Brite Star World Cultures "United States"

United States A Brite Star World Cultures Copyright © 2023 by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c)3 All rights reserved.

Published by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc. 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway Suite 338 Las Vegas, Nevada 89141 Vincent W. Goett, Publisher

ISBN Paperback

979-8-89750-282-0

Digital

979-8-89750-283-7

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

“Good morning class,” said Ms. Betty. “Today we are continuing our class project of learning about countries. Jimmy will tell us about our home country, the United States.”

The Brite Star kids were excited. They all loved the United States and what it’s flag stood for.

Jimmy was excited to present his report to the class.

He even wore his new red, white and blueUSAhat.

Map andFlag “My sister and I were born in the United States and we’ve lived in Brite Star our whole lives,” said Jimmy.

“Our nation’s flag is called by many different names such as Old Glory, Star-Spangled Banner or Stars and Stripes. The flag has 50 white stars on a blue canton with a field of 13alternating stripes, 7red and 6 white. The 50 stars stand for the 50 states of the union, and the 13stripes stand for the original 13 colonies,” said Jimmy.

Land “The United States is bordered on the north by Canada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The United States is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of land area. Only Russia, Canada, and China are bigger,” said Jimmy.

Climate “The overall climate in the United States of America, or the USA, is average. There are afew exceptions, for example Alaska has an arctic climate,” said Jimmy.

“It’s cold for sure,” said Miles.

“Hawaii and South Florida have a tropical climate,” said Jimmy.

“Now, that’smore my style,” said Miles. Everyone laughed at that!

“The Great Plains is dry, flat and grassy. The plains turn into a desert in the far west part of the country,” said Jimmy.

People “The United States population is more than 330,000,000 people. That is more than 4% of the total world population. Our country ranks third largest in population behindIndia and China,” said Jimmy.

“The people living in the United States represent many different races and cultures. Caucasians, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, Black,native Hawaiian and other Pacific islands are some of them,” Jimmy explained.

“We all are Americans,” shoutedAlexander.

“Yes we are,” Jimmy agreed.

Thai People

Language “The United States does not have an official language. However, the most commonly used language is English, so it is considered the national language. But many other languages are alsospoken in the United States, especially Spanish,” Jimmy said. “In fact, there are over 300 different languages spoken in our country.”

Religions “The largest religion in the United States is Christianity with the various Protestant churches having the most followers. In 2019, Christians represented 65% of the total population with 45% identifying as Protestants and 20% as Catholics,” said Jimmy.

Currency “The official currency of the United States and its territories is the dollar. That was determined by the Coinage Act of 1792,” said Jimmy. “The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the US. The Fed was created on December 23,1913 by the Federal Reserve Act after a series of financial panics in the country.”

“My Dad says if you get lots of Benjamins you’ll be rich,” said Miles.

“That’s because the Benjamin is another name for the $100 dollar bill. It has Benjamin Franklin’s picture on it,” saidJimmy.

Government “The US Constitution ensures a federal, democratic republic government. That means we have a union of 50 independent states.Our country is a democracy because the peoplegovern themselves by voting. It’s representative because people choose elected officials by free and secret ballot,” said Jimmy.

“Our government has three separate levels: the federal government, state governments, andlocal governments,” he continued. “The president isthe head of the government of the United States. The president is elected by the people of the country for a four-year term and can only be elected to two of those terms. The president lives in a big white house in Washington,D.C.”

Food “Americans love food! Whether it’s hot dogs at the ballpark, chocolate chip cookies cooling on a stove top, hamburgers on the Fourth of July or Chef Lou’s french fries,” said Jimmy.

“Hey, you forgotabout pizza!” shouted Leo. “Oh yes, pizza is definitely an Americanfavorite,” agreed Jimmy.

“Different foods came to the US through the influence of other countries like Germany, Britain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Ireland, France, and the Caribbean. Now many of those foodsare considered American. Others, like Buffalo wings or Reuben sandwiches were actually invented in America,” said Jimmy.

Just then Chef Lou came into the classroom carrying trays of food. The food looked just like the pictures Jimmy had shown. Hots dogs, french fries and, of course, pizza. “In honor of Jimmy’s report about the United States I made a special USAlunch for the entire classroom,” he said. Everyone cheered for Chef Lou! The kids took turn trying different foods. Some of the kids didn’t like hot dogs. Some didn’t like pizza.

But they each tried a little bit and then ate more of the ones they liked the best.

Everyone had a great time learning more about the United States of America.

Think AboutIt 1. What do the stars and stripes on the American flag stand for?

2. What countries borderAmerica on the north and south?

3. What two countries have more people than the United States?

4. What is the central banking system of the United States called?

5. What are the three levels of government called?

Let’s WorkTogether!

Learning about different countries, cultures and people around the world is important. It helps you understand people from those places better. It can be exciting too! You will learn even learn new things about your own country!

I will. ..

• • •

Read books about how the UnitedStates was founded.

Learn more about how our governmentworks.

Learn the names of the 13original colonies.

It’s important to learn about your country and how it came to be established. Learn why settlers came to America and what it has taken for it to become the grand country it is today. Bea proud American!