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My History/ Geography unit this term is about the study of a different cultural group.. So I have chosen Japan or China. This is a choice activity where students will need to choose either Japan or...

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Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City From the Book, "Hungry Planet" Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45 Family recipe: Chicken biryani...

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School resources search results | World Vision Australia

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World Vision are dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice

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Curriculum overview

The Australian Curriculum: Geography content descriptions addressed in the illustration are:

Significant events that connect people and places throughout the world (ACHGK034)

The various connections Australia has with other countries and how these connections change people and places (ACHGK035)

The effect that people's connections with and proximity to places throughout the world, have on shaping their awareness and opinion of those places (ACHGK036)

Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Learning goals

This activity is designed to support students to think critically about what is relevant when answering a question or looking at an issue.

The illustration-specific learning goals include:

understanding relevance and non-relevance as distinct from correct or incorrect

understanding the ways that events and characteristics of other places impact on Australia

developing critical thinking skills

developing group decision-making techniques.

Geographical understanding and context

The Geography thought-provokers (PDF, 316 KB) included in this illustration provides a number of stimulating questions that focus on interconnections between Australia and other nations. They encourage students to think about interconnections including migration, tourism, trade and aid. They show just a few of the links between Australia and China, Indonesia, South-West Asia, and Papua New Guinea.

As well as developing thinking skills and knowledge about our neighbouring countries, these 'geography thought-provokers' relate to values-based issues. Students are confronted with issues which may challenge their values and assumptions and help them to reflect on and redefine their values.

Some prior discussion of context is necessary in each of the activities. The location of the place, the discovery of some of the key facts about it, and certainly the relationship of it to Australia on a world map or globe is essential.

Teaching approaches

In this illustration, Geography thought-provokers (PDF, 316 KB) provides a number of examples of thought-provoking questions and statements for students to consider. These are also known as 'geography mysteries'. Some of the thought-provokers will be better suited to particular groups of students dependent on their prior experiences and learning. You should choose the most appropriate ones to use for your students.

Each one of these thought-provokers starts with a question followed by a series of statements that are related to the question and factually correct, but have varying relevance. This is important, because the point of the activity is not whether the statement is a 'correct' or 'incorrect' fact, but what is 'relevant' or 'irrelevant' to the question.

This is best done in small groups so that each student can have their say. Provide each group with a different thought-provoker to discuss and asses. Geography thought-provokers (PDF, 316 KB) provides a number of thought-provokers you may use, or you may create others. The statements can be supplied as a list on a sheet of paper, on separate strips of paper, or in an electronic form.

1. Small group work - discussion

Working in their groups, students read carefully each of the statements related to their question, and then select those that are relevant to the question. An important part of the activity is the argument between different class members as to what is relevant and what is not.

2. Small group work - order analysis

When the group has agreed (or agreed to differ) on those statements which are relevant, the next task is to arrange them in a logical order. This order might be an order of hierarchical importance, chronological order, or a 'diamond shape' order of importance (where there are a few most important, many of medium importance and a few of little importance).

3. Individual work - writing a prose

The ultimate task for each student, working as an individual, is to write an answer to the question, based on the statements they have chosen. It must be written in correct prose style, with a variety of sentence structures and a clear and logical progression of the answer to the question.

4. Extension activities

Some students could find out more about the particular issue and develop more factual statements.

Further activities could include similar 'thought-provokers' on other issues relevant to the aims, developed by you or by groups within the class.

What you need

Geography thought-provokers (PDF, 316 KB) that provides the questions:

1. Why did Sandy and Chris go to Bali for their holiday?

2. Why are many of my clothes made in China?

3. Why does Australia send aid to Papua New Guinea?

4. Why do refugees come as 'boat people' to Australia?

5. Why were Jo's wooden souvenirs confiscated by Australian customs at Sydney airport?

6. Why have Xuan and Li Ling from China decided to holiday in Australia?

Preparation: Copying of the question and statements for each group (and cutting if desired).

