In the 1840s, the mid-western state of Nebraska was a territory on a wide prairie. When pioneers settled there, they found few trees for building houses or to burn for fuel. There was no shade from the sun or wind, and crops did not grow well in the dry earth. J. Sterling Morton was one […]

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers, and all men who act as father figures, all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner, or otherwise made to […]

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans across the United States celebrated the first Earth Day. The goal of this event was to emphasize the critical importance of the environmentand to make legislators and the American public aware of the growing destruction of the earth’s natural re­sources. The founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson, […]

tangible: adj. concrete; something which can be seen or held mother figure: n. phrase. person who acts as a mother in a child’s life such as a grandmother, stepmother, aunt, sister, good friend household: adj. relating to the home honor(ed): v. to remember with respect and thanks reformer: n. person who works to bring about […]

arbor: n. tree environment: n. the air, soil, and living things around us territory: n. a large area of land; a district or region prairie: n. flat, grassy region of land pioneer(s): n. a person who settles in new territory advocate(d): v. to support; to argue strongly for an idea barren: adj. not capable of […]