South Africa fact file
Research South Africa: where it is, what it is known for, three interesting facts, and a drawing.
Browse all fact file country
South Africa reading map
Read about South Africa through fiction, sports information, an opinion piece about historic communities, and functional safari instructions.
11 readings
South Africa reading map
Explore South Africa through a fictional Boulders Beach story, information about football legends, and an argument about historic sites. Compare the story’s imagined experience with informational details and identify the position and reasons in the opinion piece.
A New Friend at Boulders BeachLower Elementary · Short Story • FictionSouth Africa
How to Go on a SafariLower Elementary · How-To / Procedural • Functional TextsSouth Africa
The Upside-Down TreeLower Elementary · Reader's TheaterSouth Africa
South African Football LegendsUpper Elementary · InformationalSouth Africa
The Fire-Defying Wonders of Table MountainUpper Elementary · Explanatory Article • InformationalSouth Africa
The Painted Homes of the NdebeleUpper Elementary · InformationalSouth Africa
Ubuntu: The Power of 'I Am Because We Are'Upper Elementary · InformationalSouth Africa
Keep the Heart Beating: Why Historic Sites Must Remain Living CommunitiesMiddle School · Opinion Piece • Opinion / ArgumentativeSouth Africa
The Beacon of South Africa: The Resilience and Legacy of Nelson MandelaMiddle School · BiographySouth Africa
The Cradle of Humankind: Unlocking the Secrets of Human OriginsMiddle School · Report • InformationalSouth Africa
Voices of Resilience: The History of IsicathamiyaMiddle School · Interview / Q&A • InformationalSouth AfricaSouth Africa printables & worksheets
Compare the football informational text with the historic-sites argument, then sequence details from the safari instructions.
Build a South Africa workbook Pro
One PDF with the reading passages, puzzles and worksheets you pick — start from a grade level and adjust from there, with the answer keys at the back.
South Africa KWL chart
Write what you already know about South Africa, what you want to find out, and what you learned.
Browse all kwl chartSouth Africa story map
Plan a story set in South Africa: characters, setting, problem, what happens first, next, and last, and how it ends.
Browse all story mapSouth Africa word web
Put South Africa in the middle and collect words and ideas connected to it.
Browse all word webCompare two things from South Africa
Use a Venn diagram to compare two places, landmarks, animals, traditions, or other features from South Africa.
Browse all compare two things from south africaSouth Africa acrostic poem
Write an acrostic poem using the letters in the name South Africa.
Browse all acrostic poemSouth Africa word game worksheets
Printable word puzzles built from South Africa words — download as PDF, answer key included.
Easy word search
8×8 grid · 6 words across and down · answer key included
Medium word search
10×10 grid · 8 words with diagonals · answer key included
Tricky word search
12×12 grid · 10 words with backwards words · answer key included
No printer at hand? Play the South Africa word search right here on screen — free.
About South Africa
South Africa is unique for having three different capital cities: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial).
The country completely surrounds the independent landlocked kingdom of Lesotho.
South Africa contains some of the oldest fossil hominid sites in the world, often referred to as the Cradle of Humankind.
South Africa readings with different purposes
South Africa readings include fiction, informational writing, argument, and practical directions. Students can identify an imagined experience, gather information, and examine a position, then compare how each text handles its subject. Ask them to cite a detail from each text and explain how it supports their comparison.
Separate fiction and informational reading
A New Friend at Boulders Beach is a Lower Elementary fictional short story. Ask readers to identify its characters and setting, then describe how the story builds an imagined experience. South African Football Legends is an Upper Elementary informational text. Readers can gather details about its subject and cite where they found them. Compare those details with the characters and events in the fictional story.
Examine arguments and directions
The Middle School opinion piece Keep the Heart Beating: Why Historic Sites Must Remain Living Communities presents a position for readers to identify and support with reasons from the text. How to Go on a Safari is a Lower Elementary how-to or procedural functional text. Ask readers to identify the sequence of directions and compare their practical purpose with the opinion piece’s argument. A facts-and-opinions organizer can support argument analysis; a fact file can capture information. Explore Africa for more place-based readings. For broader geography topics, browse the geography reading collection.
South Africa reading map FAQ
Which example is fiction?
“A New Friend at Boulders Beach” is a fictional short story.
Which passage is informational?
“South African Football Legends” is informational.
What can readers examine in the historic-sites text?
It is an opinion piece, so readers can identify its position and reasons.
Which South Africa selection gives directions?
“How to Go on a Safari” is a how-to or procedural text. Readers can trace the directions and compare that organization with the informational football reading.