Geo-Globe

1. Students research the continent of their choice to learn about its land forms, resources, climate, industry, agriculture, history, and wildlife. Collect facts and pictures about life on the continent.
2. To create a globe, use a compass and Crayola® Colored Pencils to draw 12 circles with a diameter of approximately 5 1/2 inches (14 cm). Within each circle, draw a pentagon, with each line measuring about 3 inches (7.6 cm). Each point of the pentagon must touch the sides of the circle. Cut out the circles with Crayola Scissors.
3. Using colored pencils and/or Crayola Crayons, color the background of each pentagon in soft, light colors. Write important information about the continent on each of the 12 pentagons. Include illustrations of items such as maps, birds, insects, animals, housing, and crops.
4. To assemble the globe, fold all five lines on each of the 12 pentagons upward. Place one circle face down, resting on its edges. Attach one edge from each of five more circles to it with a Crayola Washable Glue Stick. Continue to join the edges until six circles are connected, forming one-half of a ball. Make another half-ball in the same way with the remaining six circles. Attach the edges of the top half to the lower part of the globe.

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

LA: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

SCI: Ask questions about the natural and human-built worlds.

SCI: Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

SS: Locate and distinguish among varying landforms and geographic features, such as mountains, plateaus, islands, and oceans.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Possible classroom resources include: The Seven Continents by Wil Mara; North America by Allan Fowler; South America by Allen Fowler; Antarctica by Allan Fowler; Asia by Allan Fowler; Africa by Allan Fowler; Europe by Sandra Newman; The Top and the Bottom of the World by Allan Fowler; Living in the Arctic by Allan Fowler; Antarctica and Oceania by Mel Friedman

Once globes are complete, students exchange globes and gather information on the new continent. Compare and contrast the information of the differing continents.

Students create a bulletin board size map of the world. Students add information about each of the continents on the map for all to share. If possible, students can add major landforms on each of the continents.

Students sculpt a 3-D model of the continents they researched using Crayola Model Magic. Included on these 3-D models are bodies of water, significant mountain ranges, and other landforms.