If I Lived . . .

One of the first grade social studies standards is to study family life around the world.  I thought a good way to do this would be to have the kids make a book about a country and then share this with their classmates.  I have sent a graphic organizer home with each student so they can do some research with their families.  Posted below you will find an example I did about Paraguay with some hints about where to find information.

This is the cover page (each child will get a generic copy of these pages).

In Paraguay they speak two languages: Spanish and Guarani.  I included in the book some phrases and words from each language.

I included a page where students can put what their name might be in the language of the country they are studying.  I didn't know what the Spanish version of Amy is so I used the Spanish version of Ellen, my middle name.

There is also a page about the weather in Paraguay.

Here are some of the animals that live in Paraguay.

Here are the clothes that are worn in Paraguay.  I have pictures of clothing from the different countries so don't worry too much about this part. :)

I wanted to show some the handicrafts that Paraguayans produce.

Here are some of the foods eaten in Paraguay.

I also thought it would be fun to see what family members' names would be in the language of the country.  In this picture you can see my family.  My brother's name is Wade and I couldn't find an equivalent in Spanish so I gave him a similar name, William (which is Guillermo in Spanish).  I couldn't find an equivalent for my sister, Ashley, so I used her middle name, Elizabeth (Isabel).  I found that the website babynames.com had a big selection from quite a few different cultures.

I also have a page for pastimes/hobbies that are popular in Paraguay.  Soccer is a big deal there so I put a soccer player.  I haven't had time yet, but I'm going to add dancing, listening to music, and playing outside.

There will also be a page to show the continent the country is in.

The last page shows some of the important holidays in Paraguay.

I hope this has answered any questions you have.  You'll notice that I used some pictures I found on the internet and I also drew some of the pictures.  If you want to help your child find pictures and print them out that would be great.  Don't worry too much about it, though.  They can draw pictures if we can't find them to print.  Thanks for your help.  I look forward to learning about some more countries!