Thailand

Thailand is located in Southeast Asia. The country borders Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. The southern part of Thailand is covered with forests and mountains. However, the highest mountains are located in the north.

The rainy season or monsoons in Thailand take place between May and September. The moist and humid weather creates a good place for a large variety of animals to live. The most spectacular animals live deep in the forests, such as elephants, wild ox, leopards and tigers. Crocodiles and cobras also live in Thailand.

Around 90% of the Thai population is Buddhist. There are many temples and Buddhist structures all over the country. Thai food is influenced by Indian and Chinese cuisine. Most dishes are very spicy. The most common ingredients are lemongrass, hot chilies, basil and coconut milk.

Until 1939, Thailand was known as Siam. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized by European powers. In 1932, Thailand became a constitutional monarchy, after a revolution. The king is the leader of the country. But, his function is only symbolic.
Tourism and agriculture are Thailand’s most important industries.

The elephant is the national animal of Thailand and plays an important role in Thai culture and in the national symbols. According to Thai beliefs, the mother of Buddha (Queen Maya) was only able to get pregnant after dreaming about a white elephant. This is the reason why the white elephant is considered to bring good luck and has a royal status.

In the past, a lot of trees were cut in Thailand. Most forests are in the mountains. So, it was too difficult to use machines and trucks to collect wood. Many elephants were used to pick up the trees that were cut by people. The elephants carried the trees to the rivers. The trees then floated down the river to nearby villages where the trees where cut into pieces of wood. It took many years to teach elephants how to work. 

Each elephant had its own trainer, called a mahout. A mahout would spend his whole life with the same animal.It was definitely not an easy nor cheap task to train an elephant. An elephant eats 550 pounds of plants and drinks over 80 gallons of water each day! The mahout trained the elephant for 20 years and only after training would the elephant begin to work. They would work for around 35 years.

In 1989, the Thai government banned all logging in protected areas. It was a very wise choice to protect the vulnerable areas. But, it left many elephants without work. The rapid rise in tourism around that time solved that problem. Today, more than half of the population of domesticated animals work in tourism.

There are nearly 2,700 domesticated elephants in Thailand today. 

Check out this sad but cool article about Elephants in Thailand and this video that accompanies the information. 

This video is 8 minutes long so get cozy and answer the questions on your worksheet as you watch. 

Research and Practice

Compare two countries of YOUR choice. Visit this website. 

I have already printed out the worksheet for you. 

Visit the provided links for you to search for information about your two countries. Feel free to use other sources if you would like. 

Now is the time to start memorizing locations of  couturiers Southeast Asia. Learn them here.
Practice them here! 

Also, do some research on the culture of ONE of your countries.  Comment here and tell what country you researched and give five examples of cultural norms in this country. 

India

The population of India is 1,240,340,000 (Feb 2014 estimate). It is the 2nd largest population in the world. One in every six people in the world live in India. It is 31st most densely populated country in the world. 

India is in south Asia, a large country, it is the 7th largest country in the world. It borders with 7 other countries. They are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The capital city of India is New Delhi, which has a population 21,753,000 people living in the metropolitan area. This makes it the 3rd largest city in the world.

Watch four minutes of 

Sights and Sounds of India | National Geographic

Ganges River is the most important as well as the most sacred river in India. It is one of the longest river in India and also third largest river in the world in terms of water discharged into sea. Ganges River plays an important role in the life of Indian people. The river is used for irrigation, transportation and fishing and the Gangetic Plain is one of the most fertile and densely populated places on Earth. 

Watch two minutes of 

India’s Geographic Challenge

The river is referred as “Mother Ganga” in India, many ancient and historical cities are located on its bank . Ganges River is sacred to Hindus and it is regarded as goddess in Hindu mythology. 

Ganges water is sacred to every Indian and they use it for praying, drinking. Ganges water is believed to wash away sins and purify soul, ashes of dead bodies are dissolved here and it is very important ritual. Pilgrims while returning carry Ganges water that can be used for future prayer. It is believed that on auspicious day bathing in Ganges can wash away all the sins committed by man. 

watch this 5 minute video on 

Cleaning Up the Ganges.

