5-1 On The Beach
The beach is a shore of a body of water, especially when sandy or pebbly. P
Many people like to travel to the beach during the summer. P
The beach usually has warm weather. P
Many people like to walk on the sand and feel the hot sand under their feet. P
Children like to make sand castles at the beach. P
Many people like to surf or swim at the beach. P
Some people like to look for shells at the beach. P
Sometime you can see sand crabs at the beach. P
They are small sea animals that live in the sand by the shore. P
There are many famous beaches throughout the world. P
People travel from all parts to visit these beaches. P
5-2 Abraham Lincoln and Slavery
The sixteenth president of the United States and president during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln will forever be remembered. P
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, and two outstanding inaugural addresses are widely regarded as some of the greatest speeches ever delivered by an American politician. P
Before the Civil War, African Americans were owned as slaves. P
Slaves were forced to do hard labor. P
Many Americans were against slavery. P
Things changed when Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States. P
The Civil War began and was fought by the southern and northern states. P
Lincoln who fought to free the slaves led the north. P
The slaves were freed as the north won the war. P
Today, every American is completely free and has the same rights as any other living citizen. P
Abraham Lincoln made this possible with the abolition of slavery. P
5-3 Mayors, Cities, Towns
Governments can be divided into many levels. P
At each level there is a system of government that creates and enforces the laws for that region. P
The lowest level of this control falls to a city or town. P
Legally, cities and towns have the same definition. P
They are small land boundaries with a localized government. P
Cities are generally towns with large populations and are very urban. P
Towns have a smaller population than a city but have the same legislation. P
Villages are even smaller than towns, and they are generally rural or in the countryside. P
Each city or town has a mayor. P
The mayor is the highest government official in the town. P
Mayors are usually elected by the people of the town. P
The mayor leads the city council. P
The council makes the decisions for the town on issues such as the town budget and rules for parking and other local issues. P
The town cannot make laws that are in disagreement with the state because the state has control over the towns within it. P
5-4 Counties
Counties are the level of government above towns or cities and below states. P
Each state is divided up into sections or counties which group together the towns in a given area. P
Like the cities, counties make certain laws for their citizens to follow. P
Each state in the United States determines how much legislation its county has. P
There is a great variety in how much power counties have. P
Some states like Connecticut do not give any authority or responsibilities to the counties. P
There counties are merely geographic divisions of the state. P
In other states like Maryland, counties have a great deal of legislative power and handle almost all aspects of the government including education. P
Other county responsibilities in states include laws on cars and other vehicles and taxes. The United States has over 3100 counties. P
The first counties were defined in Virginia even before the United States was an independent country. P
They were formed to lessen the responsibilities of the state of Virginia. P
The oldest county was established in 1632. P
Today, the average number of counties in each state is over sixty-two. P
Delaware has the fewest counties, only three, while Texas has the most with 254. P
The largest county is Los Angeles County, California which has almost 10 million residents. P
5-5 Governor
Like a town elects its mayor to govern it, a state elects a governor. P
The governor is the highest elected official in a state. P
Each governor serves a term of four years once elected and can only serve two four year terms. P
The state government is not really a subdivision of the federal or country wide government. P
it is more of a government independent from the federal government. P
This is because the United States is composed of a group of somewhat independent states but that are joined to make the country. P
Each state, then, gives a different level of authority to its governor because the laws differ from state to state. P
In most states, the governor has a great deal of power in the appointment of positions in the state government and for things such as determining the state budget. P
Governors also have the power to pardon, or forgive, many crimes committed in the state. P
The second in command to the governor is the lieutenant governor. P
How the lieutenant governor is selected varies greatly from state to state. P
Eighteen states have a separate election for the lieutenant governor. P
He or she runs for office independently from the gubernatorial candidates. P
Seventeen states allow the candidates for governor to select their lieutenant governor and the two run together. P
