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Social Studies 3: Oceania 17 Views


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Description:

No, this isn't some vast kingdom under the sea that Aquaman protects. Oceania is a region of our planet that is mostly, you guessed it, ocean. We'll teach you more about it in today's video.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

“Oceania.”

00:14

Sounds like a place you’d expect to find Wonder Woman’s cousin, right? [Woman with a cape appears]

00:17

But in reality, “Oceania” is a continent made up of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji,

00:22

as well as some Asian islands like Taiwan, and Northern islands like the Aleutians. [Places shown on a map]

00:26

…Except…sometimes Australia’s not included.

00:29

…and then sometimes it doesn’t include Taiwan or the Philippines.

00:32

Or maybe it does include Australia, but not Taiwan and the Philippines.

00:36

Or it includes Australia but not Taiwan and the Philippines, and also not the Northern

00:40

islands like the Aleutians, Ryukyu Kuril and Japan…? [Woman with a cape looking confused]

00:45

Um…

00:46

Turns out, scientists sorta disagree on exactly how to define Oceania. [Students looking confused]

00:49

But in the broadest sense, Oceania is an area between Asia and the Americas made up of 3.3 [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:54

million square miles of water.

00:56

It’s land area is 318,000 square miles. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

00:59

… When Australia’s excluded, of course.

01:01

Sorry, mates.

01:02

Because the people of Oceania mainly live on islands separated by lots of water, each [Fijians stood on the beach]

01:06

island developed its own language and culture. [Tongans stood on the beach]

01:09

In fact, there are more than 28 officially recognized languages in Oceania.

01:12

And while that could make continental get-togethers pretty awkward… [List of all the different languages]

01:15

… the English language is by far the most widely spoken and understood. [People arrive on a boat and speak English]

01:19

And if you ever perfect that time machine and go back in time to look for Oceanic

01:23

friends…

01:24

… just make sure you land in Australia or one of the surrounding islands. [Guy in the DeLorean from Back to the Future]

01:27

That’s because 33,000 years ago, the only people living in Oceania lived in those regions.

01:31

Today, of course, Oceania is home to millions of people. [Lots of people walking around]

01:34

And guess what?

01:35

Most of them still have their own special cultures, preserved by islands far removed [People dressed in their tribal clothing]

01:38

from the effects of other cultures and civilizations.

01:41

That said, of the 35 million people who live in Oceania, 2 out of three are Australian. [Group of 3 people and and arrows point to 2 of them]

01:46

So just keep wishing everyone “G’day” and some Oceania resident is bound to invite

01:50

you over for some shrimp on the barbie. [Guy holding up a barbie doll]

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