Why Did They Build That City There?

Ms. Hoffman for to visit a lot of cities in Central Europe. She found one thing in common about all the cities. She was curious about why people decided to build cities where they did. All these cities were very old! People have been living in the same place for thousands of years. If you look at the maps for these cities can you figure what they all have in common? Something that might explain why they decided to build cities there?

Prague

Krakow

Bratislava

Budapest

Answers: How Far Is That?

Ms. Hoffman knows that 1 km = 0.6 mi.

There are several ways to do this problem. Ms. Hoffman did it like this.

Can you think of any other way?

How Far Is That?

When Ms. Hoffman was in Slovakia, she took a long hike through the mountains. It was beautiful! She had to climb up very high and then back down. It was very exhausting.

Long hike up the mountains

I made it to the top!!

When she was done, she knew that she had walked about 20 kilometers (km). In Europe, they use km to measure distance. But Ms. Hoffman is used to measuring in miles. She wants to know how far she went in miles!

How many miles is equal to 20 km?

You will need this information: 1 mile equals 0.6 km.

Where is Slovakia?

Ms. Hoffman is visiting the country of Slovakia. Find a map and locate the country Slovakia. Describe where it is??

What continent?

What countries does it border?

Is it close to her last country (Poland)?

Answers: How Much Does it Cost in Poland?

Ms. Hoffman's meal cost 18 zlotys. She knows there are about 3 zlotys in 1 dollar.

She did 18 divided by 3 = 6.

Her meal cost about $6!

How Much Does it Cost in Poland?

Ms. Hoffman for to go to a milk bar in Poland. Don't worry! It serves more than just milk. A milk bar in Poland is like a cafeteria!

She gets special soup called Borscht and dumplings. It cost 18 zlotys. Zlotys are the money in Poland. She wants to know how much her lunch cost in dollars. Ms. Hoffman know that there are about 3 zlotys in every dollar.

 How many dollars did her lunch cost?

Where is Poland?

Ms. Hoffman is visiting the country of Poland. Find a map and locate the country Poland. Describe where it is??

What continent?

What countries does it border?

Is it close to her last country (the Czech Republic)?

Ms. Hoffman got to go to a Soccer Game in Czech Republic

Ms. Hoffman had a wonderful experience today. She got to experience a soccer game in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The two teams were called SK Sigma Olomouc and they were playing a team called 1.SC Znojmo. We were rooting for Sigma because that was the country we were in, but unfortunately they lost 2-0.

What was very cool was that it was a whole lot like a soccer game in the USA! There were excited fans and good athletes. There are some things the same no matter what country you are in!

Is there anything else you can think of that is the same in all countries? Things that all people can enjoy?

Answers: Why is there a city called Cape Town?

The trip to Indonesia from Amsterdam was a very long one by ship. Sometimes it would take a year to travel! Can you imagine being in a small ship for a year?? People would get tired and sick. There was no such thing as a refrigerator back then, so it was hard to keep good food on the ship for a whole year as well. They would start to run out of food! The ships would sometimes begin to wear and things would break. The Dutch needed a place like Cape Town right in the middle of the journey. That way the people on the ships to get on land, eat good food, and get better if they were sick. The ships could also pick up more fresh food to take on their way. People could also fix the parts of the ships that were broken.

That is why there is a city called Cape Town!

Answers: How Tall is That??

Ms. Hoffman knows that there are about 3 feet in ever meter.

So she multiplied, 19 m times 3 = 57. The altar is about 57 ft high! That is very high!

How tall is that??

In Slovakia, Ms. Hoffman visited a church in a small town called Levoca. This church is famous because it has the highest altar in the world. It is almost 19 meters tall! Ms. Hoffman doesn't know very know too much about meters though because in the US we measure height in feet. But she can figure it out!

How many feet are in a meter?

How tall is the altar in feet?

Ms. Hoffman Dances Around the World

Everyone should join in! You know the song and dance!

2014-10-03

Why is there a city called Cape Town??

Ms. Hoffman got to visit a city called Cape Town in South Africa. This city was first started in the 1600s by the Dutch. Dutch people come from a country called the Netherlands. The capital of the Netherlands is called Amsterdam. You can find it on the map here.

The Dutch people had a company called the Dutch East India Company. The company used ships to trade special spices from Europe to a country in Asia called Indonesia (Batavia). Look at this map of how they went.

Can you find Cape Town on the map? Why do you think they started this city called Cape Town? Why did they need a city there?

What is a Castle? (Part 2)

Check out some pictures of castles that Ms. Hoffman has seen on her trip. Do they look like what you drew?

What is the same about all of them? What is different between them?

Did you notice that many of the castles are on a hill? Why do you think that is?

Did you notice that the castles had big walls around them? Why?

Did you notice that many of the castles had water (a moat) around them? Why do you think that is?

Did you see that one of the castles had bears in the moat? Why?

Castle in Cape Town, South Africa - Castle of Good Hope

Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic

Cesky Krumlov Castle in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic