Country Project
Use these sites to help you find information on your country.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/
http://www.kidsgeo.com/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/
http://www.factmonster.com/countries.html
http://www.ourlittleearth.com
www.headlinespot.com/for/kids/
http://www.dogonews.com/
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/highlow.htm
http://www.worldflags101.com/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/
http://www.kidsgeo.com/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/
http://www.factmonster.com/countries.html
http://www.ourlittleearth.com
www.headlinespot.com/for/kids/
http://www.dogonews.com/
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/highlow.htm
http://www.worldflags101.com/
Checklist of Things to Research:
Information on the flag of your country
Description of the climate of your country
Describe the main industries of your country
Interesting facts about your country
Current event, news article about your country
Population
Square miles
Highest point of elevation
Lowest point of elevation
Most populous city
Major rivers, deserts, mountain ranges/mountains, lakes etc.
Look below for instructions and video for how to make a salt dough map.
The project document is also available to view below.
Information on the flag of your country
Description of the climate of your country
Describe the main industries of your country
Interesting facts about your country
Current event, news article about your country
Population
Square miles
Highest point of elevation
Lowest point of elevation
Most populous city
Major rivers, deserts, mountain ranges/mountains, lakes etc.
Look below for instructions and video for how to make a salt dough map.
The project document is also available to view below.
Salt Dough Maps
Below are instructions on how to make a salt dough map our your country
Step 1: Make the dough
Using their hands, have your kids mix together 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar.
Step 2: Print, cut out the outline, trace country
Look on-line for printable maps: Eduplace has it organized by state, country, or continent. If you want to be able to print larger maps, use YourChildLearns maps, where you can specify the map to fit on 1 page, 4 pages (2×2), 9 pages (3×3), up to 64 pages! That’s a big map… and a lot of dough! You don’t have to be extremely careful cutting out the intricate bays and jagged coastline. Just have the kids do their best and it will turn out fine. Once it is cut out, trace the outline onto your cardboard, and remove the paper map.
Step 3: Press the dough onto the map
Have your kids take balls of the dough and flatten them into the outline you have traced. Pull up pictures of “physical maps” on a computer or in a book of their country so they could see the landforms. First make the map flat, and slowly build up the elevation according to the maps you find on-line.
Step 4: Paint the dough according to the elevation
When the dough is dry it is time to paint. If you are making a physical map, as we did here, the different colors represent changes in elevation, and NOT vegetation. For example, green signifies lowlands, not tropical forests. Normally blue is water, green is the lowest land, yellow is climbing in elevation and brown is mountainous. The highest peaks of the mountains are sometimes red, purple, or white. Make sure to include important rivers and other bodies of water. Have your kids paint a “key” to tell the viewers what each color means for them.
There are different ways to finish the maps: some people like to place little pins in the dough before it has hardened to label landforms or major cities.
Step 1: Make the dough
Using their hands, have your kids mix together 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar.
Step 2: Print, cut out the outline, trace country
Look on-line for printable maps: Eduplace has it organized by state, country, or continent. If you want to be able to print larger maps, use YourChildLearns maps, where you can specify the map to fit on 1 page, 4 pages (2×2), 9 pages (3×3), up to 64 pages! That’s a big map… and a lot of dough! You don’t have to be extremely careful cutting out the intricate bays and jagged coastline. Just have the kids do their best and it will turn out fine. Once it is cut out, trace the outline onto your cardboard, and remove the paper map.
Step 3: Press the dough onto the map
Have your kids take balls of the dough and flatten them into the outline you have traced. Pull up pictures of “physical maps” on a computer or in a book of their country so they could see the landforms. First make the map flat, and slowly build up the elevation according to the maps you find on-line.
Step 4: Paint the dough according to the elevation
When the dough is dry it is time to paint. If you are making a physical map, as we did here, the different colors represent changes in elevation, and NOT vegetation. For example, green signifies lowlands, not tropical forests. Normally blue is water, green is the lowest land, yellow is climbing in elevation and brown is mountainous. The highest peaks of the mountains are sometimes red, purple, or white. Make sure to include important rivers and other bodies of water. Have your kids paint a “key” to tell the viewers what each color means for them.
There are different ways to finish the maps: some people like to place little pins in the dough before it has hardened to label landforms or major cities.