I. Cover A. Try something original B. Include the name of your country and your name. II. Title Page: Include name of country, your name, teacher's name, and date III. Table of Contents A. Write "Table of Contents" at top of the page. B. Capitalize each entry. List all sections, topics, and illustrations included in your report. Place page numbers in a straight column. C. If an entry is an illustration, picture, map, graph, etc. label it as such in parentheses after the entry. IV. Introduction A. Write "Introduction" at the top of the page. B. Explain what your report is about and why you selected that country. (If you are from your country, or have ancestors or relatives there, or have visited your country, you'll want to mention that here.) V. Body of Report A. Chapters (do at least eight of these) 1. Facts in Brief: These are the quick facts that people need to know about your country. They may be copied directly from an encyclopedia or other source. What is the capital? Official language? Official name? National bird? Population? Area? Etc. 2. Timeline: This is exactly what it sounds like. You are to research a timeline of your country s development. The dates should be left justified and bold. You can use bullets if you would like. Some countries have very long histories. I am only expecting fifteen or so dates. Choose events that are very important to the development of your country. 3. Geography, Climate, and Natural Resources: You will read about and study maps about the physical terrain of your country. What are the major landforms? (Lakes, rivers, mountains, coastline, etc.) What is the size of your country? What other countries border it? What is the climate of your country like? Is it the same across the whole country, or does it
differ from region to region? Are there any particular problems caused by the climate in your country? Are their any benefits? What are the highest and lowest temperatures? Are the physical aspects of your country used for anything? An example here is California would be the Lake Tahoe area the natural wonders of the lake and great skiing attract visitors and money. We also have excellent farmland in the Central Valley, which helps us be a major agricultural producer. Does your country rely on its access to the ocean to produce seafood? Is your country a supplier of gold, oil, or some other natural resource? 4. Economy: How do people in your country make a living? Is it from agriculture (crops and livestock); natural resources (such as oil); making things (manufacturing). Are high-tech industries a big part of your country s economy? What does your country trade with other countries? This section would also be a good place to talk about the currency (money) used in your country. What kind of currency does your country use? What is it called? What does it look like? How is it broken down? (We have 100 cents in a dollar.) How much is it worth compared to a US dollar? (That s called the exchange rate. ) Has the currency changed recently? Include pictures if possible. 5. Language: This will be a short paragraph about the major language in your country of study. Some countries have more than one language. Are there any native populations. Who speak languages other than the official one? (Such as the Native Americans in our country.) You must include a phrase, such as good morning or hello in the language of your country. 6. Food: What are the customary foods in your country? Many countries are adopting each others food habits. For example, we eat all types of food in the United States. However, each country has some dishes that are associated with its history and culture. Apple pie is considered very American, as are hamburgers and French fries. Research the eating habits in your country. What do they eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Do they eat the same thing all day long? Do they eat mostly vegetables or fish or meat? Are there any special treats associated with holidays? Are there regional differences in cuisines? In addition, you must include a recipe from your country for a traditional meal, beverage, or snack. 7. Traditional Dress: What is the traditional costume/outfit in your country? As with food, many people in the world are beginning to dress the same. Most countries have a traditional style of dress that they consider to be part of their heritage. Colonial outfits or things worn by people in wagon trains (coonskin caps or bonnets, for example) are some things we would associate with the United States. You could also choose a costume people associate with your country or that is used in a folkdance, like the Beefeaters of England or Flamenco dancers of Spain. Research an example of a traditional outfit and include both a written description and a picture. (May be student drawn or a copy.)
