Get a Chinese name

Did you know that almost 10% of the Montana population was Chinese in 1870?  At that time, the Chinese in Montana were almost all men.  There were 500-1,000 Chinese miners in Virginia City alone.

Chinese gold miners in California, 1852. 
Photo from the California State Library.

Read about the Chinese in Montana, especially Virginia City, at:
http://www.montanakids.com/cool_stories/ghost_towns/chinese.htm 



University of Montana archaeologists have discovered Chinese artifacts in German Gulch, a 19th century mining area near Butte.  German Gulch was named for the German miners who discovered gold there in 1864.  By the 1870s, the Chinese were mining German Gulch. 
See archaeological finds in 3-D!
http://www.cas.umt.edu/germangulch 



The British Museum has information on Chinese writing.  Read the information on the Museum's web page and then try the Symbols Game.   Try at least three rounds.  Can you get four out of four right?
http://www.ancientchina.co.uk/writing/challenge/cha_set.html

Now, get a Chinese name for yourself at:
http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html
or
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/name/blname.htm

Montana rocks!

A Montana kid collected and identified these rocks-- over 60 years ago!  Rock collecting is still fun and fascinating.

Rocks in this collection include copper sulfide, calcite, calcite crystals, and claystone.
Do you know which rock is which?

1.

2.

2. (side view)

3.

4.

Explore Earth Sciences with Montana Tech.

Gems, rocks, volcanoes & meteorites from the Smithsonian. 

The rocks in the photos above are   1.Calcite  2.Calcite crystals  3.Claystone  4.Copper sulfide 

Exploring languages with books and websites

The Rose Park Library has books that teach many languages.
Find them in the 400s!

These websites from the BBC give beginning language lessons:

Students in Ecuador.  Photo by Ms.Waples

Spanish lessons



French lessons

Mandarin (Chinese) lessons

Public domain photo from pdphoto.org.

Crow Place Names

Many Montana places, like the "Yellowstone River," had a name in the Crow (Apsaalooke) Language long before fur trappers or settlers from the east arrived to give it a French or English name.

Do you know (or can you guess) these familiar Montana places from their Crow name?

1.   Iichi'ilikaashaashe  / Elk River

2.   Bisho'ochaashe / Mussel River

3.   Aashisee / Big River

4.   Bilii'liikasshe / Swift Current  (creek)

5.   Chi'ilpawaxaawe / Bull Mountain

6.   Daxpitcheeihte' / Bear's Teeth (mountains)

7.   Iishi'iaassaao / Mountain lion's home

8.   Ammalapa'shkuua / Where they cut wood (city)

9.   Ashhi'shalahaawiio / Where the red lodge was destroyed (town)

10. Ammaa'hpawaalaatuua / Where there is writing on the cliffs (town) 




Learn some words in the Crow and Cheyenne Languages at:
http://www.ywhc.org/index.php?p=46


ANSWERS to Crow Place Names:
1.  Yellowstone River
2.  Musselshell River
3.  Missouri River
4.  Rock Creek
5.  Bull Mountains
6.  Beartooth Mountains
7.  Pompey's Pillar
8.  Billings
9.  Red Lodge
10. Joliet

Tribal flags of Montana

 

Crow Native Days parade in June, Crow Agency, MT

Assiniboine & Gros Ventre

http://cms.lc-triballegacy.org/Tribal_Flags

http://www.ftbelknap-nsn.gov/seal.php

Blackfeet

http://www.blackfeetcountry.com/blackfeetflag.html

http://cms.lc-triballegacy.org/Tribal_Flags

Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boys’ Reservation

http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues03/Co11152003/CO_11152003_Flags.htm

http://cms.lc-triballegacy.org/Tribal_Flags

Crow Tribe

http://www.crowtribe.com/emblem.htm

http://www.museumoftherockies.org/Home/EXPLORE/AmericanIndianHistory/TribalNations/Crow/CrowFlag/tabid/471/Default.aspx

Crow flag song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReajatS1QQc

Flathead Nation of the Salish & Kootenai Tribes:

http://www.theindiancenter.org/Museum/GalleryofNations/SalishKootenai.htm

http://www.tmealf.com/DH/flathead.html

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xa-flath.html

Fort Peck Tribes (Assiniboine of Fort Peck)

http://www.tmealf.com/DH/ftpeck.html

Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa

Northern Cheyenne

http://www.cheyenneindian.com/cheyenne_flag.htm
http://www.tmealf.com/DH/nchey.html

Learn more about the U.S. flag and see how it has changed over time:

http://www.usflag.org/toc.html

Celebrate the U.S. Constitution!

September 17th is the 224th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

Painting from the Library of Congress.

Do you know the first three words of our Constitution?

Can you recite the entire Preamble?







A good way to remember the Preamble is to sing it!
Sing along with School House Rock at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQdDjBAJt7c

Watch Barney Fife recite the Preamble at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx5d3haRG7M&list=PL0BA9373E6DB9E59B&index=2

How much do YOU know about the U.S. Constitution?  Find out how you compare with others in your age group and state.
Take the CONSTITUTION QUIZ

Montana Field Guide



Photo courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service



Photo courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Image from Wikipedia.

 

These are the three kinds of birds in the story "Nanabush and the Ducks."  This is a story from the Anishinabe Tribe, retold by Joseph Bruchac in Native American Games and Stories.

We can use the Montana Field Guide to learn about these birds.
    Coot
   Great blue heron
   Mallard

Click on a link to a page in the Montana Field Guide.
Look at the photos of the bird.
Listen to the audio sample.
Look at the map.
Answer these questions:
    1.  Does this bird live in the Billings area?  Summer only or year-around?
    2.  Describe this bird.  What does it look like?  What makes it look different from other birds?