Country Research Project Template with Guided Sections

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Fourteen guided writing sections lead students through researching and drafting a report on a country of their choice, prompting coverage of its location, geography, climate, environment, language and education, history, customs and religion, government, economy, current events, and a comparison to their home country, plus a flag-drawing page and a 'day in this country' reflection. Teacher notes at the front explain how to use the packet as a rough-draft template even when students will type a final version, and a 'Finding Your Information' page walks students through library, encyclopedia, magazine, and internet research with example fictional citation formats for each source type. Extra lined pages, an additional-information page, and blank bibliography pages let students expand any section, while an editing and revising checklist and a 100-point rubric covering content, writing mechanics, creativity, and neatness support the writing and grading process.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Students research and report factual information about a chosen country's geography, climate, history, government, economy, and culture.
Students locate information using library, encyclopedia, magazine, and internet sources and record proper citations for each.
Students compare and contrast the country studied with their home country.
Students revise their own writing using an editing and revising checklist before submitting a final report.

Teaching tips

Teach or review basic research skills before assigning the packet, using the included 'Finding Your Information' page as a starting point.
Let students choose their own note-taking method (note cards, folders of printouts, etc.) rather than requiring one format.
Use the packet as a rough-draft template if students will type their final report rather than write directly in the booklet.
Copy the included blank lined page whenever a student needs more room to complete a section.

Skills covered

Country research — students gather and organize factual information about a country's geography, climate, government, economy, and culture from multiple source types.
Source citation — students record book, encyclopedia, magazine, and internet sources using the example citation formats provided.
Compare-and-contrast writing — students describe similarities and differences between their studied country and their home country.
Self-editing — students apply a revising checklist covering audience, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation before finalizing their report.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

The citation examples in the 'Resources' section are labeled fictional — how are they meant to be used?

They are sample formats only (a made-up book, encyclopedia, magazine, and website citation) meant to show students what information to record for each source type, not sources to actually cite in their report.