Time allocation: A question could occupy about 15-20 minutes of discussion, followed by about 20-30 minutes for writing a prose version of the answer.

Curriculum connections

This illustration links with the content descriptions of the following Phase 1 Australian Curriculum.

English

Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements for defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices for modality and emphasis (ACELY1710)

Create literary texts that adapt or combine aspects of texts students have experienced in innovative ways (ACELT1618)

Investigate how complex sentences can be used in a variety of ways to elaborate, extend and explain ideas (ACELA1522)

History

Develop texts, particularly narratives and descriptions, which incorporate source materials (ACHHS124)

Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies (ACHHS125)

Source: Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Resources

Books:

Leat, D. & Nichols, A. (2003). Theory into practice. Mysteries make you think. UK: The Geographical Association. This is the best (and possibly the only) book to explain the learning theory behind this classroom technique, and to give guidance in setting up this kind of learning experience. Chapter 6, What and how do students learn from mysteries? is also available on the Internet. Retrieved November 2012, from: http://www.geography.org.uk/download/GA_TIPMysteriesMakeYouThinkSample.pdf.

Websites:

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Australian Curriculum: Geography. Retrieved May 2013, from: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Geography/Rationale

Geographical Association, Staffordshire learning net. Thinking through geography provides sample geography mysteries. Teachers have developed these and they tend to be mostly at secondary level, but can be used to suggest ideas. Retrieved August 2012, from: http://www.sln.org.uk/geography/thinking_through_geography.htm.

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The Australian Curriculum: Geography content descriptions addressed in the illustration are: Significant events that connect people and places throughout the world (ACHGK034) The various connections Australia has with other countries and how these connections change people and places (ACHGK035) The effect that people's connections with and proximity to places throughout the world, have on shaping their awareness and opinion of those places (ACHGK036) Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

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Using "country units," many schools and homeschooling families work through the alphabet and study one country for each of letter: A for Argentina, B for Brazil, C for China, D for Denmark, E for Egypt, etc. When kids (and adults!) learn about new countries, it is an exciting journey into a faraway land... it is the thrill of discovering new species, new flavors, and new celebrations... it is learning new ways to communicate to new friends around the world- and in the end discovering universal values and experiences. Here are some excellent resources to start your country units. Whether you do decide to follow the "ABC" model, or simply want to dip your toes into the country pool, challenge yourself to choose lesser known countries to give your students a wider variety of exposure to people and places.

It helps to get organized before you start, so that you can file away ideas and activities for countries as you find them in your research. Make a list of the countries that you are going to study, and roughly decide how long you will study that country. Sometimes it is effective to tie the geography studies to other units that you will be studying in other disciplines (for example if you are celebrating Chinese New Year in January, choose Hong Kong, and if you are studying the rainforest another month, choose Costa Rica to correspond). Finally, instead of studying the countries together, some schools decide to let each child choose one country to investigate and subsequently present to the class or at an international fair.

Involve kids in the decision!Maybe their best friend just moved to Australia, their grandma is from Germany, they love Chinese food, they are into the World Cup and Brazil is doing well, or their favorite animal is the lemur ( ahem, my daughter)- whatever the reason, if they are interested accept their input.
Printable ABC List of Countries
Look at the different topics you could cover, and choose areas that suit your needs. For example, many 3rd graders learn about the habitats of animals around the world, and some 4th grade students learn about the genre of biographies. Interdisciplinary lessons are effective in teaching, and tying lessons into the country unit allows teachers go more in-depth. Deciding the topics before starting allows students create a portfolio of the year's projects, with consistent material in each unit. Here are some possible topics to cover in the country units:

Learn about famous inventions, world religions, traditions, celebrations, or current political leaders, listen to traditional music, make a craft, play a popular sport, watch a video or documentary.

Sometimes there is no need to gather and grade the country unit projects from throughout the year, because the value of the unit lies in the enriching global experience. Other times the final presentation of the unit is assessed with a rubric and incorporated into a grade for the class. Whether students are creating a display on one country, assembling a binder of country information sheets, or taking a written test- decide beforehand and clearly explain your expectations.