Watch this brief biography of Gandhi. 

Comment and share two things that you learned. 

China's Environment

China is famous for being the country with the highest population in the world. There are over 1.3 billion people living in the country and this number is growing by 10 million every year. 

Many cities in China are heavily polluted. The most serious pollution comes from coal-powered factories. Nearly 70% of the energy production in China requires coal. 

The living condition of people in the big cities is heavily affected by pollution.  Because of these unhealthy conditions, many people get sick. Chinese people who live in these cities wear breathing masks and buy air purifiers to combat this menace. 

The Chinese government is aware of the problem but is finding it difficult to make the situation better. If the government decides to reduce the number of cars and coal-powered factories, the economy will be affected. The Government feels that it is more important for the economy to grow than solving the problem of pollution. Local governments are implementing new rules to make their cities more environmentally friendly, but a lot more has to be done so as to get rid of all the pollution.

Watch the following two videos:  

Comment and tell us two things you learned that you didn't know before. 

China's Toxic Smog (2.05)

Unique ways to deal with China's air pollution (3 min) 

Homework: 

Below you will find your name. Each name is hyperlinked to a current news article about China. Please print out your article. Write a summary, in your own words, of the information presented in your article.  You will be teaching the class what YOU learned. After you write a summary, email your teacher three questions that students should be able to answer after hearing you tell them about your article. 

Cassie 

Hunter

Evan

Emma

Lauren

Elijah

Jon

Martin

Tim 

Shea 

Southeast Asia

South of China, east of India and north of Australia lays Southeast Asia, a sub region of Asia. Here you’ll find beautiful beaches, tropical jungles and fascinating cultures. Southeast Asia sits on two fault lines beneath the Earth’s surface. The area is prone to tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes. Southeast Asia has a tropical climate, consisting of a rainy monsoon season and a dry, hot season.

Southeast Asia is divided into two parts: mainland Southeast Asia, which includes Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam; and 

Maritime Southeast Asia, which is made up of many islands and includes East Timor, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Christmas Island.

 Each country has its own unique culture and traditions, but these cultures are similar. Most people in Southeast Asia are Buddhist, Muslim or Christian. Families and traditions are important. Parents, teachers and elders are treated with respect and honor.

Here are some facts for you:

Southeast Asia is located on an intersection of geological plates which causes a lot of seismic and volcanic activity.

Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are governed by Australia, but are a part of Southeast Asia

Includes an area of about 1.6 million square miles.Population: more than 593 million people

More than 1/5 of the population (about 125 million) lives on the Java island of Indonesia.

Islam is the most widely practiced religion though Buddhism and Christianity are also practiced

The different countries making up Southeast Asia have developed local languages within their individual cultures though English is spoken in most of them

There are more than 700 living languages spoken in just Indonesia

Southeast Asia Vocabulary

Indochina: Group of countries in Southeast Asia located on the mainland and not made up of islands

Tsunami: Usually caused by a tremendous oceanic disturbance, this is a very large and destructive wave

Visit this website. There are ten facts listed about Southeast Asia. Click on one (pick one that NOBODY else has chosen yet) and learn some good stuff. 

Comment on the blog and tell us what you learned. 

Latin America & The Caribbean Test Practice

Practice Central America and Caribbean locations! 

Practice South American locations here ..... and here. 

We did not discuss the highest navigable lake in the world Lake Titicaca nor did we talk about the Magellan Strait. 

Practice location of these two water bodies as well as the oceans here. 

The Strait of Magellan, also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. 

It is safer for ships to travel this strait rather than the  Drake Passage which is a somewhat narrow body of water between Antarctica and South America that serves as an ocean-going connecting point between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.water between South America and Antarctica. 

Watch a short video on Lake Titicaca. 

Watch: How was this strait discovered? 

And: Strait of Magellan 

Rainforest

Visit the following websites and choose one product that originates in the rainforest that we enjoy today.

Do some research and write a paragraph about the product, including the natural resource that it comes from, and what we use it for here in America. 

The Global Importance of Amazon Natural Resources

Resources of the Rain Forest

Ten products and ingredients that come from the Amazon.