GEOGRAPHY CONNECTIONS

This year-long series is presented in collaboration with the Connecticut Geographic Alliance.
NIE ACTIVITY

Welcome To

Vietnam
COUNTRY VIEW
Shayla M. Babcock
Take LOCATION: The exact coordinates of
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With a motto of “Doc lap, tu do, hanh phuc” or translated; “Independence, Liberty, and Happiness,” Vietnam is Vietnam are 16 10 N, 107 50 E. Vietnam is in
one of the fastest evolving countries. It has an area of 331,689 km² and it is about three times the size of Bulgaria Southeastern Asia.
or slightly larger than New Mexico. It is the thirteenth most populous country with 92.6 million people and is PLACE: Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces, 5
expanding every day. municipalities, and three main regions. It is hot and humid
with a tropical climate.
Vietnam is most certainly one of the most interesting countries HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION:
because of the abundance of food and cultures. The national dish Vietnam’s rivers are used for imports and exports of the
is Pho which is a soup made of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and a nation’s crops like Asia’s favorite; rice. The land is used for
choice of meat (usually chicken or beef). My personal favorite agriculture, crops, pasture, and forest.
Vietnamese food is Bánh mì, which is a baguette with various meats, MOVEMENT: As mentioned earlier, exports and imports
herbs, spreads, and veggies. Why a baguette? Baguette is a type come in from all over the world every day.
of French bread, not an Asian-style bread, but Vietnam was under
REGION: As mentioned earlier, Vietnam is in Southeastern
French control for part of its history, and
Asia bordering China, Laos, and Cambodia
the local people liked the bread! They
Pho Beef Noodle Soup developed the dish combining the two

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cultures.
GLOBAL #
In Vietnam, there are many different religions such as Buddhism, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao,
Christianity, Animism, and Islam although most Vietnamese people don’t follow
GOALS
a specific religion. The national language is Vietnamese with English as a favorite
second but people also speak French, Chinese, Khmer, and mountain languages. A Global Goal that Vietnam is working on
Buddha Statue is Clean Water and Sanitation. About 25
Something unique about Vietnam is that it is one of the remaining five countries that
Hanoi, Vietnam years ago, 2 out of 5 people didn’t have
are communist.
access to clean, fresh sources of water,
3 out of 5 people did not have sanitation
MAPPING ACTIVITY facilities and 2 out of 5 people went to the
Located along the South China Sea, Vietnam is a long, narrow country on the eastern side of the Indochina bathroom outside of a lavatory. Vietnam
Peninsula. There are numerous wildlife varieties in Vietnam due to the diversity of climate, but the animals are plans to eliminate excretion outside by
still in danger due to over-logging. Although the government is working to restore the forests, the efforts may 2025 and have all people get access to a
sanitation facility by 2030.
be too late for some species. If you worked for the Vietnamese government, where would you work to have a
wildlife reserve? Why would you choose this place? What animals or other species that live there would benefit
by government protection?
DID YOU KNOW?
• In Vietnam, crossing the index and middle fingers are a rude
gesture.

• The most popular sport in Vietnam is football (a.k.a. Soccer).

• Although Hanoi, the capital city, has 6.5 million people, Ho Chi
Minh City(formerly Saigon) has 7.5 million people (as of 2010)

• In the Vietnamese language, there are six different tones. Tones

tell you where and how to accentuate the sounds. Depending on
what tone you use, you could change the meaning of the word.
That makes the Vietnamese language very hard to speak.

• Pot belly pigs are kept as pets in Vietnam.

• Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashews and the second

largest for rice
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/travel/images/9/9a/Vietnam_map_001.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141107165037&path-prefix=en

RESOURCES Common Core Curricular Connections

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/vietnam/#vietnam-ha-long-bay.jpg
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/vietnam.htm CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.9 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH6—8.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/vietnam.html CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.
http://www.travelingeast.com/asia/vietnam/ten-interesting-facts-about-vietnam/ CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.7 RH6—8.4 RH6—8.10
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src_ic/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=2b2e3d32-dd8f-4174-8e95-7a4474913f71%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=#AN=88391219&db=t6o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.9 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.4
http://www.who.int/features/2015/viet-nam-water-sanitation/en/
http://guide.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=12&CID=223
For students who are blind, learning disabled or print challenged,
http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar585360&st=vietnam#tab=homepage
visit CRIS Radio at http://www.chrisradio.org
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Vietnam/Geography and click Kids On-Demand for a free audio version of Geography Connections.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6906e/x6906e0d.htm