Whether you’re looking for a country for Thinking Day or just interested in exploring other places, you need to be able to search for information on locations worldwide. Let’s explore some sites and ways you can start exploring the world from your own computer.
Steps
1. Choose a country.
Choose a country you’d like to learn more about. This will allow you to go through the following sites with a purpose.
2. Bookmarks and PDFs.
So you can find information again later, bookmark (favorite) your sites in your browser. For very important sites, you might choose to PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) file. Set up a special folder for bookmarks and / or PDFs so you don’t have to search for information later.
Search the Web
3. Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is a vast site with information on countries — from history to statistics. You can learn a lot about a country. This is a great place to start your search.
4. National Geographic.
National Geographic not only has information on countries, but animals, environment, travel and even a kid area to make understanding different cultures / areas easier. What can you find out about your country here?
5. CIA – The World Factbook.
www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/index.html
This site profiles countries and territories around the world. It gives you information on geography, people, communications, economy and more. This almanac-style presentation gives you a great overview of each country. In addition, you can find good representations of maps and flags.
6. Countries and Their Cultures.
This site gives you short articles on a variety of topics within a country. This site is easier to read than Wikipedia.
7. Fact Monster.
www.factmonster.com/countries.html
Fact Monster provides information on everything from geography to ethnicity to religion. It also has maps, flags and quizzes to share.
8. Smithsonian.
www.smithsonianeducation.org/mywonderfulworld
www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places
Both of these sites are great starting point to learn about the geography, cultures, stories and people of the world.
9. Patchwork Designs.
Patchwork Designs not only makes patches, they provide basic patch steps for free. While you can buy books from them to get more information on countries, the basic steps can give you a starting point for quick activities to learn about your country.
10. World Thinking Day.
The World Thinking Day site frequently features countries and the issues they are facing today. The theme changes each year so you can learn about different issues affecting the world.
11. YouTube.
YouTube offers videos on more subjects than you can imagine, including countries. Do a search for a specific country and see what you can find!
12. The Crafty Crow.
www.thecraftycrow.net/cultural
The Crafty Crow is a craft site to explore the world while creating art. This site links to a multitude of other sites to make it easier for you to find appropriate crafts.
13. Free Kids Crafts.
www.freekidscrafts.com/world_crafts-t116.html
This site not only has crafts but games you can make as well. They are broken up by the area to make finding a specific country / area easier.
14. Just the beginning.
There are so many sites available for you to search that they can’t all be listed. As you continue your journey on the Web, track the additional sites you find so you can visit them again.
Supplements
SUPP_World Searcher_2in_12up_larajla
- Avery 2” round label printable, 12 up
SUPP_World Searcher_Checklist_larajla
- Badge checklist
Sites to Explore
Links are provided in the steps above.
Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here > Full badge PDFs