United States (‘Merica) and Canada

Learning Target

• I can identify multiple Economic and Cultural Characteristics of the United States and Canada.

Warm Up

• What are some Economic Characteristics of the United states?

• What are some cultural characteristics of the United States?

• If you lived in another country, what are some ways that you could identify an American? How do you think you would perceive Americans?

Vocabulary• Exports- send goods or services to another country.

• Information Systems- hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create and also distribute data.

• Corporation- A company owned by shareholders (people who invest money in the company).

• Colonize- send a group of settlers to (a place) and establish political control over it.

Vocabulary

• Literacy rate- how well people can read and write

• Standard of living- the degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community.

Economic CharacteristicsMajor exporters of

• Technology

• Information Systems

• Foodstuffs (food and food-like things)

Economic Characteristics

• Highly developed infrastructures. Examples: buildings, roads, energy sources needed for the operation of a city.

• Highly diversified economies- America and Canada make money doing everything from farming, to innovating new technology.

• Rich supply of mineral, energy, and forest resources

Economic Characteristics

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)- Allows the U.S. Canada and Mexico trade freely, or in other words Tax Free.

• America and Canada are home to multinational corporations.

• U.S. and Canada are the center of world financial marketplaces, like the New York Stock exchange.

• There is a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

Economic Characteristics

• The culture of the United States is being exported via the global marketplace.

Examples1. McDonalds2. Coca Cola3. Music4. Blue Jeans

Cultural Characteristics

• The United States and Canada were colonized by Europeans

• They have multicultural societies, or societies consisting of a variety of cultures

• The populations of the United States and Canada are becoming increasingly diverse.

• The United States and Canada have high literacy rates, high standards of living, and are highly urbanized.

Cultural Characteristics• Canada has struggled to maintain a national identity.

• National identity can be defined as something that holds a nation together. It can be represented by distinctive traditions, culture, language, and religion.

• The United States and Canada have the world’s longest unfortified border.

• Both the United States and Canada have democratic governments.

Cultural Characteristics

• Both of the United States and Canada have art that reflect the cultural heritage of multicultural societies.

• They are members of the North Atlantic Treaty organization.

• NATO is a military organization that consists of a variety of countries.

Cultural Landscapes- 1.Find a picture of each of the following. 2.Copy/ paste the picture into a word document. 3. Label each picture.

• U.S. Capitol

• Golden Gate Bridge

• Independence Hall

• St. Louis Gateway Arch

• Wheat fields

• Skyscrapers, shopping malls

• Bilingual signs

• Influence of the automobile (e.g., gas

stations, motels, interstate highways,drive-up services)

Cities as centers of culture and trade

• Toronto

• Montreal

• Ottawa

• Québec

• Vancouver, British Columbia

• Washington, D.C.

• Chicago

• New York City

• Los Angeles

• Houston