This is similar to how presidential candidates select their vice presidential candidates. P
5-6 The United States
The United States of America is one of three countries in North America. P
The others are Mexico and Canada. P
In the United States of America there are fifty states and twelve territories. P
A territory is a portion of land which the federal government oversees but is not part of any state. P
The territories have some rights but are not represented in the House of Representatives or the Senate, P
the two divisions of the legislative branch of the government. P
Each state has two representatives to the U.S. Senate. P
This gives each state equal representation in that governing body. P
Each state has a different number of representatives to the House of Representatives, and the number of representatives each state is allowed is based on the population of the state. P
In this way, the states with a larger population have more representation than states with smaller populations. P
In both cases, the members of the Senate and the House are elected by the state residents. P
The United States is very diverse ethnically. P
There are people in the U.S. of all different races and from all areas of the world. P
There is a reason that the U.S. is nicknamed "The Melting Pot". P
Though citizens of the U.S. share an identity as Americans, they each hold a separate identity because of their ethnic origins. P
Groups can identify with their personal histories by calling themselves African Americans, Irish Americans or Native Americans and many other possibilities. P
5-7 President
The office of the President is the highest governmental role a U.S. citizen can hold. P
This is an elected position, and the president serves a term of four years. P
Every four years in November the citizens of the United States hold an election for the presidency. P
The person who is elected is called the president elect. P
He is not actually the president until he is sworn in and takes the oath of the presidency in January following the election. P
Running for the presidency is a complicated process. P
First of all, there are two requirements for anyone who wants to be president. P
You must be at least 35 years of age and have been born in the United States. P
If you are a citizen and you were born in another country, you cannot become president. P
There are two primary political parties in the United States. P
These are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. P
Each of these organizations will choose one person to run for the presidency representing them. P
It is possible to run for president if you are not a member of one of these parties, P
but it is very unlikely that you will be elected if you are not either the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate. P
5-8 Laws
The constitution is the most important and most powerful document in United States law. P
The constitution was written by several men who are called "framers". P
Three men contributed most to the writing constitution, and they were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Thomas Paine. P
The constitution is the ultimate law in the United States, and any law or policy in conflict with the constitution is eliminated. P
The constitution is not all encompassing however. P
Because of this, there are a series of amendments to the constitution stating more specific terms on certain issues. P
The first ten amendments to the constitution are called the Bill of Rights. P
There was some debate among the founding fathers whether these rights should have been included in the constitution itself, P
but they ultimately decided to add them as a series of amendments. P
There are currently more than ten amendments, but each addresses an issue of legality that is not specifically stated in the constitution. P
The first amendment is probably the most well known in the United States because it gives the freedom of speech. P
This allows Americans to say what they believe without fear of retaliation of the government. P
Most citizens of the United States value their freedom of speech and would not let anything or anyone take it away. P
5-9 The Legislative Branch
The United States Government is broken into three branches or sections; each branch has a designated area of responsibility. P
The three branches each have some type of control over the others providing the government with what is called checks and balances. P
This means that no one branch has total control, and each branch of the government is responsible to the other two. P
The legislative branch is one of three branches responsible for making the laws. P
Two houses make up this branch of the government. P
The legislative branch is also called the congress and made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. P
The senate is the more prestigious and more powerful half of the legislative branch of the U. S. government. P
The senate is composed of one hundred representatives, two from each state. P
Each senator serves a six year term before seeking reelection if he or she chooses. P
The other half of the legislative branch is the House of Representatives. P
This body is made up of 435 representatives from the fifty states. P
