Communites have many needs. Tax money is used to pay for some of these needs. For example, students do not have to pay to go to public school.

Tax money pays for public libraries, too. At a public library people can borrow books for free.

Some tax money is used to pay for public transportation, like buses and trains.

Citizens in a community can ask to have tax money spent on community needs.

People in Harlem, New York, had a problem in their community. Workers in Harlem took down bus shelters to fix the street. But the shelters were not put back. People got wet and cold waiting for the bus in the rain and snow.

Some people who live in Harlem belong to a community board.

Members of the community board decided to meet with people who could fix the bus shelters.

Members of the community board asked New York City transportation workers to come to a meeting. The transportation workers agreed that bus shelters needed to be put up. Tax money was used to get the job done.

The city of Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. This capital city is not in any state. It is a city that belongs to all of America.

Washington, D.C., has many museums and monuments.

A monument is a building or statue that shows special respect for a person or an event.

The Capitol in Washington, D.C., is the name of a building. It is where people who work for Congress meet. Congress is the part of our government that makes laws for our country.

The White House is where the President lives and works. The White House belongs to all Americans.

many people visit the White House every year.

The American flag is a symbol of our country.

A symbol is something that stands for something else.

Some people believe that our country's first flag was made by Betsy Ross.

Our flag has 13 stripes. Each stripe stands for one of the first 13 states.

Our flag also has 50 stars. The stars stand for our country's 50 states.

Our country has many other symbols. One of them is the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty stands for our country's freedom.

Each of our country's 50 states has its own symbols. Every state has its own state flag, state bird, and state flower.

Francis Bellamy wrote the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge was first used in a public school flag raising ceremony.

Our country has many heroes. A hero is a person who does something brave or great.

Many heroes have helped to make sure that Americans are free and that all Americans are treated fairly.

Paul Revere was a hero who believed our country should be free from England. One night, he rode a horse from town to town to tell colonists that the English soldiers were coming.

Americans often speak out for what they think is right.

Susan B. Anthony did this. For many years women were not allowed to vote. Susan B. Anthony believed that America would be a better place if all people were treated equally.

She worked hard to change the law so that women could vote.

Chief Jospeh was a leader of the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce were Native Americans who lived in Oregon. Our government wanted to use this land for white settlers.

The Nez Perce thought this was unfair. They fought to keep their land. But they were forced to leave. Still, Cheif Joseph keept speaking out for freedom.

Americans have worked hard for fairness. Years ago, a law in Montgomery, Alabama, said that only white people coud sit in the front of a bus. Rosa parks is black. One day, Rosa parks decided to sit in the front of a bus. Police took her to jail.

Many people, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., agreed with Rosa Parks. Dr. King told the people of Montgomery to stop riding buses until the law was changed. People walked to work or school for one whole year. Finally, the law was changed.

Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta worked together to make life better for farm workers. Laws said that farm workers did not have to be treated the same as other workers. They gave speeches and led marches to change these unfair laws.

Today, Dolores Huerta still works to help others. She gives speeches about treating women fairly.

John Glenn has been a soldier, astronaut, and government leader.

When he was a young man, he was the first American to go around Earth in a spaceship. later, he was a senator for the state of Ohio. When he was 77 years old, John Glenn went into space again. He rode on the space shuttle Discovery.

Not all heroes are well known. Many heroes are everyday people who do brave and special things. Firefighters and police officers risk their lives to help people. Volunteers work to make their communities a better place to live.

Most people work at a job to earn money. Earn means to get paid money for work you do. Some people work in an office. Some people work in a store. Some people do their jobs at home. Others travel to do their work. Some people work outdoors.

There are special jobs that help everyone in a community. Police officers, teachers, and firefighters help the whole community. Everyone in the community shares in paying for these jobs.

A tax is money that people pay to a community. The community collects all of the tax money and pays the workers for the work they do.

A person who works but is not paid is called a volunteer. Volunteers do many important jobs. Some volunteers work in schools or hospitals. Other colunteers bring food to people who cannot leave their homes. Volunteers also help when people are in trouble because of floods or earthquakes. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and other volunteers build houses for people in other countries.

Today, many people choose to work from home. More people than ever have computers. They can do office work without ever leaving home. Sometimes, one parent works at home by taking care of the house and family. Often the other parent works outside the home to earn money.

Doctors and lawyers can work from home, too. They set up offices in their homes. Some carpenters, artists, and other people with special skills, also work at home.

In the United States, we have lots of farmland. Almost half of the world's corn is grown here!

But we don't need that much corn. So we trade with other countries.

When countries trade, they buy and sell goods and services.

For example, Japan does not have enough farmland to grown corn. We trade with Japan by selling them corn. In return, Japan sells televisions and cars to us.

Many kinds of transportation are used to carry goods.

Countries close to each other use trucks or trains. Countries far apart use airplanes or ships. The route, or way goods travel from one place to another, is called a trade route.

Mexico is very close to the United States. The goods we trade are sent in trains or trucks.

The United States and Italy are far apart. Airplanes fly across the ocean to carry the goods we trade back and forth.