D is for Dala Horse A Nordic Countries Alphabet
Author: Kathy-jo Wargin Illustrator: Renee Graef
Guide written by Jillian Hume
This guide may be reproduced for use with this express written consent of Sleeping Bear Press
Published by
Sleeping Bear Press 315 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48108 800-487-2323
www.sleepingbearpress.com
D is for Dala Horse
Get to Know Nordic Country
Below are pictures of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland, all of which belong to Nordic country. Fill in the blanks underneath each picture. The small square on each picture is where the capital is located. Use the map in the book D is for Dala Horse to help you.
1.Country: 3.Country:
2.Capital: 4.Capital:
5.Country: 7.Country:
6. Capital: 8.Capital:
9.Country: 11. Country:
10. Capital: 12. Capital:
13. What other Nordic country locations are not pictured above? _____________________________________________________________________________
D is for Dala Horse
Design a Dala
The Dala horse is a Swedish symbol of friendship. They are hand carved and hand painted. Use the space below to design your own Dala horse. When you are finished, write a short paragraph describing who you would give your Dala horse to, and why.
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D is for Dala Horse
Famous People
Match each famous person with what they are known for. When you have finished, complete the bottom section of the page by picking one of the following people you would like to meet.
_______ 1. Hans Christian Anderson a. Founder of Oslo, Norway
_______ 2. King Karl IX of Sweden b. Established Uppsala University
_______ 3. Kathy-jo Wargin c. Patron saint of light
_______ 4. King Harald III of Norway d. Illustrator of D is for Dala Horse
_______ 5. Saint Lucia e. Inventor of dynamite
_______ 6. Andres Celsius f. Author of fairytales
_______ 7. Archbishop Jakob Ulvsson g. Discovered the lymphatic system
_______ 8. Olof Rudbeck h. Author of D is for Dala Horse
_______ 9. Alfred Noble i. Founder of Jokkmook
_______ 10. Renee Graef j. Inventor of the Celsius scale
If you could meet one of the people listed above, who would you meet? ______________________________________________________________________________
Make a list of five questions that you would ask this person. Record your questions below.
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2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
D is for Dala Horse
Math Story Problems
Solve the story problems below. Use the empty space to show your work. Write your answer in a complete sentence.
1. James is hiking on the countryside in Finland. His total journey will be 20 miles. He plans on hiking 8 miles before setting up camp for the first night. How many miles will he have left to hike after the first day? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
2. Ashley was watching the puffins on the cliff. She counted 50 puffins total. Complete the fraction questions below:
a. If 1/10 of them flew away, how many would be left on the cliff? _____________ b. 25 of them flew away, what fraction are left? ____________________________ c. If 3/10 of them are still on the cliff, what fraction flew away? _______________ d. If 50/50 flew away, how many puffins are left on the cliff? _________________
3. Six Tomtens each had 10 pieces of food to feed animals. If twelve animals appeared in
the forest to eat, how many pieces of food would each animal get? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
4. At the Crayfish Party in Sweden, there were 28 people who each wanted a quarter pound of crayfish. How many pounds did they need total to feed all 28 people?
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D is for Dala Horse
Alphabetical Order
Put the following words from D is for Dala Horse in alphabetical order.
Denmark fjords Celtic Jokkmokk
krona monarchy lye Norway
dynamite Iceland runestones winter
smorgasbord Nordic troll Celsius
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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D is for Dala Horse
What’s in Your Suitcase?
Choose a Nordic country that you would like to travel to. Use both the book D is for Dala Horse and an almanac to research the weather and recreational activities. Then draw and label items that you would take on a vacation to that country.
Country: ________________________________________________
Time of Year: ____________________________________________
D is for Dala Horse
Comparing Countries
In the book D is for Dala Horse, there are many facts and information about the Nordic countries. Expand your knowledge about Nordic countries by finding other important facts about the country of your choice. Use an almanac to fill out the chart below comparing the United States to a Nordic country.
Nordic Country: ________________________
The United States
Population
Main Language
Main Religion
Life Expectancy
Climate
Terrain
Land Area
Currency
Government Type
Capital City
Draw the Flag
D is for Dala Horse
Multi-Genre Mini Country Report
Divide the class into five groups: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Each person in the group must complete the table below. Each person in the group is then responsible to create some sort of visual aid to present to the class. This can be in the form of a poem, painting, short story, brochure, travel poster, etc. The possibilities are endless. When finished, present the information you have found to the class.
Capital
Language
Total Area
Population
Currency
Political System
Religion
Flower
Animal
Tree
Food
Sports/Recreation
Family
Fashion
Flag Meaning
D is for Dala Horse
Letter Home
Choose a Nordic country that you would take a vacation to if you could. Write a letter home telling your friends and family all about it. Include details about the culture, weather, activities you’ve done, and things that you’ve seen. Don’t forget to include the date, a greeting, and a farewell.
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D is for Dala Horse
Comparing Animals
Use the Venn diagram below to compare two animals that you find in D is for Dala Horse. Include things such as their habitat, food, and animal type.