The number of representatives each state has is based on the population of the state. P
Each representative serves a two year term before seeking reelection. P
Both senators and representatives can be elected multiple times. P
Many politicians will serve their entire political career as either senators or representatives, and many presidents have started their political career in Congress. P
5-10 The Judicial Branch
The United States government is made up of three branches, each with a different responsibility. P
The responsibility of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws that have been passed by the legislative branch. P
The judicial branch makes sure laws are in alignment with the constitution of the United States. P
They do this through a series of courts which make judgments over issues in the country. P
The courts are of increasing power, and the court of last resort or the highest court in the country is the Supreme Court. P
The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices. P
The president nominates each of these justices and the senate confirms them. P
It gives a president a great amount of power if he has the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice. P
Almost every president has been able to appoint one or more Supreme Court justice. P
A new justice is appointed only when a justice retires or dies because each Supreme Court justice is elected to a life term meaning they keep the job for the rest of their life. P
This is to ensure fairness in judgment and to make sure the judge is not pressured into making certain decisions because of future elections. P
As little as a few weeks may pass between vacancies in the court or as much time as many years may pass. P
Currently, the Supreme Court is composed of three women and six men with their average age being sixty-five years old. P
5-11 Military
The United States of America has a military to protect the country. P
The military in America has five branches or divisions. P
The branches in the military are: the army, navy, marines, air force, and coast guard. P
The army is the ground forces of the military. P
The army is the primary branch of the military and has been around longer than even the country. P
The modern army has its roots in the continental army which was established during the American Revolutionary War. P
The navy, on the other hand, is the sea based branch of the military. P
The United States navy is the largest navy in the world. P
Like the army, the navy was originally formed during the American Revolutionary War, but was disbanded shortly afterward. P
The navy was then officially established again in 1794. P
The air force, as you may guess, are the air forces in the military. P
It is the youngest branch of the military to be established as it was only made a separate military branch in 1947. P
The marines are the branch of the military considered to be most elite. P
Only a select few are accepted into the marines, and those who become marines work challenging positions and missions. P
The Marine Corps works closely with the navy to provide military power from the seas but also performs land maneuvers. P
It is therefore considered an amphibious branch. P
It is the smallest branch of the United States military. P
Finally, there is the U.S. coastguard. P
The mission of the coast guard is to provide maritime safety, security and stewardship. P
They keep peace and law on the seas year round. P
5-12 Elections
The election process is foundational for the American Democratic government. P
A democracy does not mean the Democratic Party is ruling, P
but a democracy means a government that is ruled by the people of the nation and not just its powerful leaders. P
The United States maintains its democracy through the election process. P
At set intervals the election polls will open and all registered voters will be free to vote. P
Most of the time, voters are voting for their representatives, either the president, governors, or representatives to the congress. P
They may also vote on local government officials and possible laws. P
When a person goes to vote in an election, he or she follows this process. P
If they are already a registered voter, they go to the voting location specified for their geographical area. P
This is often a school but can also be a church or some other public building. P
There are registration tables at the facility, and the voter must show a drivers' license or other official identification P
and be checked against a list of registered voters. P
Once that has been done by the volunteers there, the person will proceed to the voting booth. P
The person will then make his or her selections on the ballot or voting choices. P
Finally, the person will either move a lever or remove a card which then processes the person's selections but resets the booth so no one can see who that person voted for. P
In this way, all votes are private, and no one can be punished for the way he voted. P
5-13 The Hobbit
Can you imagine a land and a time where goblins fight against elves and wizards? P
Can you picture a place where small people with hairy feet who eat two or three breakfasts each morning can save the day? P
If you can, you may have read The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. P
