Students investigate how Peru’s mountains, rivers, and coasts help people live, work, and travel through hands-on Peru Journey Stations, map and photo exploration, and simple model-making. They build understanding by sorting examples such as farming near rivers, fishing along the coast, and traveling on mountain paths, then use that learning to create small-group dioramas for the Peru Travel Fair. Along the way, they practice clear speaking, collaboration, reflection, and revision through a mid-project partner share and a teacher check-in with one specific improvement suggestion before they continue their models. The experience helps 1st graders connect geography to daily life and communicate their ideas to families and staff through an authentic showcase.

Students will identify Peru’s mountains, rivers, and coasts on maps, photos, and simple models and explain how each helps people live, work, and travel. They will sort examples of daily life in Peru, such as farming near rivers, fishing along the coast, and traveling through mountain paths, and use that understanding to build accurate small-group dioramas. Students will practice clear oral communication by describing their models to classmates, families, and staff during the Peru Travel Fair. They will also strengthen collaboration and self-direction by using partner feedback midway through the project and a teacher check-in after the Peru Journey Stations to revise one part of their mountain, river, or coast model.

Students will create small-group dioramas that show farming near rivers, fishing along the coast, and travel through mountain paths, using clay, paper, toy people, boats, and roads. Along the way, they will make simple map sketches, sort picture cards showing how land and water support daily life, and practice short oral explanations about how each place helps people live, work, and travel. After the Peru Journey Stations, each child will revise one part of the model using a teacher suggestion, and midway through the project partners will compare models and share one detail they improved. The final products are the completed dioramas and student presentations for the Peru Travel Fair, where families and staff can view, discuss, and celebrate their learning.

Set up Peru Journey Stations where students rotate through hands-on play with toy boats on blue water, small roads through clay mountains, farms beside rivers, and towns along the coast. At each station, students notice and talk about how people might live, work, or travel there, using maps, photos, and simple models of Peru. End with a class circle in which each child names one way a mountain, river, or coast helps people, and record their ideas on a chart to revisit during the project. This launch gives every student a shared experience they can build on as they create their group dioramas for the Peru Travel Fair.

Host a Peru Travel Fair where small groups display their dioramas and use toy people, boats, and roads to demonstrate farming near rivers, fishing along the coast, and travel through mountain paths. Invite families and school staff to rotate through the exhibits while students give short oral explanations answering how Peru’s mountains, rivers, and coasts help people live, work, and travel. Set up simple audience prompts such as “How does this place help people?” so every 1st grader can practice clear speaking and listening. End with a celebration circle where students reflect on one improvement they made after teacher feedback and one fact they want visitors to remember.