Earth Day ideas: Water Around the World

Teachers: this website offers a lot of information about water around the world and some activities you could do with your students.

http://www.kidsgoglobal.net/the-issues/water

Clean Drinking Water Around the World

Think about water for a minute. Is water important? Why?



Read some of these random facts about water. Did you know all of that? Ms. Hoffman is guessing that maybe you didn't take the time to read all of the bullet points on that website so she pulled out two that she really wants you to think about.

• Most people around the world have access to clean drinking water but it is a major problem in poorer areas of the world. Water pollution and low quality water can lead to dangerous bacteria, disease and viruses such as E coli and Cryptosporidium.
• Drinking water is needed for humans to avoid dehydration, the amount you need each day depends on the temperature, how much activity you are involved in and other factors.

Did you know that there are a lot of places that don't have access to clean drinking water? What do you think happens to people who don't have clean drinking water?



Here is more Information about clean water around the world. Some of that information is pretty sad and scary isn't it?

Want to learn more or know how you can help? This website will give you a lot of information. Learn more.

So Many Religions!

As Ms. Hoffman has been traveling around the world, she has been able to learn about lots of different religions. She has learned some bad things, like people fighting about who has a better religion. In Europe, she has seen lots of different places where people pray as well. Some people pray in churches. Some people pray in synagogues. Some people pray in mosques. Some people pray in their homes. What is your religion? Where do you pray? Talk with your classmates and learn about other religious beliefs!

Here are some of the places in Europe where people pray.

Synagogue in Prague

Catholic Church in Prague

Catholic Church in Zagreb, Croatia

Old Serbian Orthodox Church in Kotor, Montenegro

New Serbian Orthodox Church in Kotor, Montenegro

Catholic Church in Mostor, Bosnia Herzegovina

Mosque in Mostor, Bosnia Herzegovina

Serbian Orthodox in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina

Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church in Mystras, Greece

Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Ancient Greeks used WHAT for money??

Earlier this week, Ms. Hoffman wrote about all the amazing uses that the ancient Greeks had for the olive tree. She learned something else about it too!

She found out that the ancient Greeks used olive oil as money! At one time, an ancient Greek could be paid for his day of work with 3 kilos of oil!

She also found out that the winner of the Panathenaic Games (kind of like the Olympic Games) might take home as much as 5 tons of olive oil in a ceremonial amphorae.

The olive was so important that the winner of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece would receive a crown made of olive leaves.

You can also see olive leaves on some of these ancient Greek coins.

Look close and you can see the olive leaves next to the owls.

You can still see olives grown many places in Greece today!

Walking through an olive grove in Sparta

Olives growing on the trees

A beautiful olive grove!

Ms. Hoffman does the Sid Shuffle Around the World... Part 2!

Remember when Ms. Hoffman did the Sid Shuffle all around Africa and Eastern Europe? She continues dancing around the world. This video focuses on the Balkans, Greece, and Turkey. Sid says it best, "get on your feet, it's easy to do, just follow me!"

Ms. Hoffman Did a Road Trip: Where are Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia Herzegovina?

Ms. Hoffman visited with her parents in Europe! She really like seeing them. They were all able to rent a car and travel to three different countries: Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Can you find them?

Here is Ms. Hoffman and her family on a rainy day in Zagreb, Croatia!

Where is Hungary?

Ms. Hoffman has found one of her new favorite countries! It is called Hungary. Yes, that is the name of a country!

Can you find it on the map?

Answers: Why Did They Build That City There?

Last week, Ms. Hoffman asked why certain cities were built in their locations. The answer she heard in the cities is that they were built along rivers. Every major city in Central Europe was built by a river. Why do you think it is important to be near a river?

If you said for water, you are right!

But what about for transportation and trade? Do you think those could be reasons too?

Ms. Hoffman has traveled to even more cities now, and she has found more that are near the ocean and rivers. Do you think this is important?? Is your city near a river or ocean? If not, why do you think they built your city where it is?

Here are maps of some other cities Ms. Hoffman visited:

Zagreb, Croatia


Dubrovnik, Croatia


Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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

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)?

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)?

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!

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?

Where is the Czech Republic?

Look at the map. Can you find where Ms. Hoffman first went when she visited Europe? Is it far from South Africa?

Answers: How far???

One great way to find directions and distances is to use Google Maps.

Click here to see the map!  This trip is 837 miles and will take 18 hours and 40 minutes.

How far??

Ms. Hoffman will be doing a lot of driving around Africa. She will start in Johannesburg, South Africa. She will drive to:

1. Chobe National Park in Botswana
2. Etosha National Park in Namibia
3. Sesriem, Namibia
4. Back to Johannesburg

How could figure out how far that is??  What tools would you use to figure out how to get to those places?

Leave your ideas in the comments!

Look for the answers tomorrow!

What clothes should I bring to South Africa?

The first trip of my trip will take me to South Africa. I had to decide where to go by looking at the weather and climate of each place. I now know that I will be flying to Johannesburg, South Africa at the beginning of July. I need to know what clothes I should bring? Will it be hot or cold? Do I need tank tops and swimming suits, or should I bring long sleeves and jackets?

Help me decide what to bring? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Use these references to help you.

Maps and Information about South Africa
Current Weather in South Africa
Safari Information - Weather and Climate graphs
Physical Map of South Africa