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Highlights what is called the biggest spectacle on Earth: Carnival in Brazil. The segment follows a woman, Luciana, as she prepares for the procession dressed as a tropical fruit seller.

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When is Carnival celebrated?

Who participates in the parades?

Why do people participate?

What is the Samba? (Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Brazilian origin in 2/4 time danced under the Samba music. However, there are three steps to every bar, making the Samba feel like a 3/4 timed dance.) Show the video clip.

How do people prepare for Carnival?

Why did they move the parade to the Sambodromo?

Why do you think the Carnival is such a tourist attraction?

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Christ the Redeemer for kids – an amazing and quick guide to Christ the Redeemer

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Comparing the Growth of a Democratic Republic :Brazil and the United States

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Comparing the Growth of a Democratic Republic :Brazil and the United States

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about how natural resources affect the people of a region.

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about how natural resources affect the people of a region.

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We can...

Read More Valuable Than Gold with fluency and with understanding

identify the natural resources in Brazil

determine how natural resources impact the people living in Brazil

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In what ways is Brazil similar to and different from other world communities?

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about Brazil by studying different types of maps.

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about Brazil by studying different types of maps.

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We can...

identify the type of map we are studying

use the title of the map as a guide to learn about Brazil

list key details about the country based on the map we are observing

make connections from the map study to what we have learned or wondering about Brazil

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about the geography of Brazil.

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Learning Intention: Today we are learning about the geography of Brazil.

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We can...

create a KWL chart inside our social studies notebook

locate Brazil on a world map

list questions we want to know about Brazil's geography, resources, culture, traditions, and people

summarize facts that we have learned from resources

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How does geography and the availability of natural resources affect the people of a region?

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How does geography and the availability of natural resources affect the people of a region?

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There are a lot of...

There isn't much of...

In the North...

In the South...

Along the coast...

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Resource map- show where natural resources are grown or produced

Climate Map- what the weather is usually like in an area

Physical Map- shows landforms (mountains, rivers, lakes, coast, hills, ocean), different colors for the different landforms

Political Map- shows cities, location of towns, man made structures (roads), capital, and bordering countries

Population Density Map- how many people are located in a certain place

Topographic Map- shows how high or elevated land is

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Altitude means how high land is

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What do people do with this?

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Create this chart inside your Social Studies notebook.

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Create this chart inside your Social Studies notebook.

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OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic of Brazil

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Democratic federal republic

CAPITAL: Brasilia

POPULATION: 208,846,892

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Portuguese

MONEY: Real

AREA: 3,286,470 square miles (8,511,965 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Serra do Mar, Serra do Espinhaço

MAJOR RIVERS: Amazon, São Francisco, Paraná, Tocantins

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. It forms an enormous triangle on the eastern side of the continent with a 4,500-mile (7,400-kilometer) coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. It has borders with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.

The Brazilian landscape is very varied. It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world's largest jungle, in the north. But there are also dry grasslands (called pampas), rugged hills, pine forests, sprawling wetlands, immense plateaus, and a long coastal plain.

Northern Brazil is dominated by the Amazon River and the jungles that surround it. The Amazon is not one river but a network of many hundreds of waterways. Its total length stretches 4,250 miles (6,840 kilometers). Thousands of species live in the river, including the infamous piranha and the boto, or pink river dolphin.
Map created by National Geographic Maps

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Most Brazilians are descended from three ethnic groups: Amerindians, European settlers (mainly from Portugal), and Africans. Starting in the 19th century, waves of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan added to this mix. This diversity of cultures has created a rich religious, musical, and culinary culture.

Brazilians are soccer crazy, and their country has produced some of the best players. The most famous of all is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. Brazil has won the World Cup soccer finals five times, more than any other nation.

Brazil has the greatest variety of animals of any country in the world. It is home to 600 mammal species, 1,500 fish species, 1,600 bird species, and an amazing 100,000 different types of insects. Brazil's jungles are home to most of its animal life, but many unique species also live in the pampas and semidesert regions.

In the central-western part of Brazil sits a flat, swampy area called the Pantanal. This patchwork of flooded lagoons and small islands is the world's largest wetland. Here live giant anacondas, huge guinea pig relatives called capybaras, and fierce South American alligators called caimans.

For thousands of years, people have been exploiting the jungles of Brazil. But since Europeans arrived about five centuries ago, forest destruction has been rampant. Most of Brazil's Atlantic rain forest is now gone, and huge tracts of the Amazon are disappearing every year. The government has established many national parks and refuges, but they only cover about 7 percent of the country.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Brazil is a federal republic with a president, a National Congress, and a judiciary. From 1888 until recently, the country struggled with democracy. But in 1985, the military government was peacefully removed, and by 1995, Brazil's politics and economy had become fairly stable.

Brazil has many different soils and climates, so it can produce a great variety of crops. Its agricultural exports include sugarcane, latex, coffee, cocoa beans, cotton, soybeans, rice, and tropical fruits.

Brazil is also South America's most industrial nation, producing chemicals, steel, aircraft, and cars.

Until recently, scientists thought Brazil was first settled by Asians about 10,000 years ago. But new evidence shows there were people living there at least 32,000 years ago. Some experts think they may have arrived from islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Brazil was added to the map of the world during the great European explorations in the late 15th century led by Portugal and Spain. When Europeans first reached the coast of Brazil, the country was home to about 30 million indigenous people, or Amerindians. Today, only about 300,000 remain, living primarily in Brazil's remotest places.

Portugal established its first colony in Brazil in 1530. Colonists created sugarcane plantations along the coast and sent diamonds and gold back to Europe. Soon, people from West Africa were brought to Brazil to work as slaves. The discovery of large inland gold reserves brought thousands of people from the coasts and as far away as Europe to the interior of the country.

In 1789, Brazilians tried to kick out their Portuguese rulers. The rebellion was soon put down, but it started a movement toward independence. By 1822, Brazil was a sovereign nation. Kings of Portuguese blood ruled until 1888, when military leaders and landowners expelled the king, and Brazil became a federal republic.

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Brazil Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world.

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Learning Intention: Today we are determining the main idea of the paragraphs/chapters in the text, More Valuable Than Gold.

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Learning Intention: Today we are determining the main idea of the paragraphs/chapters in the text, More Valuable Than Gold.

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We can...

Read More Valuable Than Gold with fluency and with understanding

identify the natural resources in Brazil

determine the main idea of each paragraph in the text

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As you read the text, think about and answer the following questions inside your social studies notebook.

1. The Amazon Rainforest

How does the photograph help you understand more of the author’s perspective?

How does the author make you feel right now?

What is the main idea?

2. Threats to the Rainforest

What causes biodiversity to flourish in the Amazon?

What causes biodiversity to decline in the Amazon?

How do the photos on page 6 and 7 support the author’s claim/thesis?

What is the main idea on page 7?

3. Why Gold?

How is gold used in our society?

Look at the graph on page 9. What are you learning based on this graph?

4. Gold Mining in the Amazon

How does gold mining affect the people living in the Amazon?

Describe the process of mining gold.

5. Protecting the Rainforest

How is Brazil protecting the rainforest?

Read the last sentence on page 15. What do you think about this question?

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What sector of the Brazilian economy does this show?

What statistics does the video clip show us? Do they agree with our reading?

What is the videographer’s point of view about Brazil? What do you think his purpose was in making the video clip?

After having looked at the two different texts, what is your point of view about Brazil’s economy?

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Brazil. A country of great opportunities.