The Geography ABC’s series is a unique and fun way to supplement your world geography curriculum. This series offers thirty-two countries and two different lesson plans. Each country has the alphabet listed with a fact that pertains to just that country. For a complete list of countries and lesson plans, a link to the Geography ABC's Index is at the bottom of the article.
Costa Rica
Buenos Dias! Welcome!
A is for agriculture. Coffee and bananas are the top two crops.
B is for beaches. Costa Rica has some of the most picturesque beaches with both black and white sand.
C is for the capital city of San Jose.
D is for Diquis, a pre-Columbian civilization that little is known about.
E is for ear tree - Guanacaste the national tree named because of the compressed and curled seedpods look like ears.
F is for flags. Costa Rica has two different flags. One has the National Pavilion emblem on it and is only used for official acts. The second without an emblem is flown freely throughout the country.
G is for gallo pinto or ‘painted rooster’ the national dish of black beans, rice, onions and peppers.
H is for hero. Juan Santamaria bravely fought and saved the country.
I is for insects. Guanacast Park identified 1,800 different species of insects that are found no where but Costa Rica
J is for jade. Many of Costa Rica’s famous beautiful artifacts are made of jade.
K is for kiteboarding, a popular sport and past time.
L is for liana a long-stemmed, usually woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level. These are the vines Tarzan used to swing through the jungle.
M is for Mestizos, the people of Native American and Spanish decent.
N is for native Americans. Boruca, Bribi, and Cabecar are Costa Rica Native Americans. While Some live in the big cities, the Boruca remain isolated.
O is for Ocelot (also known as the Painted Leopard) looks like a domestic cat.
P is for poison arrow frogs, bright colorful frogs are found in Costa Rica’s rainforest.
Q is for Quetza, a rare colorful bird found in the jungles.
R is for rainy season. Costa Rica has only two seasons, the dry season from November to April and the rainy season.
S is for Sisal, a plant used to make rope and rugs.
T is for Tamanduas a tree living anteater.
U is for unique music, a blend of traditional folk music, contemporary rock and jazz
V is for volcanoes, 200 volcanic formations but only 5 are considered active.
W is for white river rafting.
X marks the spot
Y is for Yigüirro the national bird. If a farmer hears it singing while planting the crops flourish.
Z is for zoo. The zoos in Costa Rica are for animals that have been rescued from poachers, while animal reserves are for more like the zoos in the US
Article Index for Geography ABC’s: Argentina, *Australia, Brazil, *Canada, *China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, *France, *Germany, *Great Britain, *Greece,,*Greenland, India, *Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, *Mexico, Peru, *Russia, South Africa, Spain, *Sweden, Thailand, *The Congo, *Turkey*United States
Lesson Plan for 5th through 8th grade using the Geography ABC’s
* Denotes countries not yet posted in the series.