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A Guide to Learning About Any Country in the World

Ruth Marshall © 2003

A. PREPARATION

  1. Decide whether this is to be an individual project, or whether more than one of you will work on it together.
  2. Set goals. Is it to be a full-time unit study for a period of time, or do you intend to give it just a few hours a week for a longer while? How long do you plan to spend? A week? A month? … Do not leave it too open-ended.
  3. Choose your country.
  4. Read through the following pages.
  5. If you are doing this as an individual project, consult with your parents about compiling a reading list, and about the questions you will be expected to answer. Some of these questions are more suitable for younger children, and others for older children. The kind of information you are able to find will also have a bearing on whether you can answer certain questions.
    Note: it is not necessary to answer every question on the following pages, during the course of your project. Similarly, if you want to go into greater depth on any question, feel free to do so. Remember, this is a Guide to the study of your country.
  6. Acquire your resources: beg, borrow, or buy the information you will need. Write letters, or make telephone calls to embassies or consulates, chambers of commerce, airlines, travel agencies, missionary societies, etc. (the telephone book is a great help here), requesting information. Check your bookshelves (or friends' bookshelves, or the local library) for anything that might prove helpful. If you have access to the Internet, see what you can find there. Old copies of National Geographic are very helpful. If all else fails, try the encyclopaedia…or perhaps that should be the first place to look!
  7. Wait. It is an idea to do the letter-writing, etc. a couple of weeks before you plan to start work. It takes time for information to reach you via the mail.
  8. While you are waiting, read at least one book set in your country, either in the present-day, or at some earlier period in history. This may be fiction or non-fiction (a storybook, biography, travel account… Something to give you a feel for the country and its people, before you start to look at it in detail).
  9. Begin work on a mini dictionary. Whenever you come across an unfamiliar word (assuming that it is not a name, or written in a foreign language), look it up in the dictionary and record its meaning, together with a sentence or phrase that helps you remember the context. This applies especially to geographical terms. You may be quizzed on them!

B. MAP WORK

  1. Copy, or trace a map of the continent in which your country is found. Colour your country red, and every other country green. Remember to colour the sea blue.
  2. Find a good map of your country to include with the work for this study. Tourist brochures, or information supplied by consulates is quite acceptable, though if you like to draw your own map, you can do that instead.
  3. Study a good map of the country. Locate the following kinds of areas and record their names. Be prepared to show where they are on the map, when you give your final presentation.
    1. Mountains, or mountain ranges
    2. Rivers
    3. Lakes
    4. Deserts
    5. Oceans or seas
    6. Does the country share its borders with any other countries? If so, name these.
    7. What are the major cities?
    8. Provide other important information, eg. Are there any major islands belonging to the country? What about volcanoes, glaciers, etc? Provide details where appropriate.
  4. As an alternative to drawing a map, you may like to make your own relief map from salt dough. A good recipe for this is to use 1 cup of salt to 2 cups of plain flour, mixed with enough water (about 1 cup) to make a fairly stiff, but sticky dough. If you like, you can colour it with food colouring; otherwise you might like to paint it when you have finished modelling the map.
  5. Do the geographic features you listed divide the country into separate regions? If so, in what way(s)?

C. GENERAL GEOGRAPHY

  1. What is the climate like in this country?
  2. Include pictures, showing what the countryside looks like. Be sure to label your pictures, so other people have some idea of what it is they are looking at.
  3. Either:
    1. Describe an imaginary visit to one of the places you named in your map work. What time of year did you visit? What was the weather like? What did you see? What did you do there?

    Or
    1. Plan a visit to your chosen country, with visits to a number of the places you found on the map. What would be the best time of year to visit? What might you expect to see? What would you need to take with you? How long do you plan to spend there? You can use tourist brochures to plan out your trip, working out costs, and producing an itinerary for your stay.

D. POPULATION

  1. How many people live in this country?
  2. Is the population mainly a rural or an urban one?
  3. What is the literacy rate?
  4. Roughly – what is the annual wage of workers in this country?
  5. How does the standard of living compare with that in Australia? Is it a fairly affluent society or are many of the people there living in real poverty?

