El Salvador Booklet
Available in lined or blank versions this El Salvador booklet is a fun way to record your research for a Central American project. Folding instructions can be found here.
El Salvador
Come with us to El Salvador! We will learn a little about the country and its flag, and provide fun printable activities for the kids too.
Spectacular mountain scenery in El Salvador
A Little Geography
- The Republic of El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America.
- It is 1/6th the size of Nicaragua with a slightly larger population of 6.1 million.
- El Salvador borders Guatemala to the north west and Honduras to the east and north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
- El Salvador is the only Central American country with no Caribbean coastline.
- The capital city of San Salvador lies on the Pan American Highway. It was founded by the Spanish in 1545 but most of the earliest building were destroyed by earthquakes.
- Surfers from the capital and abroad flock to La Libertad beach to try the famous Punta Roca break waves.
- The San Salvador volcano is nearly 2000m high. It has a crater over 500m deep and 1.5km wide and last erupted 100 years ago.
El Boqueron volcano crater, high in the rain forest mist
A Little History
- In 1524 Pedro de Alvorado was sent by Cortes to conquer the area. He was a cruel conquistodor who attacked the Mexican Aztecs, and later Guatemala and Honduras.
- El Salvador invaded Honduras in 1969 in the 'Soccer War', which followed violent clashes during the qualification matches for the 1970 World Cup. Large numbers of Salvadoreans had moved to Honduras in search of farmland, causing resentment.
- El Salvador had a violent modern history with civil war between 1980 and 1992 resulting in many thousands of deaths.
- Now tourists are attracted by the friendly locals to see volcanoes, beaches, forests and Mayan ruins.
- Joya de Ceren, the only Unesco World Heritage Site, is a large Mayan settlement buried by ash from the Loma Caldera volcano eruption around 600 CE. It offers a snapshot of life from the pre-Spanish period and is referred to as the 'Pompey of El Salvador'.
Some Interesting Facts
- The yellow Flor de Izote is the national flower. It's stalk is made into textiles whilst the flower is made into alcohol and even cooked with scrambled eggs.
- The official currency from 1892 was the colon, named after Cristobel Colon, who is better known as Christopher Columbus. What a funny name for a currency! In 2001, the colon was replaced by the US dollar.
- Pupusa is a favourite food made with corn or rice flour tortillas stuffed with cheese, pork or beans.
- The Turqoise browed motmot, with its long blue tail, is the national bird of El Salvador and Nicaragua.
About the El Salvador Flag
The flag of El Salvador has three horizontal stripes. The top and bottom blue stripes represent the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that border Central America, while the white stripe in the middle represents peace. The El Salvador crest sits in the middle of the flag.
Our El Salvador Activities
El Salvador Bookmarks
Are you learning about Central America? These fun El Salvador bookmarks come in colour and black and white, with or without the country name. They make useful labels for the classroom too.
El Salvador Fact Worksheet
This fact worksheet requires a little more research on the country of El Salvador. Find out the answers and fill in the blanks.
El Salvador Flag Colouring Page
It will be easy to colour in the blue stripes on the El Salvador flag, but less easy to colour in the detailed coat of arms on the central white stripe!
El Salvador Flag Jigsaw
Our easy to make printable jigsaw provides a fun way to learn the flag of El Salvador.
El Salvador Flag Printable
If you need a flag from El Salvador for your projects, we have five different sizes you can print here! Just download the PDF below…
El Salvador Location Worksheet
This worksheet asks the children to find El Salvador on a map of North America. We have two versions, a guided version with other countries and cities labeled on the map, and a blank version for a more difficult challenge!
El Salvador Notebooking Page
These El Salvador notebooking pages are useful for project work. The pdf has two different pages for you to chose from.
El Salvador On Map Of North America
This helpful map shows where to find El Salvador on a map of North America. Print and use as part of topic work and displays.
El Salvador Worksheet
This worksheet prompts the kids to find out some key information about El Salvador, write a little about what they've learned and also has a small map where they can show its location.