their two countries' capitals are. Then have them use our World Time tool to determine how many hours separate the two capitals.
Using their notes and our additional queries, the students should write an essay analyzing the prospects for the new unified country. What challenges would the new country face? How would the country benefit? (Full activity.)
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Regional Quiz
How much do you know about the region of
Oceania?
Test your knowledge with these tidbits from CultureGrams:
- What country's name means "tiny islands," so called because the majority of its 607 islands cover less than 1 square mile?
- What is the everyday language of the Marshall Islands?
- What island nation's phosphate earnings gave it one of the world's highest GDPs per capita during the 1970s and '80s?
- What country is the world's largest exporter of wool?
- What Pacific country's national dish is lap lap, made by grating a root crop such as manioc and mixing it with coconut milk?
- In what French dependency does one-third of the population live in and around the capital, Papeete?
- What mildly narcotic beverage, often used for ceremonial purposes in the Pacific Islands, is made from the crushed root of a shrub in the pepper family?
- In what island nation do people celebrate New Year's Day by dousing others with water or dunking people in streams or in the ocean?
- What are the two main ethnic groups in the French dependency of New Caledonia?
- In what island nation are a child's first haircut (for boys) and first ear piercing (for girls) important rites of passage and cause for elaborate celebrations?
Answers: 1) Micronesia's. 2) Marshallese. 3) Nauru's. 4) New Zealand. 5) Vanuatu's. 6) French Polynesia. 7) Kava. 8) Solomon Islands. 9) Indigenous Kanaks and people of European descent. 10) Niue.
Did you know...
- In Vanuatu, the tradition of grade-taking remains widespread. A man may ascend through various grades of status by holding feasts at which he provides pigs for ritual slaughter. The older the pig (the longer the tusks), the greater its value. In this way, a wealthy man is able to achieve higher status in the village.
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World Holidays
Holidays provide a great way to introduce students to the culture and history of a country. "Observe" a world holiday in your classroom by asking students to research the holiday's origins or learn more about a particular aspect of the country.
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Focus on a U.S. State: Missouri
Missouri is right in the center of the United States. This means that Missouri's weather is moderate -- sometimes it has the cold weather of the northern states and sometimes it has the warm weather of the southern states. Below the Missouri River is the Ozark Plateau, with cliffs, valleys, streams, natural springs, and waterfalls. Around five thousand caves can be found there. You can visit them and explore their many stalactites and stalagmites (calcium deposits that drop from the ceiling or rise from the floor) and natural bridges.
Missouri also lies in the middle of a region known as Tornado Alley. Missouri usually gets around 27 major tornadoes per year. In 1925, a tornado hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. It was called the Tri-State Tornado, and it killed almost seven hundred people. Two-thirds of Missourians live in cities, like St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Jefferson City. Here are some more interesting facts about Missouri:
- Missouri gets its name from the Missouri Native American tribe. The word means "town of the large canoes."
- Known as the Gateway to the West, St. Louis's Gateway Arch is the tallest national monument in the United States.
- Missouri was the starting point for the Pony Express. Riders carried mail all the way to California in just a few days. They changed horses every 10 to 15 miles.
- Jesse James was one of the most notorious Wild West outlaws. His gang robbed banks and trains throughout Missouri. A member of his own gang shot and killed him in Saint Joseph.
- In 1927, Charles Lindbergh, a Missouri pilot, completed the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in a plane called the Spirit of St. Louis.
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Social Studies Grant Feed: Grant Wrangler & ProQuest
Learn how to publish this information on your website
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CultureGrams Photo Gallery Pick
Waitangi, New Zealand, February 2007
Leading the Protest:
A man blows on a shell as he and fellow protestors march on Waitangi's Treaty Grounds on New Zealand's national holiday, Waitangi Day. The holiday commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British and the Maori people in 1840. Protestors often use the day to speak out against what they see as violations of the treaty.
Tap into our complete CultureGrams Photo Gallery.
SIRS Spotlights + Challenge Quests
Women's contributions to American history are immeasurable. Despite the obstacles encountered in societies once hostile to equal rights, they have overcome hardships and adversities to make lasting contributions to many fields.
Our new SIRS Spotlight of the Month pays tribute to Women's History Month by honoring women and their contributions to American and world history.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is often called the "Last Great Race on Earth."
Long before the historic Iditarod Trail was a competition, it was a mail and supply route. SIRS asks the question: In what year was the Iditarod Trail declared a National Historic Trail by Congress?
ProQuest Recorded Video Training:
Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device
In addition to the free, Web-based training courses we offer each
month,
you can also tap into our
recorded training videos.
Available anytime, these 5-75 minute self-paced Flash videos allow users to pause and resume their training anytime.
You may now stream or download our
CultureGrams,
SIRS The Human Element Animated Video,
New eLibrary Quick Tour +
Smart Content,
and
ProQuest Platform
(Gold, Silver, Platinum, etc.) videos.
Top 3 Websites
Each month, our editorial team scours the Internet for top-quality sites for teachers and students.
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