E. THE CAPITAL CITY

  1. What is the capital city?
  2. What is its population?
  3. When was it founded?
  4. Who founded it?
  5. Was it always known by its present name? If not, what did it used to be called? Does the name have any particular meaning or significance? Why was the name changed, and by whom?
  6. Why was a city founded in this particular place?
  7. List some of the major landmarks of the city (eg. buildings, bridges, etc.)
  8. What other places would be good to visit? (eg. parks, museums, etc.)
  9. Write a page about an imaginary visit to one of the places you listed in either question 7 or 8. (You can either combine this with the work you did when learning about the general geography of the country, or do it separately).
  10. Include a map of the city, and pictures of it as well. Remember to label your pictures again.

F. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

  1. Have the people themselves divided the country into separate regions (political boundaries, such as states, counties, departments, etc.)? If so, list these.
  2. On a separate sheet of paper, draw the country's flag. (Suggested size: 10 cm x 15 cm).
  3. What form of government does the country have?
  4. Who is currently ruling the country? Name the present king / queen / president / governor / or whatever the head of state happens to be called. Who is the present prime minister, and of what political party is he/she a member?
  5. How is the head of state chosen?
  6. Which countries are your country’s closest allies?
  7. What is the country's national song or anthem? If you can find the words, copy them out in your best handwriting. If you can listen to a recording, or learn to sing the national anthem, try to do that as well.

G. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

  1. Look at the map again. What occupations might you expect to find in various regions of the country?
  2. Find out what the major industries are. Does this list agree with your expectations?
  3. Find out which industries are associated with particular towns or cities.
  4. Choose one industry you have named, and do a little more research about it. Write a one-page report on that particular industry – either generally, or as it is practised in your chosen country.
  5. What currency is used in this country? How does it compare with the current Australian dollar? Can you find pictures of the coins and bank notes, to accompany your project?

H. LANGUAGE

  1. What language(s) do the people speak?
  2. If you have not already done so (eg. with the national anthem), try to find something written in the language of your country.
  3. Perhaps you could begin a little dictionary of words from your country’s language: try to include at least 20 words. Include things like "hello", "good-bye", "please", "thank-you", and other every-day words.
  4. Choose a verse from the Bible. Copy it out (or photocopy it, if you find the writing too difficult to copy) in the language of your country.
  5. If English is the main language of your country, find out something about either the history of the English language, or about how English spoken in this country differs from that spoken in other countries. (Why do these differences occur?) As an alternative, find out about some of the dialects spoken within the country.

I. TRADITIONS, FESTIVALS AND CUSTOMS

  1. Find pictures of people in their national costumes. Do the different regions of the country have different costumes?
  2. List, in calendar order, the major festivals celebrated throughout the year. Include pictures to illustrate this, where possible.
  3. Choose one or two festivals or customs, and write at least a page about it/them. Many customs have their roots in religious observances, or as a way of remembering some particular historic event. How or why did that which you chose begin? How do the people observe (or celebrate) it today? Include pictures if you can.
  4. Retell, in your own words, one of the folk-tales or legends told by the people in this country.
  5. Listen to some traditional music, or try to learn a folk-song.

J. FLORA AND FAUNA

  1. List some of the animals and birds found in this country. Are these wild or domestic creatures? If the animal or bird is only found in one part of the country, or if it is there for only part of the year, make a note of that information.
  2. Choose one of the creatures on your list, and write a one-page description of it.
  3. Include pictures of some of the animals and birds you have listed. (Again, remember to label your pictures.)
  4. Does the country have a particular animal or bird as its emblem? If so, what is it?
  5. Can you find any legends associated with any of these animals or birds? If so, retell one in your own words.
  6. List some of the plants, trees, and flowers that grow there. Include pictures where possible.
  7. Does the country have a particular plant as its emblem? If so, what?
  8. Have a look at the map again. Where would you expect food to be grown most easily? Why?
  9. What major crops are grown? Are they grown in any of the areas you listed in point 8?

K. FOOD

  1. Find, and copy out, at least two recipes from this country.
  2. Find pictures of food cooked by people in this country.
  3. Do people in different parts of the country eat differently? If they do, why do you think this is so? Is the food very different to that which you are used to eating? Why?
  4. If possible, help to prepare a meal using authentic recipes from this country. (You might like to make this part of your “Presentation Day”).

L. THE ARTS

  1. Make a list of important artists, composers, or writers who were born or worked in this country. Next to each name, note in which field each was best known.
  2. Write a brief biography of one of the people on your list.
  3. Read at least one of the books or poems written by one of the people on your list (read an English translation, if necessary).
  4. Listen to some of the music created by one of the composers on your list.
  5. Choose one work of art created by one of the artists on your list, and make your own copy of it (this may be a drawing, painting, or sculpture).

