2. CONTENTS
Subject British & American
Culture Study
Index CL 301
Credit 2
Hours 32 hours
/2 credit – lec /
Class Sophomore class of English Teacher and English
Translator
Term IV
2
3. oGain basic knowledge on their chosen
country through the use of the Internet,
videos, and text.
Be able to present knowledge on the
USA & the UK to their classmates
orally.
Work collaboratively with peers
3
4. Self study of the Culture study
Topic Activities Class
management
Week Scores
1 The states of
the USA
Present about the
states of the USA
Work in groups 29 / II 10
scores
2 Introduction
of the UK
Write the paper
about the UK
Individually 30/III 10
scores
3 Holidays of
the USA &
UK
Show how to
celebrate the
holidays of the
USA & the UK
Work in groups 25/ IV 10
scores
4
6. History of the United States
The first people to arrive in America may
be crossed over a strip of land, known as
Beringia, between America and Eurasia about
40 000 years ago. The people were nomads
who hunted large animals such as mammoths
and bison. They had only basic tools made of
stone.
About 6000 BC some groups of people
began to rely more on gathering wild fruits,
nuts and vegetables for food. They also began
to settle in permanent villages.
7. They made a wider range of tools, from
stone and animal bone, simple copper items,
and baskets and nets from wild plants.
A major change in society began from
about 1000 BC. Although hunting and
gathering were still the main source of food,
agriculture began about this time.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus reached the
Bahamas. This led to European exploration and
colonization of North and South America.
8. The arrival of people from Europe caused
serious problems. The Europeans took their
land in order to build settlements, and over
time they controlled almost all of North
America, putting the native peoples on a few
reservations.
In the USA today most people know about
Native American peoples, of Indians as many
call them, from the time when they came into
contact with Europeans.
9.
10. Native Americans
Native Americans are people who were
living in North and South America before the
arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. In the
US the term includes American Indians and
Alaska Natives, i.e. Eskimos and Aleuts.
The ancestors of today’s Native Americans
probably arrived from Siberia across the Bering
Strait and were in the Americas many
thousands of years before the Europeans
arrived.
11. In Pre-Columbian North America there
were many tribes of hunter-gatherers who
lived by hunting, fishing and gathering plants.
When Europeans began settling in what is
now the US in the early 1600s, Native
Americans were at first happy to have the
many new things they brought, such as metal
cooking pots, cloth and guns.
But the colonists also brought diseases that
Native Americans had no resistance to and also
introduced alcohol, which had a strongly
negative impact on Native American society.
12. The worst problem for native Americans
was that the new settlers wanted land. The idea
of land ownership was not part of the Native
American culture.
They used tricking Native Americans into
selling land cheaply, taking it by military force,
and killing or enslaving the Indians.
Before Europeans arrived in North
America, there were over 300 Native American
languages. Some have now died out and many
are spoken by only a few older people.
13. Native American languages have added
many words to English, such as anorak,
caucus, moccasin, pecan, powwow and
totem.
Many American place names, such as Ohio,
Mississippi and Yosemite also have their roots
in Native American languages.
There are today more than 550 federally
recognized tribes in the US. In 2002, there
were about two million American Indians and
Alaskan Natives in the US.
14. Nature of the United States
Nature conservation areas are areas of the
countryside have special protection under law
because they have interesting or unusual wild
plants or animals in them.
The US also has many nature preserves.
People can visit them for enjoyment or to do
scientific research, but must stay on plants and
cannot disturb or remove anything. They are
not allowed to drive vehicles, camp, hunt or
start fires. Indian has 176 nature preserves,
more than 23000 acres in total.
15. A popular type of nature preserve is the
wildlife refuge, such as Lake Woodruff Natural
Wildlife Refuge in Florida, where John James
Audubon once watched and drew birds.
There are also many national forests, rivers and
seashores, and scenic trails. Many national
monuments are also natural areas. They include the
Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, Lava Beds in
California and Organ Pipe Cactus in Arizona. The
US National Park Service is in charge of all of
these and cares for the plants, animals and scenery
so that they can be enjoyed by the public.
16. The United States of America
USA is a federal constitutional republic
comprising 50 states and a federal district.
The country is situated mostly in central North
America, where its 48 contiguous states and
Washington, D.C., the capital district, bordered
by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.