Maps and Atlases:
Barefoot Books World Atlas. Barefoot Books never cease to amaze and excite our imagination, and their new World Atlas raises the bar. Divided into geographical region, each section is packed with facts and snippets of cultural information, using fold-out booklets and art-quality illustrations of wildlife, architecture, and natural wonders.

National Geographic Education: Map-Maker. This amazing resource has customizable maps to print with the features and size you need.

National Geographic Beginners World Atlas. This colorful atlas is for kids ages 4-7. For kid 8-13, try National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers. The accurate and detailed maps and images are interactive when you open the special web site that coordinates with this atlas.

Google Earth is the reigning king of armchair travel. Explore popular and cultural landmarks from your computer in amazing imagery. Here is an example of Google Earth partnering with UNESCO to allow you to "tour" UNESCO sights from the street level, on your computer.

TIME Magazine (for Kids) has information on countries around the world (such as Nigeria, above) on their web site, and also published short magazines that highlight "people, landmarks and geography of places around the world through photographs, maps, diagrams, charts, folktales, language and activities."

National Geographic Kids is an amazing, interactive resource that includes videos, pictures, important facts, history, government, maps, and even e-cards from a myriad of diverse countries (such as Guatemala, above) around the world. This is a must-see resource! (I promise I don't work for them).

The US CIA's World Factbook is a wonderful resource for education and research, for teachers and students:

The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.

To learn more about attractions, cultural landmarks, heritage sights, etc, visit the directory of official tourism web sites of hundreds of government tourist offices and visitor bureaus from around the world. Students can also write to official embassies and asking specific questions about traditions, history, important attractions, etc. One time my ESL students invited a consulate representative to our school's international week, and he not only accepted the invitation, but stayed to speak to the students about his country!

Discovery Channel has several countries highlighted in videos, like " Brazil" above. Infoplease has country profiles with basic information. ABCteach has a lot of worksheets and coloring pages related to different countries and continents.

Flags
Flags of the World has the flags organized by geographic location. Once you find the country you need, you have the option to print the coloring page in a small, medium, or large format. This World Flag Database is in ABC order.

Here are loads of activities to do with flags.

Lapbooks
These templates for country study lapbooks allow your students to pick and choose which information to include. In your lapbook, you might include a copy of the money used, beautiful, free photos from around the world, or include some words in the native language of your country.

Animals and Habitats
EnchantedLearning.com has a fantastic biomes/habitats page with definitions and worksheets related to animal habitats around the world.

Animal Planet, a web site from the Discovery Channel, also has a searchable database with animals A-Z from around the world.

National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals (left) is a great resource for animals facts paired with incredible photographs.

Children Around the World
Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey around the World shows with detailed photographs and interesting text how children live in several countries on each continent, plus their favorite activities and sports, and where they worship.

Where Kids Live Around the World offers several resources to view homes and children's bedrooms from a wide variety of countries.
Enjoy studying other countries and exploring the diverse cultures from your virtual trip around the world!
Geography Stars Year-long Geography Program

Our Geography Stars Program is a year-long program to expand the geographic knowledge of your students. Teachers will find all resources necessary to easily incorporate information about 35 countries into their day, including a power-point presentation, map quizzes, a letter home template, country of the week posters, a continent booklet, teacher answer keys, passport booklets and stamps, and a certificate of completion for students. It's an amazing resource! Check it out now >

Passport Booklet and Stamps

We also offer our original Passport Booklet and Stamps separately at our TPT store. Students each get their own passport, which features inspirational quotes, and teachers can print the stamps out on paper or Avery labels. As students visit the different stations of the event, they can fill their own passports with stamps! The product also includes 8.5×11 posters.

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Using Country Units with Kids to take a Virtual Trip Around the World

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Using "country units," many schools and homeschooling families work through the alphabet and study one country for each of letter: A for Argentina, B for Brazil, C for China, D for Denmark, E for Egypt, etc. When kids (and adults!) learn about new countries, it is an exciting journey into a faraway land...