Central America Modern

Most of the largest cities in Central American countries are in the highland areas.

Due to being near the equator, the climate is tropical and very hot. The higher elevations or altitudes make it a more tolerable climate.

Panama is the exception to this - most people live near the Panama Canal because of the job opportunities.​

Haiti- Racing Against Time

Multiple Select

Why do some people in Mexico and Central America migrate to other places?

• poverty

• violence

• job opportunites

• crime

Multiple Choice

To which continent do most people in the Caribbean region trace their roots?

• Africa

• South America

• Europe

• North America

Diaspora - movement of people from their homeland to other places.

Many immigrants leave their homelands in search of jobs to provide a better life for their families. Some take their families to new places for safety or to escape corrupt governments.

Drag and Drop

Many ​

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settled in the Caribbean to work the land after ​

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were freed.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Asians

enslaved Africans

Europans

enslaved South Americans

Australians

enslaved Europeans

Multiple Choice

What causes cultural diffusion?

• People moving from one place to another, bringing their traditions with them

• People staying in their home country and focusing on their traditions

Dropdown

So many languages are spoken in the Caribbean because ​

Select answer

.

Extending Map Skills

Cultural diffusion - the spread of cultural traits.

When people move from other lands to new places, they bring their culture with them. This can create blended cultures. Mexico's culture combines elements from Spanish and Mexican Indian cultures.

Multiple Choice

What are the four largest independent nations in the Caribbean?

• Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic

• Cuba, the Bahamas, St. Kitts, Jamaica

• Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Belize

• Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba

Open Ended

Multiple Select

Which two large Caribbean nations share the same island?

• Haiti

• Jamaica

• the Dominican Republic

• Puerto Rico

Most people in Mexico speak Spanish, but many speak Nahuatl or other Native American languages as well. This reflects the blending of their two cultures (Spain and Native Americans like the Aztec).

Central American countries mainly speak Spanish with the exception of Belize, which was a British colony. Most Guatemalans speak a Mayan language at home, but learn Spanish in school.

Multiple Choice

The most commonly practiced religion in Mexico and Central America is...

• Protestant Christianity

• Judaism

• Buddhism

• Roman Catholic Christianity

Most people practice the Roman Catholic faith (which is also the most common in Spain), a few are beginning to practice Protestant Christianity. Many also blend pre-Christian traditions with their religion.

​For example - The Day of the Dead, or el dia de los muertos, a Mexican holiday.

Drag and Drop

As islands became independent, people of African descent gained ​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

power

literacy

plantations

role models

freedom

Multiple Select

Cultural diffusion can be seen in

• art

• food

• language

• clothing

Dropdown

Cash crops are crops that are grown to be ​

Select answer

.

Introducing Central America

Drag and Drop

Many Caribbean nations import food because the fertile land is used to grow ​

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, not ​

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.

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cash crops

food

peanuts

biofuels

candy canes

Question:

How many countries are in Central America?

Dropdown

It is a bad idea for a country to rely only on cash crops because ​

Select answer

or prices for them fall, the country's economy suffers.

Multiple Choice

How many countries are in Central America? 

• 10

• 5

• 7

• 12

Drag and Drop

Caribbean countries have few ​

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, so it's hard for them to diversify their economy.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

mineral resources

cash crops

spoken languages

beaches

Dropdown

Tourism helps a country's economy because it ​

Select answer

and brings in people who spend money in the country.

Takeover:

● Central America was conquered by the Spanish 500 years

ago

● Many people are mixed Spanish and Native American

descent.

● Each country has its own mix of peoples.

○ Those of Native American descent
○ Those of European descent
○ Those of African descent (mostly along the Caribbean

coast)

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Caribbean islanders were not taught to value their ​

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heritage because under colonial rule, they were taught that European civilization was ​

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.

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African

superior

Asian

inferior

worse

North American

Australian

The Mayan People

●

The Maya had a powerful empire around AD 200-900

●

They built great cities

●

Their empire covered most of…
○

Guatemala

○

Belize

○

Mexico

○

Honduras

○

El Salvador

○

“Ruined cities can still be found in the jungles of Guatemala.

