Unit 6 The US and Canada Vocabulary List
6th Grade World Cultures
Be prepared for a vocabulary quiz over ALL of the terms on this sheet on _____________
New Vocabulary Terms:
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Bilingual: Ability to speak two languages.
Colony: Overseas a territory or a settlement tied to a parent country.
Contiguous: Areas that are joined together inside a common/similar boundary
Continental Dived: A mountainous area from which rivers flow in different directions.
Dominion: Self-governing nation that accepts the British monarch as head of state.
Federal Republic: Form of government in which the national and state governments share power.
Indigenous: Native to or originating from a place.
Hydroelectric Power: Electricity that is generated from the power of moving water
Prime Minister: Similar to a President, an official who heads the government in a parliamentary
democracy. Canada has a Prime Minister.
10. Province: Similar to a state we have in the United States.
11. Suburban: Smaller community located in the area surrounding a city.
12. Trade: The buying, selling, or exchanging of goods or services
13. Domestic: Made or located in your own country.
14. Foreign: Made or located outside of your own country
15. Renewable Resource: Renewable energy is made from resources Mother Nature can replace, like
wind, water and sunshine.
16. Non-Renewable Resource: Energy from fossil fuels that we have limited quantities of which we can or
may run out of.
17. Fossil Fuels: Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and propane are all considered fossil fuels because they
were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
18. Timber: Trees cut down for lumber use
19. Fertile Soil: Rich soil capable of growing healthy plants and vegetables
20. Inuit: A member of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska.
21. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
-Between the United States, Canada and Mexico signed in 1994
Review Words
***These are terms we have studied in previous units. They should be familiar to you already, however,
make sure you know them for the current unit we are studying.
1. Climate: Pattern of weather over a long period of time
2. Ethnic Group: People who share a common culture, language or history.
3. Market Economy: An economic system where individuals and businesses make most of the decisions
about what to produce.
4. Free Enterprise: An economics system where the means of productions are mostly privately owned
and operated for a profit.
5. Representative Democracy: Government where the people are represented by elected leaders.
6. Rural: Living in the countryside.
7. Urban: Living in the city.
8. Service industry: Industry that provides services like banking, education, and tourism to people rather
than producing goods.
9. Mixed Economy: An economic system where both government and individuals play important roles of
what to produce.
10. Overfishing: Taking too many fish from a body of water, so that the supply of fish is used up.
11. Parliamentary Democracy: System of a democratic government where a cabinet holds the executive
power composed of members of the legislature; headed by a Prime Minister.
12. Life expectancy: The average age a person in a given population is expected to live. Varies between
countries
13. Multicultural: Communities containing multiple cultures.