8. Historical Incident: You will research a historical incident from your country s past and give a summary of what happened and why it was important. You need to give appropriate background information and enough details so that it is interesting to the reader. Do not choose long conflicts such as World War II. You may pick a particular battle. Examples for the United States would be: the Boston Tea Party, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, etc. 9. Famous Person: You will research a famous person from your country. You will write a short biography about this person and why they represent your country. Try to include a picture if possible. (May be student drawn or copied) 10. Travel Itinerary: You will research and plan out a five day dream trip in your country. If you could visit any of the places you have learned about, which ones would they be? What are the major tourist attractions of your country? How would you travel from place to place? You will probably need to consult a travel guide (available at the public library) or you can look information up on the Internet. If possible, include pictures (perhaps from theinternet). 11. Culture and religion: What holidays are celebrated in your country? What religions are practiced by the people of your country? What are some special customs practiced in your country? 12. Government: I will present a lesson about different kinds of government. Following this, use the information you learned in class and your notes, you will research the form of government used in your country. Is it a democracy? A monarchy? A dictatorship? How are their leaders put into office? How long do they stay in office? Who can be a leader? Are there local governments as well? In the past, I have had more students try to copy this information directly from a source than on any other topic, since some aspects of government are difficult to understand. Please realize that I will be able to tell!!! If you need something explained to you, ask either your parents or me. We will help you put the information in your own words! 13. Education: What are the schools like in your country? Do all children go to school? What about colleges and universities? What percentage of the population in your country is literate? 14. Transportation: How do the people in your country get from one place to another? Are there many cars in your country? What about airports in your country? Are there ocean ports? What type of public transportation does your country have? Is there something special, such as the bullet trains in Germany and Japan? 15. Sports: What sports do the people in your country play the most? What sports do they like to watch? Are there winter sports in your country? (Some countries have lots of snow; some have none.) Are there any famous athletes from your country?
16. Any other topic you think might be of interest. How about the plants and animals of your country? Or the major cities of your country? You choose. B. Required illustrations are: 1. Flag: Reproduce your country s flag on an 8.5 x11 piece of paper. 2. World Map: Using the world map I give you, find where your country is and draw it in. Color it yellow. Label the seven continents and color them each a different color (not yellow). Label the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and color all water blue. 3. Political Map: Using the map I give you, label the capital city and other major cities in your country. If your country has states or provinces, draw them in and label them. If your country borders others, label where those countries are on the border. If your country is bordered by water, name the body of water. 4. Physical Map: Research your country s geography. Using the map I give you, draw in the major physical formations of your country, including mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and other important geographical items. 5. Product Map: Research your country s natural resources and products. Using the map I give you, label the areas of your country that produce items used in the country or sold as exports. You must create a key to tell your reader what products come from. An example would be a pick and a shovel to show mining or a fish a show a fishing industry. C. Graphs (All graphs are completed in class.) 1. Annual Precipitation (pictograph) 2. Average Temperature (multiple line graph) 3. Labor Force (circle graph) 4. Urban vs. Rural (circle graph) 5. Literacy Rate (bar graph) 6. Per Capita Income (bar graph) 7. Average Life Expectancy (double bar graph) D. Extra credit
1. Pictures from magazines; travel brochures; Internet; post cards: These can make a country report much more interesting, especially if they relate to one of the topics you are writing about. 2. The words to your country s national anthem (want to sing it for us in class?) 3. A Day in the Life of someone in your country: In class, we ll all write about this; some of you may want to include it in your report. You will be pretending you are living in your country and write about a day there. You might talk about the food you eat, or a special place you visit. It s a lot of fun. 4. A current events news report from your country. Look on the Internet, on TV, or in newspapers for news from your country, and make a current event report about this. You ll be surprised how often your country is in the news! VI. Bibliography (a separate guide sheet will be passed out) THINGS TO REMEMBER Use a variety of sources, such as books, encyclopedias, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, etc. There should be a lot of information about your country on the internet. Take notes as you read. DO NOT COPY WORD FOR WORD FROM A SOURCE; ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT SUBSTITUTE A COMPUTER PRINT-OUT OF WORDS, MAPS, OR FLAG FOR YOUR OWN WORK. Put the ideas you read about into your own words. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) to mark all pages. Write on only one side of paper for final draft. Proofread your final draft carefully. Enjoy this report! You are writing about a country you are interested in. See how much you can learn! PROJECT
Do one (or more!) of the following projects to share with the class:\ 1. Make a "Travel Poster." The poster should encourage people to visit your country. You'll want to illustrate this, and maybe add pictures from magazines or travel brochures. Catchy slogans are useful. 2. Make a relief map of your country. 3. Make a puzzle involving your country. 4. Design a game or short quiz about your country. 5. Make a scrapbook of all the materials that you have collected on your country. 6. Make a collage, mobile, or diorama about your country. 7. Make a PowerPoint presentation about your country. 8. Your own idea! (Please check with me first)