4 1 3 a visit to the dominican republic (social studies)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC by Darleen Ramos A VISIT TO THE... DOMINICAN REPUBLIC A VISIT TO THE... We are just about to land in the Dominican Republic, a country on the island of Hispaniola HISS

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

by Darleen Ramos

A VISIT TO THE

by Darleen Ramos

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Susan Carlson

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8 © Adrian Griffith/Alamy; 10 © James Quine/Alamy; 11 © age fotostock/SuperStock; 12 © Atlantide Phototravel/ CORBIS; 13 © Banana Stock/SuperStock; 14 © Brendan Tobin/Getty Images

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02294-9

ISBN-10: 0-547-02294-8

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A VISIT TO THE

Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos! We are just about

to land in the Dominican Republic, a country

on the island of Hispaniola (HISS pen YO luh) Glance out your window See the sparkling

blue waters of the Caribbean Sea! This lovely

island has many things to do, see, and taste

Are you ready?

Palm trees line the beaches in the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo

The explorer Christopher Columbus came

to the island in 1492 He helped build cities One of them was Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic

Now let’s visit an interesting Santo

Domingo building that was built in honor of Columbus On some nights, powerful lights

on the building

shine toward the

sky That’s why it is

called the Columbus

Lighthouse

The Columbus Lighthouse

was built in the shape of

a cross.

We have more to see than just buildings

Let’s explore the Botanical Gardens We’ll

ride a small train that takes us around the

large garden Look at these plants! The palms are dancing in the breeze The pink and white flowers look sensitive These flowers are

orchids (OR kids)

Orchids look beautiful and smell good, too!

Outside the City

If you travel just north of Santo Domingo, you will see many farms Dominican farmers grow sugarcane and all kinds of fruit Let’s stop at a roadside farm stand and buy some fresh fruit The stand has prepared fruit juices, too The flavor is delicious

Dominicans grow many different fruits.

You have probably been gazing out the

window at the beautiful, unspoiled beaches

and listening to the crash of the ocean waves Those sugar-white beaches sure look inviting Who is up for a swim or a stroll along the

beach?

Many visitors come to the Dominican Republic to enjoy its beaches.

Dominican Weather

It’s easy to see why people enjoy the

Dominican Republic It’s warm and sunny almost every day! The average temperature

is around 77 degrees It does not snow here Instead, the Dominicans see lots of rain for a few months During the rainy season, the air can feel thick and sticky

The Dominican Republic has mountains, green

valleys, and rainforests.

M E X I C O

C U B A

HAITI

D O M I N I C A N

R E P U B L I C

A t l a n t i c

O c e a n

C a r i b b e a n S e a

S O U T H A M E R I C A

C E N T R A L

A M E R I C A

e q u a t o r

S

N

The weather in the Dominican Republic is mild all year round because of its location The country is close to the equator The equator is a line on a map that shows where the Earth gets the most sunshine and heat On the negative

side, this heat can sometimes lead to strong

storms, like hurricanes

The Dominican Republic is between the United States

and South America.

Arts and Entertainment

Can you hear the drum beat? People are

dancing the merengue (meh REN gay), the

national dance Notice the young boy who

observes his parents dance He won’t need

much encouragement to join in because

merengue music makes you want to get up and start moving!

The merengue is danced in pairs.

Dancing isn’t the only form of art in this

town The shops are filled with crafts made

from shells You can also buy jewelry and

baskets

Let’s stop and observe some artists working They are painting things you might see in the Dominican Republic, such as bright-colored

flowers and beautiful beaches

Dominicans use the world around them to create art.

You can’t leave the Dominican Republic without catching a game of baseball! It’s one

of the Dominican people’s favorite pastimes You can hear the cracking of a bat almost every evening Baseball is played everywhere, on the beaches, in fields, and at big stadiums

Some Domincans move to the United States to play for American baseball teams.

Dominican Food

What better way to end our day than by

feasting on a traditional Dominican meal? La

bandera, or the flag, is a delicious meal that is

usually served at lunch The meal includes

white rice, beans, meat, and a salad Or try the fish with a tasty sweet coconut sauce Dessert is included with the meal

Many restaurants have la bandera on their menus.

What a day! From Santo Domingo to the countryside, we have seen a lot We tasted fruits and splashed in the ocean The friendly people of the Dominican Republic welcomed

us Tomorrow will be just as fun!

verbs have -ed added to the end of them to

form the past tense The word unspoiled, is

formed by adding -ed What other verbs can

you think of that form the past tense by adding

-ed?

Write About It

Text to Self If you could visit the Dominican

Republic, what would you like to do there?

Why? Write a paragraph that describes what

you would like to see and do Include one word

from the Word Builder.

unspoil

?

?

-ed unspoiled

?

?

TARGET VOCABULARY

encouragement

glances

honor

included

negative

observes prepared sensitive unspoiled welcomed

TARGET STRATEGY Visualize Use text details to form pictures in your mind of what you are reading.

I’m a type of number in math I’m also a type of person who is often unhappy What am I?

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02294-9 ISBN-10: 0-547-02294-8

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 34

Social Studies

Strategy:

Visualize

Word Count: 601