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Social Studies
Mummies
Mummies have fascinated people for centuries. In folklore, mummies are portrayed as mysterious, magical, and even dangerous. People have removed mummies from their tombs and displayed them in museums. Mummies have even starred as villains in horror films!
PRESERVED BODIES
A mummy is a human body that has been preserved for a long period of time. Mummies are found in many places, from Alaska to China. But the world’s best-known mummies come from ancient Egypt. The Egyptians began making mummies more than 5,000 years ago. Over the next 3,500 years, they made millions of them!
Calendars
People around the world celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1. But the new year begins at other times, too. The Chinese New Year begins between January 21 and February 19. The Jewish New Year begins in autumn. The Muslim New Year falls 11 days earlier each year than the last. Why? Because there are many ways to arrange a calendar.
WHY WE USE CALENDARS
A calendar is a way of measuring time to help people organize their activities. Calendars divide time into fixed periods, such as days, weeks, months, and years.
Money
Why is a dollar bill valuable? After all, you can’t eat it. You can’t wear it. It’s just a piece of paper. But you can trade dollars for things that you can eat or wear. The bills are worth something because everyone agrees that they have value.
WHAT IS MONEY?
Money is anything that is widely exchanged for goods people sell or work they do. It is a form of payment people will accept. Long ago, precious metals such as gold and silver were used as money. Today, paper bills and coins are a common form of money.
Money has other uses, too. One of them is to measure the value of things. Bicycles, clothes, even hamburgers have a certain value. That value is the price—how much money people will pay for it.
Hanukkah
Lighting candles on a menorah, a special candleholder. Biting into a steaming potato pancake. Spinning a top called a dreidel in a game of chance. These events are part of a yearly Jewish holiday called Hanukkah.
Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, means “dedication” in Hebrew. Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of the Maccabees.
WHEN IS HANUKKAH?
Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (approximately December). The holiday lasts for eight days.