This story follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a peaceful hobbit who lives in the Shire. P
Bilbo begins the story as a quiet fellow who likes to talk with neighbors and blow smoke rings. P
A wizard named Gandalf comes to Bilbo's door one day and tricks him into going on an adventure. P
On this adventure, Bilbo travels with treasure seeking dwarves. P
Though Bilbo sometimes gets into trouble, he becomes a successful thief during his adventure. P
This happens because he finds a magic ring which will make him invisible whenever he places it on his finger. P
Being invisible gives Bilbo an advantage and even helps him when he meets a dragon. P
Tolkien was a professor at the Pembroke College in England. P
He wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, a three book story continuing the story of The Hobbit. P
He also helped write an English dictionary because he was a linguist. P
His books have been made into cartoons, movies and even comic books. P
If you like to read adventures, The Hobbit is a book for you. P
5-14 The Harry Potter Series
One of the most popular book series in the world today is the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. P
There are seven books in this series, and they follow the life of Harry Potter during his seven years at Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards. P
At the start of the book Harry Potter is well known in the wizarding community. P
This is very strange because he has never been around wizards. P
He grew up in his aunt and uncle's home, and they were determined to keep him away from magic. P
They believed that magic killed his parents. P
Harry is famous for surviving a magical attack from the evil wizard Voldemort. P
Voldemort attacked Harry when Harry was just a baby. P
Harry is known as "the boy who lived" because Voldemort was unable to kill him. P
Harry keeps a reminder of that fight. He has a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt which he got from Voldemort's attack. P
Although Harry never learned any magic before he attended Hogwarts, he learned one thing very well once he got there. P
Harry plays Quidditch better than anyone his age has ever played it. P
In quidditch, Harry must look for a little golden ball that is flying around the field very quickly. P
This ball is called the snitch. P
When Harry sees it, he must fly on his boom and try to catch it. P
If he does, he wins one hundred points for his team. P
Usually when this happens, his team wins the game. P
Harry learns many things and has many adventures during his time at Hogwarts. P
You'll have to read the books if you want to know what they are. P
5-15 Alice in Wonderland
What would you do if you could change your size? P
If you ate a mushroom, you would shrink. If you drank a potion, you would grow. P
When you are tiny you could have tea with a mouse, and when you are giant you could fill an entire house. P
What would you do? P
Are you brave enough to jump down a dark hole to an unknown world? Could you do it? P
In the classic novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Alice does all of these things. P
The first strange character she meets is the white rabbit. P
She sees him running through her garden and follows him down a rabbit hole. P
After Alice follows him down, she meets a second creature. P
This one is a mouse, but Alice scares him away when she talks about her cat. P
After that, Alice meets a strange caterpillar who is smoking a water pipe. P
The caterpillar gets into a fight with Alice and leaves her alone again. P
The next creature Alice meets is the Cheshire Cat. P
This cat tells Alice that everyone in Wonderland is crazy, and that she, Alice, is too. P
She leaves the cat and arrives at a tea party hosted by the Mad Hatter. P
She doesn't stay long, though, and Alice finds her way to the palace. P
At the castle Alice meets the queen who threatens to kill Alice. P
"Off with her head!" is what the queen likes to say. P
Alice has even more adventures after that when she meets a turtle and a griffon and eventually finds her way home. P
Was it all a dream? Only Alice will ever know. P
5-16 The Chronicles of Narnia
The world is dark and silent. There is nothing -no life, no light, no sound. P
You stand there with your friend and your crazy uncle in the darkness and silence. P
Then a giant lion steps out from the darkness and begins to sing. P
As he sings light appears, and then land, and then animals. P
All sing along with the Lion as they are created. P
This is the creation of the world of Narnia. P
Narnia is the magical world created by C.S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia. P
This world is full of not only people but also fawns, centaurs, talking animals, dangerous witches and, of course, the creator Aslan. P
Lucy, a young English girl, first finds Narnia when she hides in a magical wardrobe during a game of hide and seek. P
She walks past the furry coats, taking one with her into the cold winter of Narnia. P
The land is under the control of the evil White Witch. P
The witch's spell traps Narnia in winter but never allows Christmas to come. P