“The Maya are no longer powerful, but they still make up nearly half of
Guatemala’s population” (Doherty 20).

The Mayan People

Multiple Select

Where do Caribbean storytellers get their stories?

• African folktales

• European folktales

• current events

• Greek mythology

Poll

Multiple Choice

How do the Maya farmers know when to plant their crops? 

• The sun and the sky tell them. 

• The moon and the stars tell them.

• Their ancient ancestors tell them.

• The elder of the village tells them

Multiple Select

Which two North American sports are popular in the Caribbean?

• baseball

• basketball

• soccer

• football

Multiple Choice

What are some of the words that represent who the Maya people are?

• sun, mother, land, corn

• stars, moon, ocean, valley

• father, mother, water, horizon

• fire, water, earth, rubies

Multiple Choice

Why are some of these foundational words similar in sound in all of the Mayan languages?

• They don't

• They are all the same language

• They all come from the same language of origin

• They all come from Latin

Poll

The Soccer War

“Central America has suffered from decades of civil wars and conflict between countries.
One war broke out between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, after they had played soccer
against each other in the World Cup. The real reasons, however, were disagreements over
land, trade, and Salvadorean refugees in Honduras” (Doherty 21).

Multiple Choice

What were some of the reasons behind the Soccer War?

• arguments between Honduras and El Salvador over land

• arguments between Honduras and El Salvador over trade

• arguments between Honduras and El Salvador over refugees

• All of the answers are correct

The Panama Canal

● “A channel of water 65km (40 miles) long that cuts through

the Pacific Ocean.

● “Each vessel that uses the canal must pay a fee according to

its weight.
○ This means that while ships pay thousands of dollars,

Richard Halliburton, who swam through the canal in
1928, only paid 36 cents” (Doherty 21).

Poll

The Panama Canal (Video Posted in 2013)

Multiple Choice

What is the fee for traveling the Panama Canal based on?

• income

• weight

• status

• reason for the voyage

Worry Dolls

“Children in Central America sometimes make tiny, bright dolls
called worry dolls. There is a legend that if they tell the dolls
their worries at night and then place them under their pillows, by
morning all their worries will have disappeared” (Doherty 21).

Multiple Choice

What are Worry Dolls usually made out of?

• Sticks and yarn

• Pipe cleaners

• Felt

• Spoons, yarn, and glue

Rainforest Life

“A large area of Central America is covered by rainforest, which is home to a
huge variety of plants and animals. But the rainforest is being devastated and
many plants and animals may die out as trees are cut down to make timber
for export, and to clear land for farming” (Doherty 21).

Tropical Rainforests

Multiple Choice

What type of rainforest is found in Central America?

• Temperate

• Tropical

Multiple Choice

How much rain falls each year in a rainforest?

• 100 inches

• 100 feet

• 100 yards

• 100 meters

Multiple Choice

Why are rainforests described as the “lungs of the earth”?

• They "inhale" carbon dioxide and "exhale" oxygen

• They move in and out like lungs

• They are shaped like lungs

• They breathe so that we don't have to

Open Ended

The Columbian Exchange Lesson

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

DO NOW

Use the map and passage below to answer the following questions.

Multiple Select

Use the map above and identify the continents included in the “Old World.”

• Asia

• Africa

• North America

• South America

• Europe

Open Ended

Columbian Exchange

By the end of this lesson you will be able to analyze the Colombian Exchange as an example of cultural diffusion, colonization, and immigration.

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/835d906e-776d-454d-87f2-57192bf96362

Open Ended

After watching the video identify at least three items that were exchanged during the Columbian Exchange.

Three items that were exchanged during the Columbian Exchange was...

Multiple Choice

• The beach

• Flattened buildings

• Airplanes

Open Ended

Before 1492, there was already an exchange of food, animals, and plants among Europe, Africa, and Asia. Europe and Asia were connected by land, and Africa was a short sail away. But not many people thought there was any reason to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, because few people believed that there were more continents there. This kept the Americas apart from everyone else for a long time.

