Now that we’ve successfully completed our first month of our year-long International Country Study theme, I’m thrilled to share with you our learning plan and resources for Morocco! Materials I’ve created are labeled with a “TK” (for The Kefar) and are available for free here. Everything else was found or purchased from somewhere online, and I’ve included all the links. If you have any questions, or if there’s something you remember from one of the YouTube videos or Weekly Wrap Ups that you think I’ve left out, please let me know in the comments below!
Be sure to also watch the related video which includes background information, visuals of some of the individual activities, scheduling, and overall planning tips.
Week 1: Introduction to Morocco
- Distributed passports with additional page and boarding passes
- Watched & discussed the Majestic Morocco video together
- Colored and filled in Morocco country cards, identifying the flag & capital city
- Assembled the northern portion of an Africa/Middle East puzzle & discussed geography (country location, border countries, etc.)
- Identified Morocco on several different maps, such as this one
- Watched & discussed a video on major Moroccan cities
- Completed map coloring worksheets identifying Morocco, its border countries, and major cities
Week 2: Moroccan Food & Language
- Completed a TK math worksheet involving Moroccan currency
- Watched this Couscous Friday video to learn about tagines
- Made tagines using a flowerpot, wooden knob, and clay
- Followed recipes to make Moroccan donuts (sfenj) and mint tea
- Took a language lesson with a Moroccan Arabic (Darija) teacher
Week 3: Morocco Climate & Animal Study
- Watched a these videos about barbary macaques
- Read this fact sheet and completed a TK animal profile worksheet on barbary macaques
- Learned to interpret a TK bar graph about average yearly temperatures in Rabat
- Watched and imitated a Moroccan dance on YouTube
Week 4: Moroccan Music & Art
- Learned to sing “A Ram Sam Sam” and “Happy Birthday” in Darija
- Watched this video to learn about Moroccan instruments
- Made a Moroccan stringed instrument called a gimbri (or sintir) using a shoe box, paper towel roll, and rubber bands
- Assembled & completed our lapbooks
We read/used the following books throughout our study:
- Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight & Mark Melnicove
- Calabash Cat and His Amazing Journey by James Rumford
- Countries of the World: Morocco by William Mark Habeeb
- My Father’s Shop by Satomi Ichikawa (this was their favorite!)
- National Geographic Kids Ultimate Globetrotting World Atlas by Sally Isaacs
- Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354 by James Rumford
I hope this list is helpful for you! If you have any resources you’ve used either for a study of Morocco or any other country, I’d love to hear about them. As always thank you for reading….until next time!