Both
D is for Dala Horse
Angles of a Triangle
Everywhere we look, there are triangles. In the book D is for Dala Horse, you will come across many triangles: the roofs of buildings, peaks of mountains, points of the crown, and the troll’s hat. Use what you have learned about triangles to fill in the missing angles in the triangles below.
D is for Dala Horse
Truth Be Told
Use the book D is for Dala Horse to complete the following tasks. If the statement is true, write “true” on the line. If it is not true, cross out the part that is false, and write the correct fact on the line
1. The arctic circle is located approximately 35 degrees north of the equator. _______________
2. The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen. ___________________________________________
3. A fjord is created when a volcano erupts. __________________________________________
4. Hans Christian Anderson was well known for exploring Greenland. _____________________
5. The Jokkmokk market is located in Sweden. _______________________________________
6. Norway, Denmark, and Finland are known as kingdoms. _____________________________
7. Midsummer is the celebration of the summer solstice. _______________________________
8. Alfred Nobel invented clocks. __________________________________________________
9. Oslo was referred to as the “city of friendship.” ____________________________________
10. Tomtens are known to be destructive on farms. ___________________________________
11. Today, Uppsala is a research university known throughout the world. __________________
12. Vasa is a Swedish food, often eaten for dessert. ____________________________________
13. Winters in Nordic country consist of short days and long nights. ______________________
14. The first flag of the Nordic countries to have the cross on the flag was Finland. ___________
15. The cross on the flags is said to represent Christianity. _______________________________
D is for Dala Horse
Newspaper Article
Choose a famous person, event, or place within the Nordic countries and write a fiction newspaper article about it. Be as creative as your mind lets you, but remember to base it on something from D is for Dala Horse.
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D is for Dala Horse
Pebber Nodder
(Danish Christmas Cookies)
As told in D is for Dala Horse, there are many countries that make up Nordic country. Each country is known for many tasty foods. With adult supervision make these Danish Christmas cookies anytime of year!
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar - 1 cup butter - 2 eggs - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon ground cardamom - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a
time, stirring until light and fluffy. In another bowl, combine flour, cardamom, and cinnamon; stir into the sugar mixture just until blended.
3. Separate the dough into 6 balls, and roll each ball into a rope on a lightly floured surface, about as big around as your finger. Cut into ½-inch pieces and place them on an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they look lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Enjoy!
D is for Dala Horse
Nordic Sort
Use the book D is for Dala Horse to sort facts that you read according to the country or territory that they belong to. Include things such as food, culture, recreation, location, etc.
Sweden Norway
Denmark Finland
Iceland Greenland
Faroe Islands Svalbard
Aland
D is for Dala Horse
Make Nordic Snow
There are many places around the world that never get snow. Some people have only seen snow in pictures or on television. The book D is for Dala Horse highlights many activities and sports that people participate in and around the snow. Try the experiment below to create your own fake snow! It has the look and feel of real snow. It is nontoxic, and safe to throw away when you’ve finished.
Ingredients needed: Water, large bucket, snow powder or polymer Optional: plastic kids pool
1. Fill a bucket with water at room temperature. Follow the directions provided to decide the amount of water to add to the powder.
2. Stir the mixture with your hands for about 5 minutes or until it becomes firm. 3. Take the snow out of the container and use your hands to fluff it up. 4. Spread the mixture around using a rake rather than a broom or brush. This will help to
keep the snow from getting compressed or dirty. 5. Keep the snow confined to a small area of the lawn for easier cleaning and pickup. If you
have a large plastic pool, for example, you could place the snow inside and enjoy it there.
If you could play in the snow in Nordic country, what would you do? ______________________________________________________________________________
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D is for Dala Horse
ANSWER KEY
Get to Know Nordic Country 1. Greenland 2. Nuuk 3. Iceland 4. Reykjavik 5. Norway 6. Oslo 7. Sweden 8. Stockholm 9. Finland 10. Helsinki 11. Denmark 12. Copenhagen 13. Faroe Islands, Svalbard, Aland
Famous People: 1.F 2. I 3. H 4. A 5.C 6. J 7.B 8. G 9.E 10.D Math Story Problems: 1. 12 miles 2a. 45 2b. ½ 2c. 7/10s 2d. 0 3. 5 pieces of food 4. 7 pounds Alphabetical Order: Celsius, Celtic, Denmark, dynamite, fjords, Iceland, Jokkmokk, Krona, lye, monarchy, Nordic, Norway, Runestones, Smorgasbord, troll, winter
Angles of a Triangle:
Truth Be Told: 1. 35: 66.5 degrees 2. True 3. created when a volcano erupts: formed by glaciers 4. Exploring Greenland: writing fairy tales 5. True 6. Finland: Sweden 7. True 8. Clocks: dynamite 9. Friendship: tigers 10. be destructive on farms: help farmers with their chores 11. True 12. is a Swedish food, often eaten for desert: was a Swedish warship 13. True 14. Finland: Denmark 15. True