Identify the barrier that was preventing cultural diffusion prior (before) to 1492.

Sentence Stem: The barrier that was preventing cultural diffusion prior to 1492 was…

Multiple Choice

Before 1492, there was already an exchange of food, animals, and plants among Europe, Africa, and Asia. Europe and Asia were connected by land, and Africa was a short sail away. But not many people thought there was any reason to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, because few people believed that there were more continents there. This kept the Americas apart from everyone else for a long time.

Before 1492, the Americas were _____.

• connected

• isolated

Open Ended

Open Ended

This introduction of new plants and animals to Europe and America is called the Columbian Exchange. It's called Columbian because it started with Columbus, and exchange because people traded, or exchanged, things with each other. The Columbian Exchange changed life on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Columbian Exchange included many plants and animals. Corn, cocoa, peanuts, potatoes and tomatoes went from the Americas to Europe, and later to Africa and Asia. Chickens, wheat, and cows went from Europe to the Americas.

Throughout the world, the variety of food that people could grow and eat increased greatly. Europeans brought horses and this changed life in the Americas. Not only did it allow people to travel distances more quickly, but it also changed the ways they hunted and

fought. For example, horses made hunting easier for the Indians of the North

American plains.

Identify some items that diffused (spread) from the Americas to Europe:

Some items that were diffused from Americas to Europe are…

Open Ended

This introduction of new plants and animals to Europe and America is called the Columbian Exchange. It's called Columbian because it started with Columbus, and exchange because people traded, or exchanged, things with each other. The Columbian Exchange changed life on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Columbian Exchange included many plants and animals. Corn, cocoa, peanuts, potatoes and tomatoes went from the Americas to Europe, and later to Africa and Asia. Chickens, wheat, and cows went from Europe to the Americas.

Throughout the world, the variety of food that people could grow and eat increased greatly. Europeans brought horses and this changed life in the Americas. Not only did it allow people to travel distances more quickly, but it also changed the ways they hunted and

fought. For example, horses made hunting easier for the Indians of the North

American plains.

Identify some items that diffused (spread) from Europe to the Americas:

Some items that were diffused from Europe to Americas are…

Open Ended

Open Ended

Not every part of the Columbian Exchange was positive. European people also brought diseases, like smallpox, to the Americas. Because they were separated from the rest of the world, Native Americans had no prior contact with smallpox and other deadly diseases. This made the diseases more dangerous than they were for the Europeans. Native Americans who caught these diseases died from them because they had no immunity—their bodies did not know how to fight off the germs. As many as 80 percent of the Native American population died from European diseases between 1492 and 1650. These diseases included measles, smallpox, and influenza.

Describe what happened to the population of Native American after the Columbian Exchange.

Sentence Stem: During the Columbian Exchange the population of Native Americas...

Open Ended

Multiple Choice

Who were the first people to settle in Central America?

• Natives

• Africans

• Spanish

• Dutch

Fill in the Blank

Ladino is a word used in Central America for a Central American who follows _________________. (Spelling counts.)

Drag and Drop

The Cuna of Panama have protected their culture by ​making their homeland into a(n) ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

wilderness area and wildlife refuge

Indian reservation

a farming zone

walled-off and protected area

drugstore

pharmacy

Multiple Select

Why do Central American governments want farmers to grow more than one or two crops?

• because weather might destroy crops

• because disease might destroy crops

• because there would be an economic disaster if there were no other crops

Drag and Drop

Coffee and bananas are grown on ​

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because ​

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cannot afford to plant coffee trees, which takes years to pr​oduce beans, or to ​

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and clear new land for planting bananas.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

large estates

small farmers

build roads

haciendas

pick crops

large buildings

latinos

Natives

Multiple Choice

How did coffee growers get so much land?

• They used profits from coffee to buy land from poor farmers.

• They forced the poor farmers off their land.

• They enslaved the poor farmers to work the land.

• They co-own the large estates with the poor farmers.

Multiple Select

What are examples of new industries in Central America?

• manufacturing paper

• building furniture

• technology advancements

• food processing

Why is it important to diversify an economy?