Learning About Venezuela ~ Lesson Plans and Links

Venezuela is the northernmost country of South America and a little larger than the state of Texas and Oklahoma put together. It is home to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world. Venezuela is also the wealthiest nation in Latin America because of the petroleum/oil reserves that are found in the country {second in size to those in the Persian Gulf area}.

There are several different areas in Venezuela: beautiful beaches, the Andes mountains, plains {llanos}, rainforests, and the highlands {tepui}. We talked a little bit about everything this week: Columbus, the first explorer to visit Venezuela in 1498; the religion and languages of the country; Angel Falls; and Simon Bolivar, the man that led the revolt that ended the Spanish rule of Venezuela.

You can view the other countries that we’ve studied from South America on my South America geography page.

Week 1 Layout

Monday

• Review our South America song from Geography Songs {see words below}
• Use atlas and globe to locate the country of Venezuela; read in the atlas about Venezuela
• Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Venezuela.

  South America

Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru and Chile and Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay, Brazil and Guyana

and Suriname ~

These are the countries of South America.

The French have French Guiana.

The British have the Falkland Islands.

Brazil is the biggest country and

Chile is the longest.

Tuesday

• Learn {and review} some terms: mountains, beaches, plains, rainforest, tabletop plateaus
• Independent reading from bookshelf
• Filled out the map of Venezuela notebooking page

   Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Talked about languages and religions of Venezuela
• Independent reading 

Thursday

• Filled out our Country Fact Sheet notebooking page
• Learned about Simon Bolivar {can use the Famous Person Notebooking Sheet}
• Watched a short video about Simon Bolivar

Week 2 Layout

Monday

• Review geography song
• Vocabulary words: colony, revolt, tepui, mestizo
• Watched culture and agriculture of Venezeula video
• Learned about the flag of Venezuela

 

Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Tuesday

• Learned about Jimmy Angel and Angel Falls
• Watched this video of Angel Falls and also this one {amazing}
• Read together one of books from bookshelf

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Story from Around the World in 80 Tales ~ The Rainbow Snake
• Learned about the capybara ~ the largest rodent {ewww}
• Independent reading from bookshelf
• Sorted our Country Flag Cards to see if we could remember which ones were from South America

Thursday

• Summarized one of our reading books and copy summary/dication
• Cooking ~ Platanos Fritos
• Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Books & Resources

 

Resources and Websites

• Kids Konnect ~ Venezuela page
• How Stuff Works ~ culture and agriculture of Venezeula
• How Stuff Words ~ Caracas and Simon Bolivar video
• Kids Kulture ~ Venezeula page
• Biography of Simon Bolivar
• Jimmy Angel website

Perusing Peru ~ Lesson Plans and Links for Learning about Peru

I know…it’s a bad title. But can you blame me? :)

One of the last countries that we learned about in South America was Peru. Peru is the third largest country in South America and nearly half of the country is covered by the Amazon jungle. There are many plants and animals found in Peru that are not found anywhere else on earth. The Andes mountains also run through the country of Peru.

You can view the other countries that we’ve studied from South America on my South America geography page.

Week 1 Layout

Monday

• Review our South America song from Geography Songs {see words below}
• Use atlas and globe to locate the country of Peru; read in the atlas about Peru
• Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Peru.

  South America

Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru and Chile and Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay, Brazil and Guyana

and Suriname ~

These are the countries of South America.

The French have French Guiana.

The British have the Falkland Islands.

Brazil is the biggest country and

Chile is the longest.

Tuesday

• Review geography song
• Learn {and review} some terms: mountains, mountain pass, lake, desert, rain forest, jungle
• Independent reading from bookshelf
• Filled out the map of Peru notebooking page

  Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Listened to the national anthem of Peru
• Visited the National Geographic for Kids Peru page
• Independent reading 

Thursday

• Children Just Like Me book ~ no children from Peru so we talked about the Americas pages 8-9
• Watched a video about Lima, Peru
• Reading together Missionary Stories with the Millers: Jack McGuckin

Week 2 Layout

Monday

• Review geography song
• Took a sightseeing tour through Peru
• Put together our South America GeoPuzzle
• Independent reading from bookshelf
• Learned about the flag of Peru

Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Tuesday

• Learned about the history of Peru
• Tried {and listened to} some of the native lingo of Peru
• Watched Peru ~ Land of the Incas
• Read together one of books from bookshelf

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Story from Around the World in 80 Tales ~ Wish Upon a Star
• Took the Peru Challenge Quiz
• Independent reading from bookshelf

Thursday

• Summarized one of our reading books and copy summary/dication
• Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Books & Resources

 

