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 Characteristics Major 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. Examples 1.McDonalds 2.Coca Cola 3.Music 4.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