Nation study

Last week the children were assigned one of the nations of the world as part of a long term project for completion by the end of the term. This is a significant project, and will be assessed from many different angles. Since we have very little class time that we can allocate to library research, word processing and Society and Environment as a whole, the children will need your help to make the most out of this project. In particular -

• Taking your child to their local library to borrow some books on their nation would help enormously. Please work with them to filter out irrelevant and out of date information.


• If you have a computer at home, please help your child with typing and word processing difficulties. We really only have an hour a week where we are guaranteed computer use in school time, and only half the class can work on them at one time. Saved material should be compatible with Word or Publisher 2003 (no WordPro or WordStar please).


• If you are online, please let your child use the internet to source images and information. I am well aware how tempting it is for young ones to stray when using the internet, so supervision is the best medicine. While in general, I am not a huge fan of Wikipedia, for a study of nations I believe that it will (generally) provide an excellent starting point as long as you remember that anyone with internet access can edit Wikipedia. Children should look critically at any Wikipedia entries, and seek confirmation from other (more reputable) sites.

By the end of the term, your child's project should include;

• Vital statistics - The children will copy these from atlases within the class and transcribe to computer. They will need to check these figures to see if they are out of date.


• A flag of the nation - In class we will be dissecting the Australian flag, and examining why all the pieces are present. Your child's flag (most likely) will have a story behind it too. What do the colours / figures represent?


• Maps - Include a map of the nation, as well as a map of where your nation fits into a map of the world.


• History - Your child's nation will likely have undergone many significant changes over time. Some of these will be prompted by internal affairs, and some by external conflicts. Each child should be able to notate and summarise between 3 and 10 events (and I do not expect capable students to jump under the bar here!) from the past that have shaped their nation into what it is today. In this section they may need to include more maps, or other graphics which will aid their presentation.


• I will also be looking for evidence that your child has identified skills which have been learnt in other subject areas which will be useful to this project. Three things that immediately leap to mind are timelines, graphs and Publisher presentation skills.

This project will also form part of your child's Speaking and Listening assessment. Finished projects will need to be explained fully within a five minute oral presentation.