THE UNITED STATES – AN INTRO FOR KIDS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJVxNfjwP-U PART Here is the United States The United States is a country A country has its own laws, like the law that says you can’t drive too fast, and the law that says you can’t rob other people and many other laws The capital is Washington, DC, where the government makes laws Uncle Sam is the symbol of the US government Here’s the Capital Building, where Congress writes laws Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives Here is the White House, where the President lives and works The President has to say “yes” to new laws, by signing them George Bush was President for eight years Now the President is Barack Obama The first President was George Washington The more presidents were Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln The other important part of the government is the Supreme Court, with nine judges, called Justices They talk a lot They explain what the laws mean PART The United States is made up of 50 states In the US flag there are 50 stars, one for each state Some states have lots of people in them, like California, and Texas and New York State But some states have very few people in them, like Wyoming and Vermont When the United States first got started, there were only 13 states It grew toward the west, to the Pacific Ocean The United States is divided into parts, or regions, including the Northeast, which includes the New England States, and the Mid-Atlantic States, the Midwest and Great Plains States, the South, and finally the West, which includes the Rocky Mountain States, and the Pacific States The national bird of the United States is the Bald Eagle, and two more national symbols are baseball and apple pie The state of Alaska is not next to the other states It is only next to Canada Alaska is way up north Alaska is famous because it is very wild, very large and very cold The tallest mountain in the US is in Alaska: Mount McKinley, which is here Hawaii is a state, but it is out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Hawaii is famous because it is warm, and people like to visit the beaches there The lowest point in the United States is called Death Valley, which is here, in California There are five really big lakes in the north, called the great Lakes The biggest lake in the US is Lake Superior The longest river is the Mississippi River The three biggest cities in the United States are New York City, Los Angeles, California, and Chicago, Illinois PART People can a lot of things in the United States In Los Angeles, California, people make movies In San Jose, California, people make software for computers Near Seattle, Washington, people make big airplanes In Nashville, Tennessee, people make a lot of music In Detroit, Michigan, people make a lot of cars In Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, people make a lot of the metal steel In New York City, people make books, and they make money on the stock market And in Boston, Massachusetts, people learn at many famous universities But the Unites States is famous for letting people what they want The Statue of Liberty stands for freedom, the freedom to what you want In the United States there are some famous big places, like the high desert, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Appalachian Mountains In the United States, there are many famous parks In Wyoming, there is Yellowstone National Park In Arizona there is Grand Canyon National Park In California there is Yosemite National Park and also Redwood National Park In Tennessee and North Carolina there is Great Smoky Mountains National Park In Florida there is Everglades National Park There are also many great monuments in the US In New York City, there is the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge There are many famous monuments in Washington D.C., like the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial In Philadelphia, you can see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell In Chicago you can see the Sears Tower Some sports started in the United States – like baseball, football and basketball Americans like to eat lots of different kinds of food, like hamburgers, hot dogs and meat loaf EXERCISES Part Answer the questions What is the United States? - Where are laws made? - What is Congress made up of? - Who must say “yes” to new laws? - What is the capital of the United States? - Where does the President work? - Who is George Washington? - Who works in the Supreme Court? - How many judges are there? - 10 What they do? - 11 What is Part about? - Fill in the blanks, then watch the video again and check your answers Choose from the followings: president, country, queen, mean, fast, capital, citizens, laws, president, laws, people, United, symbolize Here is the States The United States is a A country has its own laws, like the law that says you can’t drive too , and the law that says you can’t rob other and many other laws The is Washington, DC, where the government makes Uncle Sam is the symbol of the US government Here’s the Capital Building, where Congress writes laws Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives Here is the White House, where the lives and works The President has to say “yes” to new , by signing them George Bush was President for eight years Now the President is Barack Obama The first was George Washington The more presidents were Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln The other important part of the government is the Supreme Court, with nine judges, called Justices They talk a lot They explain what the laws Part Match the beginnings (1-8) and the ends (a-h) of the following sentences: The United States is When the US first got started, The USA grew toward the west, The state of Alaska is Alaska is famous because Hawaii is famous because Hawaii is a state The biggest cities in the US are a) to the Pacific Ocean b) out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean c) it is very wild, very large and very cold d) made up of 50 states e) New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago f) there were only 13 states g) people like to visit the beaches there h) next to Canada Answer the questions How many states are there in the USA? - How many states were there when the USA got started? - What regions is the USA divided into? - What is Alaska? What is Hawaii? - What is Mount McKinley? - What is the Mississippi? - What is Death Valley? - Where are the Great lakes situated? - What are the biggest cities in the USA? - 10 What are the symbols of the country? - Part Match the state and things produced there Los Angeles, California San Jose, California Seattle, Washington Nashville, Tennessee Detroit, Michigan Pittsburg, Pennsylvania New York City Boston, Massachusetts a) a lot of music b) big airplanes c) movies d) a lot of cars e) many famous universities f) books and money on the stock market g) software for computers h) a lot of metal steel Match the states and their national parks Wyoming Arizona California Tennessee and North Carolina Florida a) Everglades National Park b) Great Smoky Mountains National Park c) Yosemite and Redwood National Parks d) Yellowstone National Park e) Grand Canyon National Park Match the city and the sights New York City Washington, D.C Philadelphia Chicago a) the Liberty Bell b) the Empire State Building c) Independence Hall d) the Jefferson Memorial e) the Sears Tower f) the Statue of Liberty g) the Brooklyn Bridge h) the Lincoln Memorial i) the Washington Memorial www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-11977.php online test - About America www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-555.php listening - History of the USA a4esl.org/q/h/vm/usaknowledge.html online test