America……America Самусева Александра Ивановна Учитель английского языка ГБОУ СОШ №375 Санкт-Петербург

C ONTENT s 1. The discovery of America 2. Christopher Columbus voyages 3. The history of Thanksgiving Day 4. Native Americans 5. The wild West 6. American symbols 7. Washington 8. Everyday life in America

Glossary Central America, North America The United States of America The USA, the States Mayflower, colony, group, territory, Indians, traditional, symbol, national, colonist, culture, costume, ceremony, negroes, plantation, tobacco. The Statue of Liberty Liberty Island The Star – Spangled Banner The Fourth of July – Independence Day

Fill in the words which have mixed letters 1. And after (laisign) 4000 miles, he reached some land. 2 People began to speak about the land as (the EWN ORLWD). 3. Spain was very much (stinredete) in this land. 4. The first English (teseltnemst) appeared in America at the beginning of the seventeenth century. 5. In the autumn of 1621 the colonists had their first (rastehv). 6. Wild (keysru) were on the table of this meal. 7. Most Native Americans were very (eaplufec). 8. George Washington became the first (tdepirsen) of the United States. 9. The (legea) became the official national symbol of the country in The best (viadce) is to relax.

Answers 1. sailing 2. the New World 3. interested 4. settlements 5. harvest 6. turkeys 7. peaceful 8. president 9. eagle 10. advice

The discovery of America (Fortune favours the brave)

In our days everybody knows what the word America means. First of all it is the name of the country – the United States of America – or just America. And then America is the name of two continents- North America and South America. These two continents, North and South America, form the part of the world called America. Christopher Columbus discovered America in He was born in Italy but lived in Spain for a long time. Christopher was a seaman and made many sea voyages. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. After sailing 4000 miles, he reached some land.Columbus thought that it must be India but it was not. It was America – Central America in fact. People began to speak about the land as the New World. The second great voyage of Columbus began in September in 1493.

He had seventeen ships with him. On this voyage he reached Cuba, but did not know it was an island. Columbus made four trips in all to the New World but he never landed on the mainland of North America.

England became interested in the New World too. The first English settlements appeared in America at the beginning of the seventeenth century. On the 6th of September in 1620 a group of people left England for the New World. They sailed from the English city of Plymouth, on board the ship the Mayflower. They wanted to start a new life and to have no problems with the church.

The history of Thanksgiving Day The last Thursday in November is a holiday in America. People called this holiday Thanksgiving Day. In 1620 the first colonists came to America and began a new life there. It was very hard life. The colonists started to farm the land. In New England, the place where they lived, there were many wild birds. They were like chickens but much bigger. They were turkeys. In the autumn of 1621 the colonists had their first harvest. It was rather good. The colonists decided to have a special dinner. The colonists had a thanksgiving dinner for all the people. Wild turkeys were on the table of this meal, and since then the turkey has become a symbol of Thanksgiving Day.

Native Americans

The Wild West In the 18th century some Americans went to the west to look for new lands, and the story of Wild West began. In the 19th century people went west to look for gold. They built new settlements and new towns on these lands. Some people were lucky but some were not as they could not find any gold. Then they left the towns, so they became empty. Now these ghost towns are very popular with tourists. Life in the Wild West was full of danger. The Native Americans in the west did not like white people who took their land. Sometimes they attacked them. There were bears and other wild animals and people had to have guns. Today many Americans still keep a gun in their houses and all American police officers have guns.

Another tradition from the Wild West is cowboy clothes. In the days of the Wild West clothes were very important as they helped people to live leading a difficult and dangerous life. Cowboys spent much time outdoors. They usually wore hats, boots and jeans. In the middle of the 19th century in the city of San Francisco there lived a tailor called Levi Strauss. He made special clothes – strong trousers called jeans. Very soon cowboys started to wear jeans. Now people wear jeans in America and over the world.

America symbols The America flag is often called The Stars and Stripes. There are three colours on the flag of the United States- red, white, and blue.As there are fifty states in the United States, there are fifty stars on the American flag – one star for each state. The American flag has thirteen stripes. The stripes are red and white. The flag has seven red stripes and six white stripes. There is one stripe for each of the first thirteen colonies of the United States. Americans are proud of their flag and display it in many places.

The eagle became the official symbol of the country in 1782.It has an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and arrows (symbols of strength). You can see the eagle on the back of a dollar bill. The United States of America has an official song too. It is called The Star-Spangled Banner.

Everyday life in America America is a friendly country with friendly people. In small America towns you hear’’ hello’’ to friend and also to people who have just arrived. When you leave they will tell you to’’ Take care’’ or’’ Have a nice day’’. When Americans meet people for the first time their usually shake hands. ‘’Pot luck’’ dinners are very popular with Americans. At a’’ pot luck ‘’dinner all the guests bring something to eat and usually ask the host or hostess what they would like. Americans love to get together and to have parties. Traditional parties are a birthday, moving to a new house, a wedding, New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July- Independence Day.

Match the holiday with the picture 1. e 2. d 3. f 4. h 5. i 6. a 7. g 8. j 9. b 10. c

Testing 1.Who discovered America? 2. Is North America an island or a continent? 3. How many trips did Columbus make in all to the New World? 4. What is the symbol of Thanksgiving Day? 5. Who was the first president of the USA? 6. Which is the United States capital? 7. What is the national symbol of America? 8. How many stars and stripes has the American flag? 9. When do Americans celebrate Independence Day? 10. Where is the Statue of Liberty?

Использованные ресурсы 1.Английский язык: учебник для 4 кл. шк. с углубл. изучением анг.яз. /И.Н.Верещагина,О.В.Афанасьева. М. : Просвещение 2.Happy English-2 Т.Б.Клеменьтьева, Джилл Албикер Шэннон 3. Рисунки детей 4 класса