The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the
continent. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago
in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses
several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
17.
USA National Flag USA Emblem
Name The Stars and Stripes; Red, White and
Blue; Old Glory; The Star Spangled Banner
Adopted June 14, 1777 (original 13-star
version) July 4, 1960 (current 50-star version
Design Thirteen horizontal stripes alternating
red and white; in the canton, 50 white stars on a
blue field
18. United States has
- 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2)
- over 312 million people
- the third or fourth largest country by total area
- the third largest country by both land area and
population
- one of the world's most ethnically diverse and
multicultural nations, the product of large-
scale immigration from many countries.
19. The United States was founded by thirteen
British colonies located along the Atlantic
seaboard.
On July 4, 1776, they issued the Declaration
of Independence, which proclaimed their right
to self-determination and their establishment of
a cooperative union.
The rebellious states defeated the British
Empire in the American Revolution, the first
successful colonial war of independence.
20. The current United States Constitution was
adopted on September 17, 1787; its ratification
the following year made the states part of a
single republic with a stronger central
government.
The Bill of Rights, comprising ten
constitutional amendments guaranteeing many
fundamental civil rights and freedoms, was
ratified in 1791.
21. Through the 19th century, the United States
displaced native tribes, acquired
- the Louisiana territory from France,
- Florida from Spain,
- part of the Oregon Country from the United
Kingdom,
- Alta California and New Mexico from Mexico,
- Alaska from Russia,
- annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of
Hawaii.
22. National Parks of US and protected areas
America’s parks are so popular that they are
being harmed by the number of visitors and
their cars.
The oldest national park in the world is
Yellowstone national Park, established in 1872.
The largest US park is Wrangell St Elias in
Alaska with 13000 square miles / 34000 square
kilometers.
23. The most popular park is the Great Smoky
Mountains. Many parks are well known for
some special feature, such as the Grand
Canyon, the Everglades and the Petrified
Forest.
There are many other sites run by the
national park Service. One of the most visited
areas is the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia
and North Carolina which had 21 million
visitors in 2002.
24. National anthems
The national anthem of the US is the Star-
Spangled Banner, referring to the US flag. The
words were written in 1814 and set to the
music of a popular song. It became the national
anthem in 1931. Every American knows the
story of how The Star-Spangled Banner was
written during a war between the US and
Britain. Its author, Francis Scott Key, was a
prisoner on a British ship off the coast of
Baltimore. From there he could watch the
battle for control of Fort McHenry.
25. The song tells how he watched as the sun
went down. He could no longer see the
fighting, but since bombs were still exploding
he knew that the British had not won. When the
morning came he could see the American flag
still flying over the fort.
The Star-Spangled Banner is played at
official ceremonies and sung at public events.
On these occasions everyone present is
expected to stand up and sing.
26. Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United
States is an expression of loyalty to the
- federal flag and the republic of the
- United States of America, originally
composed by Francis Bellamy (1855–1931),
who was a Baptist minister, a Christian
socialist in 1892 and formally adopted by
Congress as the pledge in 1942.
27. Congressional sessions open with the recital
of the Pledge, as do government meetings at
local levels, and meetings held by many private
organizations.
It is also commonly recited in school at the
beginning of every school day, although the
Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions
that students cannot be compelled to recite the
Pledge, or punished for not doing so.
28. Symbolism
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
salutes the United States
flag on the surface of the
moon during the Apollo 11
mission. A similar flag was
planted on each of the five subsequent
successful Moon landing missions.
29. The flag of the United States is one of the
nation's most widely recognized symbols.
Within the United States, flags are
frequently displayed not only on public
buildings but on private residences.
The flag has become a powerful symbol of
Americanism, and is proudly flown on many
occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by
retail outlets to draw customers.
Desecration of the flag is considered a public
outrage, but remains protected as freedom of
speech
30. Display and use
The flag is customarily flown all year-round at
most public buildings. Some private use is year-
round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays
like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day,
Flag Day, and on Independence Day.
On Memorial Day it is common to place small
flags by war memorials and next to the graves of
U.S. war veterans.
Also on Memorial Day it is common to fly the
flag at half staff, until noon, in remembrance of
those who lost their lives fighting in U.S. wars.
