GEOGRAPHY CONNECTIONS This year-long series is presented in collaboration

with the Connecticut Geographic Alliance.

NIE ACTIVITY

Welcome to the

Philippines!
COUNTRY VIEW
By Megan Swanke, William J. Johnston Middle School.
Do you know where the Philippines is? Located in Southeast
Asia, it is an archipelago country between the Philippine
Sea and the South China Sea and about the size of the state
of Arizona. The capital city, Manila, one would think would
be the most populous city in the country, but it is actually
second in population to Quezon City!
Did you know that the Philippines is 80% Roman Catholic?
The other religions in the country, such as Muslim and
Buddhism, are all less than 10%. In just New England alone only about 20% of the population is Roman Catholic!
Due to its tropical climate, the Philippines grow many tropical fruits that are exported to the
United States. These products include bananas, mango, sugarcane and coconuts! In fact,
Take LOCATION: The Philippines is located in
5
Southeast Asia. It is very close to Malaysia and
Vietnam. It is 12.8797 North and 121.7740 East.
PLACE: Some of the most well liked places are lakes.
This includes Lake Lanao, Lake Taal, and Lake Mainit.
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION:
The Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as
earthquakes and typhoons. Also, another issue is since the
population is growing, there is less space for crops.
MOVEMENT: In the Philippines they travel in many
vehicles such as busses, trains, jeepneys, and motorcycles.
REGION: They have thirteen regions. The climate is
tropical rainforest.

Mango
the Philippines is one of the biggest producers of coconuts. In 2010, they had produced
19.5 million coconuts! Using the News
Recently, the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte,
Interestingly, most of their transportation is in a
launched a “war on drugs” in the country. Many have
jeepney. A jeepney is basically a little bus that fits
been arrested and killed, but some local groups want an
about twelve people. These small transportation
investigation in the amount of violence that has come from
vehicles helps move the large population! Philippines
the raids. Research the drug crisis in the Philippines on
is the 12th most populated country in the world. A Jeepney in the Philippines courant.com.

Some • Thee world’s largest pearl was discovered in the Philippines.

MAPPING ACTIVITY
FUN FACTS
about the Philippines!
•
•
Filipinos call skunks “stink badgers!”
The Philippines is also home to the longest snake in the world. I am mapping cool places to visit in the Philippines
• A Filipino named Roberto del Rosario patented the first karaoke machine in 1975. He including Chocolate Hills, Boracay, and Cordilleras. In
called it the “Sing Along System”.
Chocolate Hills you can zip-line, and look at beautiful
• Of the eight species of giant clams in the world, seven of them are found in the Philippines.
scenery. Boracay is where you enjoy beaches and scuba
• The Philippines Basketball Association is the oldest league in Asia, and the second oldest
diving. Lastly, in Cordilleras, you can admire the beautiful
in the world after the United States.
• Filipinos are the highest ranked selfie takers in the world. sights of grasslands. The Philippines are not all about the
• More than fifteen million people speak English in the Philippines. beaches. You can go sightseeing and it would be alluring.
Worlds Largest Pearl The Philippines is truly an amazing place to go see and tour.
• The currency is called Peso.

DID YOU KNOW? Puerto Princesa,

Underground River in
the Philippines
• A yo-yo used to be a weapon? Yeah I know crazy, right?
• They also have the world’s largest underground river.
• Also, something a little scary is they have a lake called Jellyfish
Lake and it has over thirteen million jellyfish in it. I for one would
not want to go swimming there!
• The Philippine Eagle is the second largest bird in the world after
an ostrich.
• They were also the first country in Southeast Asia to gain their
independence.
• Another fact is there are over 12,000 species of seashells.
• One last cool fact is that three of the ten biggest malls are located
The Philippine Eagle
in the Philippines.

Online Resources: For students who are blind, learning disabled or

● facts.randomhistory.com
● www.buzzfeed.com
● http://nomadicboys.com/
● http://factmontster.com/
● Kingsrebel.blogspot.com
● Larsboom.com http://www.chrisradio.org and click Kids
● expatfocus.com
● Facts.randomhistory.com
For students who are blind,
● http://thedailyroar.com/learning disabled or print challenged, visit CRIS Radio
● http://www.crwflags.com/
print challenged, visit at
Common Core Curricular
On-Demand for a free
CRIS audio
Radioversion
at of Geography Connections.
http://www.chrisradio.org Connections
and click Kids On-Demand CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RI. 5.1-5.10
for a free audio version of Geography
Connections.
CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RH.6-8.1-8.7