Although Lucy is alone the first time she travels through the wardrobe, the second time she meets her brother Edmund, and the next time she meets her sister Susan and her other brother Peter. P
The four children have exciting and terrifying adventures in the magical world before returning home to England again. P
5-17 The Lord of the Flies
Crash! A plane filled with young boys from a boarding school crashes on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. P
There are no teacher, no parents. P
The children must now learn how to survive in the wild providing food and clothing for themselves. P
They elect Ralph to be their leader, and Ralph puts Jack in charge of hunting and getting food. P
They also build a fire to try and signal any planes or boats that may be near. P
They hope to be rescued if someone sees the fire. P
Would you guess that a war is just beginning? P
This is not the war that England is now a part of. P
This is the war between two groups of boys on the island. P
One group, the hunters, get more and more wild and blood thirsty. P
They kill one of the boys with only their hands and teeth during a savage ritual. P
Ralph tries to get the boys to remember the life they used to live as civilized people, but the boys like the wild life in the forest better. P
This disagreement is what eventually leads to Ralph's near death experience. P
The wild boys set fire to the forest to try and scare Ralph on to the beach where they will kill him. P
Just at that moment, the boys are rescued and Ralph lives. P
Even though they are happy to be rescued, they are very sad at the wild monsters they became while living on the island. P
5-18 Winnie the Pooh
A chubby little bear sits in his hole in the hillside eating honey. P
This is the fourth honey pot he has emptied this week. P
An exuberant tiger bounces up and down, up and down the path between the forest and the bear's house. P
He sings his favorite song over and over. P
A grumpy rabbit works hard in his garden to grow vegetables. P
He yells at the tiger and tells him to stop jumping around. P
He does not think it's nice for the tiger to jump, jump, jump and get in everyone's way. P
A little piglet walks happily down the road waving hi to the tiger and the rabbit. P
He is on his way to his friend's house. P
His friend is the bear, and they will have many adventures together. P
These are the well known and well loved characters in Winnie the Pooh, a classic piece of literature written by A. A. Milne. P
Winnie the Pooh is the hungry bear. His friends are Rabbit, Tigger and Piglet. P
Generations of children have listened to and read the adventures of this loveable collection of characters. P
All of these characters, as well as others, live in the Hundred Acre Wood and share adventures and games and their lives together. P
5-19 Charlotte's Web
Can a pig and a spider be friends? P
They can in the classic children's book Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. P
In this story, the runt of the litter of pigs grows bigger and more special with the help of the spider living in his stall. P
Charlotte is the spider's name, and she is a big help to Wilbur the pig. P
Many times during the book, someone wants to kill Wilbur. Each time, Charlotte spins a magical web in Wilbur's stall saying that he is amazing, terrific and special. P
White wrote many children's books, but Charlotte's Web came about because of an earlier failure. P
White wrote Death of a Pig which tells the story of a pig who was fattened and butchered. P
White could not save the life of the pig in that story, so four years later he produced Charlotte's Web which is all about saving the pig Wilbur. P
Though White could not save the first pig, he saves Wilbur. P
In fact, Wilbur may be the most famous pig that ever was since Charlotte's Web has sold more than 45 million copies and has been translated into twenty-three languages. P
Charlotte's Web is White's most famous book. P
5-20 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A river made of chocolate flows in front of you. P
You pick up a blade of grass and eat it; it's made of sugar and fruit flavoring. P
Mushrooms taste like marshmallows and sweet fruits grow on the trees all around you. P
Everything, absolutely everything around you is made of candy. P
If this is true, you must be in the Willie Wonka Chocolate Factory from the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl. P
Five special children win the opportunity to tour the factory. P
This is a very special prize because no one has gone into or out of the chocolate factory for years. P
No one knows how the smooth and decadent chocolate is made. P
Augustus is the first child to be thrown out of Mr. Wonka's factory. P
Augustus falls into the chocolate river when he tries to drink from it, and he is taken from the factory. P
The next child to leave is Violet. P
Violet loves to chew gum, and she tries a piece of experimental gum that makes her swell up like a giant blueberry. P
The next child to leave the factory is Baruca who falls down a garbage chute. P
Mike TV gets himself into some trouble and shrinks to a tiny size. P
At the end, the only child still left is Charlie. P
It is a happy ending when Willie Wonka decides to teach Charlie all about making the special chocolate and give him the factory. P