First, students got online and checked out World Book online to decide what country they wanted to investigate. They chose 3 and then I narrowed it down-based on what the other classes did. They then got on the following sites and filled in a graphic organizer with some information about their country. After they gathered the information they created brochures about their country and looked on-line and in books for pictures.
-World
Book Online-
Many
school districts and libraries have access to World Book Online. This is an INCREDIBLE resource for research
made easy for students.
In
Tennessee go to http://tntel.tnsos.org/
or
http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home
Click
on the World Book icon on the right.
Click
on “Kid’s” (purple balloon) à
“Compare
Placesӈ
Compare Countries
Scroll
through countries using the arrows on the right and left. Click on a country. On the left there will be contents. “Explore____” will have quick facts. View Article will open in a new window and
contain informational text, pictures, and videos about the country.
To
close out of the country click the small red ‘x’ in the content box.
-National
Geographic-
Scroll
and click on countries. This is not an
exhaustive list, but great if you do not have access to World Book or other
print resources.
-CIA
Factbook-
Click “Please select a country to view” and select
your country.
Click
on economics. Use this for the imports, exports, and resources for the Country
Report Notes handout.
This
is also great for students who want to study their country in greater
depth.
I took pictures of their faces and they attached it to the country they were researching. It was a freakishly cute functional visual.
While they were researching, we had students as homework look around their home and find where items were made. We created a living bar graph, charted the data, and then made a pie graph. There are endless possibilities of what you could do with this data depending on the age level.
As
students share their reports, look at populations, land area, and where their
products are made- this simulation helps them experience the amount of space
compared to the amount of people.. Lay out the papers on the floor and have
them stand on them, move around.
Continue to take the paper away and make sure they have at least 1 foot
on it. Share out on the experience after- make connections as this leads
as a great springboard for population, production, economies, etc.
1. US- 89
(12 sheets of ppr)
2. Mexico- 157
(7 sheets of ppr)
3. China- 372
(3 sheets of ppr)
4. Japan- 864
(1.5 sheets of ppr)
5. India- 1,056
(1 sheet of ppr)
# of ppl
per sq
mile: based
upon a classroom of approx. 20 students.
Additional
population information by country: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0934666.html
We loved the conversations that came out of this week! It is amazing what happens when you put students in the driver seat-- and you sit back to facilitate. This unit is easily adaptable to so many skill and ability levels and disciplines. I'd
This unit can be found on Teachers Pay Teachers with complete instructions and every resource/material you need to complete it.
I am currently finishing up the home stretch of grad school. !!!WOOOOOO!!! The end is in sight---finally--- but every task feels like climbing Everest. So to break it up and provide some fun for the kids I had one of my best friends come in be mystery read er and then teach my lambs the soul train line.
No comments:
Post a Comment