EverestQuest-Social Studies Lesson Plan 3

Getting to Know Nepal

Learning Objective:
Use electronic resources to gather information about people, places and environments.

Teacher Directions:
One way of understanding a place that you don’t know very well is to compare it to someplace you know better. For example, you might better relate to the size of Nepal if you were told that it is about the same size as the state of Arkansas (which it is).

Let’s find out how some other things about Nepal compare to other places that you may or may not know better. Go on a scavenger hunt on the Internet to find places that relate. The following site should be helpful:
CIA Factbook

Nepal has both rugged, snow-capped mountains and tropical jungles. Find another country that boasts these two extremes.

Forests or woodlands cover about 40% of Nepal. Find another country or state with comparable percentages.

Nepal’s population is about 20 million. Find a state or country with a similar population.

Find another country that has a similar average life expectancy as Nepal — 58 years.

Find another country that has a similar percentage of people who are literate as Nepal — 28%.

Nepal became an independent country in 1768. Find two countries that became independent at about the same time.

42% of Nepal’s population, unfortunately, lives below the poverty line. Find another country with a similar percentage.

Nepal’s government is a parliamentary democracy. Can you find another country with a similar style of government?

17% of Nepal’s land is arable. Find a country with a similar percentage of land that can be used for growing crops.