Resources and Websites

• National Geographic Kids ~ Peru guide
• Time for Kids ~ Peru
• Travel for Kids ~ book links and ideas for kids
• YouTube video ~ about Lima, Peru
• Peruvian national anthem
• Native lingo of Peru ~ sound clips to listen to some phrases
• Peru ~ Land of the Incas: You Tube video {short commercial at start}
• Travel information guide on Peru {from tourism company}

Learning About Chile ~ Lesson Plans and Links

While Brazil is the largest country in South America, Chile is the longest. Off the southern coast there are thousands of small islands. We had fun learning that the seasons in Chile are reversed from those in the Northern Hemisphere {summer is December to March and winter is June to August}, comparing the Chilean flag to one of the US state flags {Texas} and figuring out which came first.

We talked a little about the Inca’s and Chile’s independence from Spain, about the five regions of Chile, and also about earthquakes and plates. We also used the time to talk a bit about Darwin and the theory of evolution {his visit to Chile after an earthquake} ~ maybe not typical geography studies, but it fit in when we were studying. You can view the other countries that we’ve studied from South America on my geography page.

Week 1 Layout

Monday

• Review song about South America from Geography Songs {see words below}
• Use atlas and globe to locate Chile; read in the atlas about Chile
• Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Chile.

      South America

Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru and Chile and Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay, Brazil and Guyana

and Suriname ~

These are the countries of South America.

The French have French Guiana.

The British have the Falkland Islands.

Brazil is the biggest country and

Chile is the longest.

Tuesday

• Learn {and review} some terms: inlets, fjords, desert, strait, island, continental plate
• Read together book on Chile  
• Learned about the flag of Chile and completed our notebooking sheet

   

  Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

• Reviewed geography song
• Facts about Chile from National Geographic for Kids 
• Story from Around the World in 80 Tales
• Listened to the national anthem of Chile

Thursday

• Reviewed geography song
• Spent time ‘sightseeing’ on the Time for Kids ~ Chile page. 
• Read together book on Chile

Week 2 Layout

Monday

• Quick review about what we covered last week.
• Visited the National Geographic Kids site to learn more about Chile
• Independent reading from shelf
• Filled out the map of Chile using our notebooking page.

    Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Tuesday

• Independent reading from shelf
• Worked on our Latin America GeoPuzzle
• Made rainsticks
• Played Hit the Penny ~ a Chilean game

Wednesday

• Reviewed geography song
• Watched the video about Chile from National Geographic Kids
• Learned about llamas from Enchanted Learning ~ Learning about Llamas

Thursday

• Talked about Darwin's visit to Chile after an earthquake and our view on the theory of evolution and belief in Creationism. Focus on the Family has a guide for the Truth Chronicles that gives some discussion questions.
• Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Resources and Websites

• Time for Kids ~ Chile
• National Geographic Kids ~ Chile
• Making Rainsticks ~ fun and easy craft!
• Hit the Penny ~ a Chilean game
• Enchanted Learning ~ Learning about Llamas

Brazil and Rain Forests ~ Lesson Plans & Links

The first week in our study of Brazil we focused more on the country itself and during our second week we learned more about rainforests. Brazil is the largest country in South America ~ almost half of the land in the continent is within the border of Brazil {pretty amazing, when you think about it!}.

The Amazon river also flows through the country of Brazil, making it a great opportunity to read the book Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne with all of the kids and use the Rain Forests companion guide in our study. You can view the other countries that we’ve studied from South America on my geography page.

Week 1 Layout

Monday

• Review song about South America from Geography Songs {see words below}
• Use atlas and globe to locate Brazil; read in the atlas about Brazil
• Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Brazil.

      South America

Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru and Chile and Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay, Brazil and Guyana

and Suriname ~

These are the countries of South America.

The French have French Guiana.

The British have the Falkland Islands.

Brazil is the biggest country and

Chile is the longest.

Tuesday

• Review geography song
• Learn {and review} some terms: rain forest, river, jungle, pampas, grasslands, wetlands, plateaus, and plains 
• Reading together book on Brazil {Amazon River} ~ Afternoon on the Amazon 
• Filled out the map of Brazil using our notebooking page. We also shaded in the rainforest area.

 Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Read more of Afternoon on the Amazon 
• Story from Around the World in 80 Tales
• Learned about the flag of Brazil and completed our notebooking sheet

 

Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Thursday

• Review geography song
• Spent time on the National Geographic Kids ~ Brazil page. Watched the video together and read through the facts and information on their site.
• Children Just Like Me book and notebooking page
• Reading together book on Brazil ~ Afternoon on the Amazon 

Week 2 Layout

from McKenna’s rainforest diorama

Monday

• Quick review about what we covered last week.
• Read chapters 1-2 from Rain Forests {companion to Afternoon on the Amazon}
• Completed the Layers of the Rainforest and Where in the World are Rainforests? minit book from The Great Kapok Tree lapbook
• Independent reading from shelf

Tuesday

• Read chapters 3-4 from Rain Forests
• Completed rainforest mammals, amphibians and birds minit books from The Great Kapok Tree lapbook
• Independent reading from shelf

Wednesday

• Read chapters 5-6 from Rain Forests
• McKenna put together a diorama of a rainforest. We had some 3 dimensional rainforests animals and she wanted to make one to go along with what we were learning. It wasn’t super-detailed, but she did {most of it} on her own. I printed off a scene from the rainforest and she used the picture to line the box and then added some branches and vines along with the animals to decorate it.

  

Thursday

• Review geography song
• Read chapter 7 from Rain Forests
• Put our lapbook pieces on a cardstock sheet to add to our binder.
• Summarized one of our reading books and copied summary
• Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Books We Used

Resources and Websites

• Time for Kids ~ Brazil
• National Geographic Kids ~ Brazil
• Homeschool Share ~ Lapbook for Brazil
• Homeschool Share ~ The Great Kapok Tree lapbook
• Enchanted Learning ~ Label the Tropical Rainforest
• Easy Fun School ~ loads of links for Brazil. I haven’t checked them all out, but there are bound to be a few that will be helpful!

Learning About Argentina ~ Lesson Plans & Links

We’ve officially ‘landed’ in South America and our travels are starting in Argentina! Here are a few fun facts about Argentina before sharing about our time in Argentina.

Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world {and the second largest in South America ~ behind Brazil}. It is roughly the size of the U.S. east of the Mississippi River, about 1/3 the size of the United States. The border between Argentina and Chile is well-defined since the Andes Mountains provide a natural border {over 3,000 miles long!}.

The climate has extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to arid/sub-Antarctic in the far south. You can sit on warm beaches…or watch ice break off glaciers, depending on where you are visiting in the country.

You can view the other countries that we’ve studied in South America on my South America geography page.

Here’s a peek at our ‘travels’:

Week 1 Layout

Monday

• Introduce new song about Argentina from Geography Songs {see words below}
• Use atlas and globe to locate Argentina; read in the atlas about Argentina
• Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Argentina

South America

Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru and Chile and Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay, Brazil and Guyana

and Suriname ~

These are the countries of South America.

The French have French Guiana.

The British have the Falkland Islands.

Brazil is the biggest country and

Chile is the longest.

 

Tuesday

• Review geography song
• Learn {and review} some terms: plains, pampas, mountains
• Independent reading from bookshelf
• Filled out the map of Argentina using our notebooking page

 Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Watched a LOT of video clips from World Zone Live {there are some great clips here}
• Independent reading 

Thursday

• Review geography song
• Children Just Like Me book {Carlitos, p.12-13} and notebooking page
• Talked about the variety of geography features in Argentina ~ from beaches to the areas close to the South Pole; mountains to plains
• Read book together on Argentina {from our bookshelf}

Week 2 Layout

Monday

• Review geography song
• Put together our Latin America GeoPuzzle
• Learned about the flag of Argentina

Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Tuesday

• Review geography song
• Watched a video with the national anthem
• Talked about some of the animals in Argentina ~ there is a huge variety of them! The mountains are home to llamas and condors, the southern part of Argentina has cougars and pudu {the world’s smallest deer}, the coast of Patagonia has elephant seals, sea lions, and penguins. The waters off the coast have dolphins, whales and orcas.
• Read together one of books from bookshelf

Wednesday

• Review geography song
• Story from Around the World in 80 Tales ~ The Man in the Moon
• Drew a picture of a toucan {Draw Write Now Book 7, page 22}. You can also draw one using this tutorial at Chunky Monkey ~ how to draw a toucan.

Thursday

• Review geography song
• Summarized one of our reading books and copy summary/dication
• Bought Dulce de Leche…because mommy was too lazy to make it. :)
• Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Books We Used

Resources and Websites

• National Geographic ~ kid’s guide to Argentina 
• A to Z Kids Stuff ~ Argentina information page and facts
• World Zone Live ~ some GREAT video clips on Argentina
• Kids Can Travel ~ fun stuff for kids to do in Argentina
• CIA World Factbook ~ Argentina page
• US Embassy page for Argentina
• Travel for Kids ~ links and things to do in Argentina
• Tierra del Fuego ~ official site {English version}
• Argentina Tourist Attractions {Part 1 ~ You Tube video; pictures to music}
• Flora and Fauna of Argentina
• All Recipes ~ Recipes for dishes from Argentina