This school year for social studies, we have been traveling the world and learning about important people, places and landmarks. If you’re new here and want to see what we have been up to, check out our other Around the World Units:
ITALY, FRANCE, AUSTRALIA, INDIA, THAILAND, JAPAN, & CHINA
Continuing our exploration of Europe, our next stop was Spain! Like all the other countries, we began by finding it on the map and globe. We identified what continent it belonged to and which landmarks surrounded it. We love using our MAPS book for every new country we explore. I also really love my fabric map that I keep folded in a drawer. It’s so easy to pull out and lay on the floor. They don’t sell my exact one anymore, but this one is similar. They colored the country’s flag and map and added them to their social studies journals.
Next up, we learned about the Running of the Bulls Festival. I read the book Ferninand and the kids did a directed drawing of a bull.
The next day, we learned about the famous Picasso! They were so surprised to see his style of art change so much as he got older. Because bulls are such an iconic symbol of Spain, we decided to create our own bulls, Picasso style! I printed out some inspirational resources for the kids to look at when deciding what features their bulls would have. We used oil pastels to make these.
Don Quixote de La Mancha! We used acrylic for the background and sharpie to draw the figures.
Antoni Gaudi!
I learned about him and his architecture in my college Spanish classes, and I was so excited to show the kids his works of art. They are just amazing! Definitely on my bucket list of places to see one day. We just had to create our own mosaic masterpieces! I found the tiles at Hobby Lobby and they were very affordable. We used tacky glue to add them to thin canvases.
Flamenco!
After learning about the art of flamenco dancing, we watched a video on the history of flamenco and learned some basic steps. I don’t normally do crafts (where everyone’s looks the same), but this one was too cute to pass up. I found a free template online for the body and the girls colored coffee filters for their dresses.
And that’s a wrap on Spain! Next up, England
