I love teaching a research project on a country. They are so much fun and students gain so much from studying them in your social studies curriculum. I have found that students find them fascinating and love learning interesting facts and recognising the similarities and differences between the country they are learning about and their own way of life.
What is a country research project?
In simple terms, as part of social studies, students create a report on a country by researching facts about it. Their country report could be a wide range of presentation mediums such as a written project, an oral presentation, a poster, worksheets, a performance or even a video, you can be as creative as you like! Student can use a range of methods to research their chosen country. This could be through books, the internet, interviews or from teaching presentations and information sheets.
Why are country research projects important?
It is so important that we teach students about different cultures to their own and to accept and respect differences, as well as to look for the similarities between us all. This is especially important in the interconnected world we live in today.
There are so many benefits to teaching a research project on a country. These include:
-Gaining knowledge about new places and different culture
-Sparking curiosity and a love of learning
-Understanding and accepting differences
-Recognising that even though cultures may have differences, we all share similarities
-Gaining a deeper understanding of their own culture as they learn about others
-Because they are so much fun!
How to do a country research project
A research project on a country may be part of your curriculum, or you may teach the project as part of a whole school cultural week. Alternatively you could set the project as homework for your class. It’s also a great idea to use the project to support learning across other subject areas. For example, students could use the knowledge they gain from their country study and use it in their writing, such as a story setting or an information text. Students could recreate art from the country or develop map skills.
What to include in a country research project
This is the fun part! You may wish your students to lead their own research and report on the areas that interested them, or you may wish to give some guidance. Some great ideas for your research project on a country could include:
Map work
Identify the particular country on a map of the word. Where is it located? What continent is the country in? What is the capital city? You could look for physical geographical features such as mountains and rivers. Does the country border any seas? What are the neighbouring countries?
Key Facts
Research the country’s flag. What does the flag tell us about the country? What is the population? What sort of climate does the country have? Students could use graphic organizers to help them record the information they find.
Food
Food is such a great way to learn about a country. It really tells us a lot about the sort of flora and fauna that can be found the country. It can also tell us a lot about the climate of the country. Is it common to preserve food in a particular way? For example through pickling or using spices? Why might this be?
Languages
This is such an important skill. As we become more globally connected, learning an additional language is such a valuable skill. You could start with some key phrases and greetings. Maybe choose certain activities where you could speak in language, such as greeting each other first thing in the morning, or asking. ‘How are you?’ after lunch.
Sight seeing
Learn about the iconic landmarks of the country. When, how and why where they built? What do they tell us about the country and the people who live there?
Art
Recreate art from the country. This could be a study of a particular artist or art movement. Students could recreate a particular painting. What does the painting capture? What can we learn from it? Or perhaps use a painting from the country as inspiration for students’ own work, this could even span different subjects. Create a bulletin board of the students’ own work!
Songs
Teach students songs from the country. This is also a great way to learn a language. Listening to and singing songs can really help students gain a valuable insight into the culture.
Sweden Country Study
If you’d like to get started with a country research project, check out my FREE Sweden country study when you subscribe to my email list. These are perfect for your Social Studies 2nd Grade curriculum.
Included is a PowerPoint presentation with 10 slides packed full of information to teach your students all about Sweden. Slides include a map of Sweden, the Swedish flag, basic Swedish phrases, Swedish foods, Swedish landmarks, the Northern Lights and Dala horses, a traditional Swedish craft. That’s right, I have done all the research for you, so it is NO-PREP and ready to go!
Teach the topics as part of your social studies weekly lesson. Alternatively, allow students to complete the project at their own pace or assign out as homework.
Along with PowerPoint slide is an associated social studies worksheet for 2nd Grade students to complete with the information they have learned from the slide show. So this means no trawling the internet finding a worksheet to match a PowerPoint and spending hours making your own. It is all done for you!
Not only that, the activities are differentiated on two levels to support a range of ability levels in your class.
Do you spend hours prepping work for early finishers? Well, I’ve got you covered with a wordsearch all about Sweden!
Also include are summary activities about the project. This includes a worksheet for students to record their favorite facts and a postcard template. Students imagine they have visited Sweden and write postcard home about their travels!
Finally it comes with a super cute cover sheet so your students can make their own booklet with the worksheets. Did I mention this is all FREE? Grab your FREE Sweden Country Study today!
If you’d like to check out my other country studies, I have a whole range of countries available:
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