HowToBuildYourOwnCountry_2029_teaching

LEARNING RESOURCE MATERIALHow to Build Your Own Country © 2009. Written by Valerie Wyatt and illustrated by Fred RixThis LRM is available as a free download from www.kidscanpress.com.

About How ttoo BBuuiilldd Turn Your ClassroomYourr OOwwnn CCoouunnttrryy into a MicronationHow to Build Your Own Country is based on a How to Build Your Own Country is a civics lessonsimple premise: given the choice, how would that is also a step-by-step guide for nationkids run their own country? This humorous building. It can be used as a manual to helpbook on civics breaks down the task into three children turn their classroom into a micronationsimple steps: staking out an identity, running — an imaginary country. The following activitiesthe country and meeting the neighbors. It are recommended for use in primary schoolcovers all the big questions, from choosing classrooms, grades 4–8. They can be used ona name to choosing representatives in a their own or they can be used together in ademocracy. Most importantly, How to Build cross-curricular micronation simulation.Your Own Country inspires youth to getpolitically engaged and encourages them to Note: In the following activities,“country” refersthink like global citizens. to the students’ real country — Canada, the U.S. and so on. “Micronation” refers to theirAbout the Author imaginary country.Valerie Wyatt is an award-winning editor andwriter. She is the author of thirteen nonfictionchildren’s books, including Who DiscoveredAmerica? and The Science Book for Girls. In2004, she received the Tom Fairley Award forEditorial Excellence. Valerie lives in Victoria,British Columbia, with her husband, Larry,and her dog, MacPherson.About the IllustratorFred Rix illustrates from her home inFredRixstan, where the only other citizens areher husband, two whippets and four parakeets.Fred Rix’s illustrations have appeared in theNew York Times, InformationWeek andScientific American.How to Build Your Own Country © 2009. Written by Valerie Wyatt and illustrated by Fred RixThis LRM is available as a free download from www.kidscanpress.com.

Choose a Name (pages 8–9) Write a National Anthem (page 14)Ask your class to research the origins ofother countries’ names. Have them explore Analyze the words of your country’s nationalthe origin of their own country’s name. Then anthem. What do they mean? Have a contest inask the students to brainstorm a name for which students complete the fill-in-the-blankstheir classroom micronation. Have students micronation anthem on page 14 of How tothink about what they want the name to say Build Your Own Country. Stage an Americanabout their micronation. Idol–style contest for the best rendition of the new anthem.Design an Emblem and Motto(pages 11 and 13) Design a Flag (page 12)Bathmatia’s emblem is a rubber duck and itsmotto is “Free and Glorious Lint.” Those both Give each student anmake sense for a country that’s the size of a 8 ½ x 11 sheet ofbathmat. Ask students to choose an emblem paper, and assign him orthat best represents their classroom micronation. her a country. Their job is to draw the flag ofMany countries have a motto that consists of that country and present it to the class,just three words. Have students come up with explaining the various elements in the flag.three words that sum up their hopes for their Hang the flags around the classroom. Then havemicronation. students work in groups to design a flag for their micronation. After they have presentedDesign a Passport (page 11) their work, ask the class to vote for the flag thatHave each student fold an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of they feel best represents their micronation.paper three times to get eight pages, thenstaple the spine and cut the folded edges into Choose a Form ofpages. On the front cover, have them draw their Government (pages 16–17)micronation’s emblem and write its name. Onthe first two pages, they should include some of How to Build Your Own Country outlines fivethe components of a real passport, main forms of government, includingsuch as name, sex, nationality, dictatorships. Ask your students how they willbirth date. They might choose one for their classroom micronation.draw a self-portrait in Discuss the options — does one person or alieu of attaching a small group get to decide on a form ofphotograph. Stamp government? Or does everyone have a say?the passports when Which seems fairest?students meet a goalyou have set. Discusswhy the citizens of somecountries must carry passports oridentity papers at all times. Discuss whypassports are sometimes stolen.Whatvalue do they have to thieves?How to Build Your Own Country © 2009. Written by Valerie Wyatt and illustrated by Fred RixThis LRM is available as a free download from www.kidscanpress.com.

How to Build Your Own Country is part of CitizenKid — a collection of books that inform childrenabout the world and inspire them to be better global citizens.Hold an Election (pages 18–19) Tax Time (pages 24–25)Have students vote for their micronation’s Your micronation wants to build fancy newPresident or Prime Minister. Ask volunteers to government buildings, but it needs money tocreate a platform, assemble a campaign team do so. The answer: tax citizens. But how? Haveand run for this office. Assemble an election students read about the forms of taxation onteam and a ballot-counting team. Ask the page 25. Discuss which method sounds fairest.election team to choose a day to hold theelection and prepare a voters’ list, ballot boxes Making Money (page 27)and ballots listing the names of the candidates.On election day, students will go to the polling Have students bring in currency from otherstation, present ID, have their names checked countries to show-and-tell. Ask students tooff the voters’ list and cast their votes. Then design a currency for their micronation.Whathave the ballot-counting team count the votes should this currency be called? What is one unitand announce the winner. worth in, say, American dollars? How many units would it take to buy a pair of sneakers? HaveWrite a Constitution (pages students set prices for several common items20–21) using their made-up currency.Have students read the opening parts of Take a Holiday (page 28)their country’s constitution, and brainstorm aconstitution for their micronation.What rights What state, province or country holidays do youdo they want citizens to have? (For example, celebrate? Ask students to come up with a holidaythey might have the rights to life, security, that combines the best parts of existing holidaysreligion, speech, freedom, association with (fireworks, a day off school, special foods), andothers, etc.) Discuss what their micronation name it as their new micronational holiday.would be like without, say, the right to freespeech or one of the other rights. Join the United Nations (page 33–35)Make the Laws Discuss why countries join the United(pages 22–23) Nations? What are the advantages? How does the United Nations help toA country is governed by resolve conflicts and wars? Haveits laws, but sometimes students prepare a scrapbook oflaws are broken. Ask newspaper and Internet clippingsstudents to decide how on one United Nations peacekeepingtheir new micronation effort currently underway.will handle law-breakers?How will it decide if a law Prepare a Fact File (page 38)has been broken? Whatwill it do with a law-breaker? Have students prepare a fact file for theirWhat happens in their real micronation and post it on the blackboard forcountry? all to see.How to Build Your Own Country © 2009. Written by Valerie Wyatt and illustrated by Fred RixThis LRM is available as a free download from www.kidscanpress.com.