Poland

    Mrs. M., and fellow classmates the topic I have chosen is about Poland. Poland is the place where my parents were born and where we plan to spend our next summer holidays.

    Poland is located in central Europe. The country is pretty flat except in the south, where there are mountains. Poland has a population of 40,000 000 million, and is much smaller than Canada. The official language of Poland is polish. It is used by almost the entire nation. There are some dialects like: Polish  and German or Polish and Ukrainian. Polish also uses a latin alphabet. The national flag has two equal horizontal stripes, of white and red. The capitol and the largest city in Poland  is Warsaw. It is one of Europe's great historic sites.

    The name Poland comes from an ancient  Slavic tribe  known as Polanie, who settled there more than a thousand years ago. Poland's climate varies from the moderate to more severe. During the year, the warmest temperatures are above 40 C, and the lowest below 42 C. Forests  cover about 28 percent of Poland. The woodland is made up mostly of spruce and pine. Much of Poland's forest has been cut down to create farmland or has been damaged by pollution.

    Poland's animals are of limited variety. Poland also has species that are  extremely rare in Europe. Those animals include:  wildcat, elk, boar and bison. The inland lakes consist of fish populations. Poland has over 8000 lakes! The country has a variety of mineral resources like: hard coal, natural gas, sulfur, rock and salt. Education in Poland is free and mandatory between the ages of 7 and 14. In the early 1990's almost the entire population aged 15 or more was literate.

    Poland is best known for the famous composer Frederic  Chopin and for the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus who is known for his theory that the earth revolves around the sun. Poland is also famous for Karol Woityla who is our present Pope. In 1995 He offered Mass to almost 5 million people at Luneta Park, Manila,   Philippines. 

    Major attractions in Poland are: the beach resorts along the Baltic Sea, lakes to the  south, the Carpathian and Sudeten Mountains and many historic sites like: old castles, museums and beautiful churches. Poland also has a tradition of peasant music, dance and costumes.

    I have come to the end of my speech. I hope that after listening to my speech you will learn something  about this interesting country, because I've learned a lot.

Patrick L. - Grade 4