Create Your Own Country!

In this course, students will work through creating a country. They will discuss and decide everything from the natural features of their island, to the language and history, to creating artwork, music, and a passport from their country. At the beginning of each class, I will introduce the topic for the first part of class. Students will then have about 20 minutes to work on the section. We will then switch to the next section, starting with a brief explanation and then more work time. Throughout work time, I will be prompting students to share ideas, giving hints and tips, etc. Student pages are labeled by days, and we will usually be covering 2 days in each class. Students can share their work both during class and at the end, as well as in the classroom. 

Lesson 1: Getting started--students will choose the name, size, landforms, and continent of their country. They will also do a map of their country (outline) to be used in future projects. (They will need 8 copies of this map--either photo copied or traced for lessons 4-6). 
Government: We will discuss the importance of leaders and rules in governments. We will talk about dictatorships, monarchies, and democracies, and students will choose the type of government their country has. They will also decide on some rules and what happens when someone breaks those rules. 
Lesson 2: Language--students will design a language for their country. They will name the language and create either a dictionary or a picture book in their language. 
Lesson 3: Art--Students have the choice to create either 2 famous art pieces from their country or write a drama depicting some of the history of their country. 
National Symbol--students will choose a symbol for their country and design a stamp depicting this symbol. 
Flag--Students will choose 2-3 colours to represent their country. We will discuss colour symbolism. They need to say why they chose these colours, then choose a symbol or design to put on their flag. They will finally draw a picture of their flag! 
Lesson 4: Natural Resources: Students will choose 8 natural resources--we will discuss renewable and non-renewable resources, and they will label each. They have to list why they chose each resource. Students will then take a copy of the map they created in lesson 1 and create a Natural Resource map. 
Lesson 5: Maps, part 1: Students will create a physical map with cities, water, landforms, etc. They will then create a second map listing all the roads. We will discuss that most roads will be near major cities--referencing their physical map. 
The third map we will create today is a Population density. We will discuss ways to show information on a map, such as symbols (like the physical and natural resource map) or colour scales (like what we will do on the population density.) Bigger cities will have higher populations. 
Lesson 6: Maps, part 2: Students will create a topographic map, labelling different land forms. We will then create a climate map of the average temperature of our country, using a scale. We will discuss how different landforms and biomes affect weather. 
Finally, students will create a map of their capital city, including places such as fire and police stations, schools, hospitals, neighbourhoods, and public transportation. 
Lesson 7: Holidays and Special Events: Students will create a holiday that is important in their country, and unique! 
Sport: Students will design a new national sport, list some rules, and create a uniform for this sport. 
Lesson 8: Food: Student will consider the natural resources in their country and decide on some popular foods and traditional meals. They will then design a restaurant and a menu featuring their national dishes. 
Clothing: Students will design the traditional clothing for men, women, and children in their country. 
Lesson 9: Housing and Transportation--students will, considering their different maps and city density, decide on types of housing and public transportation available.
Animals: Students will discover a previously unknown animal in their country, and describe it! 
Lesson 10: National Anthem: Students will write and produce a national anthem for their country, using Garage Band or another music producing software. 
Lesson 11: Passport and Stamps--students will design a passport--a cover and back cover and a page of "personal" information and a picture of themselves. They also need blank pages to collect stamps as they "travel". They will then create a stamp out of clay or other materials to stamp in other people's passports as they travel to their country. 
Currency: Students will create the money for their country (bills and coins). They will write the prices for 10 items in their currency. 
Lesson 12: School: Students will design a basic school structure for their country, including grades attended, pre-and post-school, subjects, after-school activities, etc. They will create a daily schedule for someone in their current grade. They will also come up with school rules and consequences. 
Skipping "Inventions" lesson--students are welcome to complete this independently. 
Lesson 13: History--students will list 6 major events in their country's history and create a simple timeline. 
Tourism: Students will decide how much of an impact tourism has on their country, and what people come for (considering natural resources, history, land type, etc.). They will then make a postcard inviting someone to visit their country! 
Lesson 14: Taxes and Public services--Students will need a calculator for this lesson. We will discuss taxes and what they pay for, as well as average salary, tax rates, etc. Students will then decide what categories their taxes go to and what percentage they use for their taxes. They will create a pie chart showing the allocation of tax dollars. 
Lesson 15: International Relations--Considering their own country's resources, students will choose 2 countries to develop trade relationships with. We will discuss reasons to develop relationships with other countries, such as trade, protection, etc. Students will list the country and the mutual benefits. 
Lesson 16: Compare/Contrast: Students will compare and contrast their country with their own home country. They will write an essay (structure will be provided). 
Skipping "Newspaper/Magazine" Lesson--students are welcome to complete this independently. 
After completing the project, students will be asked to do the "Reflection" lesson to me so I can take the feedback and improve this course. Thank you!