This week let’s look at Missouri, a state that sits at a cultural crossroads. Geographically, it’s usually considered part of the Midwest, but linguistically and culturally it shares many features with the American South. For example, you may hear people say “y’all” there — a word strongly associated with Southern states like Texas or Mississippi.

Missouri is also home to an interesting food tradition. At the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, iced tea and the ice cream cone became widely popular in the United States.

Classroom idea: Ask students whether Missouri should be considered Midwestern or Southern. What defines a region — geography, history, accent, vocabulary? Introduce the word “y’all” and compare it with ways Russian distinguishes singular and plural “you.”