M. HISTORY

  1. Either:
    1. Make a time-line, or write a list of important events (together with their dates) in the history of the country. Include pictures if you are able.

    Or
    1. Read a book dealing with the history of the country you are studying. As you finish reading it, retell the events of each chapter, in your own words.
  2. Choose one person from the history of your country. Find out as much as you are able about him or her, and write a brief biography (at least one page).
  3. Look at the map again.
    1. What geographic features do you think would provide natural defences? What areas of the country seem to be more open to attack? If you were at the head of an invading army, where would you plan to make your attack?
    2. Has the country ever been invaded in the course of its history? If so, give details of at least one of these attacks. These should include:
      1. The year
      2. Who was the invader?
      3. From which direction did the attack come? Did it come from one of the areas you mentioned in answer to question 3a?
      4. How did the invaders travel?
      5. Why did the invasion take place?
      6. Was it successful?
    3. Imagine you are a soldier fighting in one of the battles in your country's past. Write an account of the battle, in the form of a letter or diary entry. Who are you fighting? Why are you fighting? With what weapons are you fighting? Where are you fighting? When does the battle take place? How does the battle proceed? And what are the results?
  4. Has there ever been a Revolution or Civil War during the history of your country? If so, why was it fought and what was the result? Which of the opposing sides, do you believe, had the right on their side? Why? Was that side the victorious one or not? [Note: Some countries have had many revolutions and civil wars throughout their history. You should just choose one to research for this question.]
  5. Not all history is made up of wars! Consult your time-line and choose one other event from your country’s history. Research this and write a page about it. Provide specific information such as places, names, and dates, and explain why this was such an important event.

N. RELIGION

  1. What is the national religion? If it is not Christianity, write a page about the religion the majority of people practise.
  2. When was Christianity first introduced, and by whom?
  3. Give a brief account of the history of Christianity (or of Christian missions) in this country.

O. A DAY IN THE LIFE...

  1. Pretend you are a child living in your chosen country. Choose an appropriate name for yourself, and give an account of one day in your life. Write at least one page. You might like to draw a picture to go with your story. Make sure you include details that are specific to your country (i.e. it is not acceptable to write, “I got up in the morning, had my breakfast, and went to school. We did maths and writing. After school I played with my friends, then we had our evening meal and I went to bed.”)
  2. As an alternative, you might like to choose another real person (from one of your earlier lists), and write an account of a particular day in his or her life.

P. RESOURCES

Make a list of:

  1. The books you used. Remember a bibliography is written in alphabetical order, based on the surname of the author.
    A formal bibliography includes the following information:
    1. Author’s surname (the author may be an individual person, or a group such as a society, or a government department)
    2. Author’s first name or initials,
    3. Year of publication (put this in parentheses)
    4. Book title (in italics if typed, or underlined if hand-written)
    5. Title of the series from which the book comes
    6. Volume number (or number of volumes)
    7. Edition,
    8. Editor, reviser, compiler or translator (if this is somebody other than the author)
    9. Publisher
    10. Place of publication
    11. Page number or numbers used in your study.
      Note: Not all of this information may be applicable to the books you have used in your project. Younger children should give at least the author’s name and title of the book.
  2. Any magazine articles you used.
    A formal bibliography includes the following information:
    1. Author’s name (as for books)
    2. Year of publication (in parentheses)
    3. Title of article (no italics this time – but put the title between single inverted commas)
    4. Title of the journal or periodical from which the article comes (in italics)
    5. Title of series
    6. Place of publication
    7. Volume number,
    8. Issue number or other means of identifying that particular issue (eg. month or season)
    9. Page number or numbers.
      If you can’t find all of this information, don’t worry too much! Sometimes it isn’t included.
  3. Any places you either telephoned, or to which you wrote for information about the country. List the places in alphabetical order, and note what each one sent you.
  4. Any other sources of helpful information, eg. Internet sites, pen friends, etc.

Q. FINALLY...

Presentation Day: Share what you have learned with the other members of your family, in some form of oral presentation. You may like to dress up in national costume for the occasion. Make your presentation as interesting as you can: include maps, pictures or charts, music, etc. Do not feel that you have to tell them everything you have learned about the country, but give them a good over-view, and leave them with the feeling, "I wish I had chosen that country!" Remember to allow them the opportunity to ask questions.

 

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