I did this for every single country I taught, and that is a lot of Country Boards considering I taught world culture classes to children for over 8 years!
With the changing of a country, came the changing of a Country Board.
My students loved Country Boards! They looked forward to them at the start of each session and referred to them frequently throughout the course of our classes.
The answer is clear. I think it’s high time you give a Country Board a try, don’t you?
When you are finished reading this post, be sure to download our FREE Ireland Country Board printable. I have created all of the board titles and images for you so all you have to do is print, cut and paste! For detailed directions, however, please see below.
We especially recommend this Ireland Board as a wonderful precursor to St. Patrick’s Day.
HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY BOARD
Green foam board
Copy paper
Scissors
Adhesive (glue stick, tape or glue gun)
Decorative paper or accouterments (optional)
COUNTRY TITLE
Your board needs a country title. To do this, type the name of the country in a very large font that will roughly span the length of the top of your board.
COUNTRY FACT TITLES
Decide from the list below (or your own list) which country facts you want to include on your board. Type up these titles in a font size that fits your board.
PHOTOS
The next step is to find photos online that you can use to go with each country fact. As you find each photo, copy/paste them into your document to go above each country fact.
Tip: Test your font and photo size to make sure all of your country facts will fit on your board! I do this by formatting one photo and title and then printing it to double-check its size.
Our FREE Ireland Country Board printable is a good example of what size your photos should be in order to fit on the board.
Below is a list of country facts I have always referred to when making my Country Board. Depending on the country, I will pick and choose which facts I want to include on my board. This is always a tough decision for me because I want to include them all!
Country Map
Continent
Capital
Population
Flag
Language
Currency
Current leader
National Symbols (national food, national animal, etc.)
National holidays
Famous landmarks
Inventions
Religion(s)
Modes of Transportation
Coat of Arms
Distance from your country
HOW TO DISPLAY YOUR COUNTRY BOARD
AT HOME
Here are a few great reasons to make a Country Board for your home:
-It is a great precursor to an upcoming world holiday and will add more depth and meaning to your celebrations (we recommend our FREE Ireland Country Board printable as a precursor to St. Patrick’s Day!)
-It will enhance your child’s studies of a particular country at school with the research necessary to put the board together.
-It will provide your family with information about a country you plan to travel to so that when you land in-country, your family feels a sense of familiarity, not overwhelm. I recently created a Sri Lanka Board for our family!
IN YOUR CLASSROOM
As we mentioned above, a Country Board is a much more visually appealing way than printed worksheets for children to grasp and retain basic facts about a country.
Having a Country Board in your classroom will generate excitement and discussion. It will be a great reference point for everything related to your curriculum.
Every ounce of effort it takes to make a Country Board for your classroom is so very worth it for your students.
IN YOUR HOMESCHOOL
Making a Country Board is a great small-group project for any homeschool group. Not to mention, each fact on the board could present a new avenue for exploration and further learning.
In homeschooling, the sky’s the limit, so use your Country Board as a solid foundation from which to soar.
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