RESEARCHING A COUNTRY
Your name: _______________________
Name of country: ___________________________
Collect facts on these pages.
Do not write them in sentences. Instead, take notes.
Record your sources on the last page.
Do not worry if you cannot find information for every section.
Just do the best you can!
Remember:
1. You are going to turn this into a creative booklet.
2. You are going to choose a style of writing:
– a journal of an imaginary trip to this country
– an easy to read information book for young children
– a factual report with descriptive paragraphs-
a persuasive essay as to why your country is such a great place
3. You may collect or draw pictures as you do your research.
4. Try to use the most up-to-date sources of information.
Check the copyright dates!
One good online source World Book Encyclopedia: http://www.worldbookonline.com
User name: waf34
Password: pass34
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
A. CONTINENT
B. NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
C. ADJACENT OCEANS AND SEAS
D. MAJOR RIVERS
E. MAJOR LAKES
F MAJOR MOUNTAINS RANGES AND PEAKS
G. OTHER MAJOR PHYSICAL FEATURES
H. CLIMATEÂ (What are the seasons like in your country?)
I. VEGETATIONÂ (What are the natural plants and trees?)
J. WILDLIFEÂ (What animals are native to your country?)
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
A. CAPITAL CITY
B. MAJOR CITIES
C. MAJOR FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION
D. MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
E. RECENT NEWSWORTHY EVENTS
MEETING BASIC NEEDS
A. FOOD
B. HOMES (SHELTER)
C. CLOTHING
D. WATER (Is there a municipal supply or do people have wells or does water come from a river or lake? Or does it vary throughout the country?)
E. TECHNOLOGYÂ Â (Consider the special information and the tools people use to get what they need.)
EXPRESSING THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
A. LANGUAGE
B. BELIEFS AND RELIGIONS
C. ROLES (Do men or women have specific jobs they are expected to do? Do children have specific responsibilities? What is each group of people expected to do? How are they expected to behave?)
D. IDEAS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT (Do people recycle? Do people try to protect the environment? How do people take care of their country’s natural habitat: air, water, and soil?)
E. SPORTS
F. THE ARTS (Is there any special music from this country? Any special dances? Any famous writers or artists?)
G. HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS
KEEPING ORGANIZED
A. GOVERNMENT (What form of government does this country have? You may want to refer back to your S.S. text to remember the different types.)
B. THE LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMÂ (Are the laws similar to those in Canada or are there some that are quite different?)
C. ECONOMICS (What does this country sell to other countries or export? What does this country buy from other countries or import?)
D. FAMILY STRUCTURE (Do children go to day care centres or does someone at home take care of them? Are there public schools for children or must the parents pay for their children to go to school?)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keep a list of all your sources of information!
A. BOOKS (Author. Title. Publisher, copyright date.)
B. ONLINE (Copy the citation information at the bottom of World Book Encyclopedia articles.)
C. PEOPLE (Last name, first name. Your relationship to the person.)
D. OTHER (See your classroom teacher or Ms. Rosen for special instructions.)
GROUP PROJECT CONTRACT
We, ___________________ and __________________ , want to do a project together. Our topic is __________________ .
We understand that we will not have enough time in class to complete the project and that we will also have to work on it at home. We understand that it is our responsibility to divide up the work, get toegher outside of class time and complete the project together.We realize that if we decide we dislike working together, we do not have to work together in the future but that we still have to finish this project together.
Our parents also understand this. They agree to help us get together and help resolve any differences we might have while working on this project. They support us in our decision to work together as a team.
We understand that this project is due on _____________________ . We will have it finished on time, and we will present it to you without complaining about each other’s contribution.
Thank you for letting us work together. We truly do appreciate it!
Signatures of students: ______________________________________________________
Signatures of parents: ______________________________________________________
EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
A. Housing
   Houses in B.C. are often made of __________ because ______________________ .Â
B. Leisure
   People in B.C. enjoy skiing because _______________________ .
   People in B.C. enjoy boating because __________________________ .
   People in B.C. enjoy _______________ because ____________ .
   People in northern B.C. have to have warm clothing because ___________________ . People in the Fraser Valley don’t have to have so much warm clothing because ______________________. People in summer wear _____________ because the weather in B.C. is ______________ .
D. Food
   People in B.C. can’t grow oranges or bananas so they ____________________________ .
   People in B.C. can grow _____________________________________ so they can easily get these foods fresh or even grow their own.
   People in B.C. often eat _________________ in winter because ____________________ .
E. Moods
   People in the Fraser Valley often complain about ___________________ in winter because it makes them feel _______________________ .
   People like to visit the Okanagan Valley in summer because all the _____________ makes them feel _______________
F. Transportation
   People in B.C. often take airplanes to other provinces because Canada is so ____________ . People in B.C. learn how to drive on _________________ roads while people from the prairies are more used to driving on ____________ roads. People in B.C. often have use ____________ to visit some parts of the province because of the ____________________ .
G. Literature
   The settings in books set in B.C. such as ______________________________ show what our province look like.
H. Jobs
   Many people in B.C. have traditionally been loggers because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   Many people in B.C. have traditionally been fishers because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   People in B.C. have traditionally been farmers because
   ____________________________________________________ .
I. Economy
   Our province makes lots of money from tourism because tourists like to see
   ____________________________________________________ .
   Our province hopes to make lots of money from the winter Olympics in 2010
   because we have _____________________________________________
   Our province makes money from selling _________________ to the U.S.A.
   because we ________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________ .
EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT in the country of _______________
A. Housing
   Houses are often made of __________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
B. Leisure
   People enjoy ________________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   People enjoy ________________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   People enjoy ________________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
C. Clothing
   People wear ________________ clothing because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   People wear ________________ clothing because
   ____________________________________________________ .
D. Food
   People can’t grow ___________________________ so they
   ____________________________________________________ .
   People can grow _____________________________________
   so they can easily get these foods fresh or even grow their own.
   People often eat _________________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
E. Moods
   People sometimes feel ______________ because  Â
   ____________________________________________________ .
F. Transportation
   People often use ______________ because  Â
   ____________________________________________
   People often use ______________ because  Â
   ____________________________________________________ .
G. Literature
   Books set in ____________ such as ____________________________
   ____________________________________________________ .
   show what ________________ look like in their settings.
H. Jobs
   Many people work at _______________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   Many people work at _______________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   Many people work at _______________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
I. Economy
   _____________ makes lots of money from ___________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   _____________ makes lots of money from ___________ because
   ____________________________________________________ .
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________ .
Sources of Information:
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________
This page may be copied for use with students if the following credit is provided:
©2006 Sophie Rosen.]