Country Research Assignment

Research Project: Life in Other Lands Due: ______Points: 50

Let’s find out how other teens around the world live. Choose a country with which you are NOT familiar—you might not even know where it is!  Create an illustrated booklet that will help teach others about your country.  Use at least 3 resources: Internet databases, magazines, books, and /or encyclopedia (NOT Wikipedia)  Use note cards to organize your information. (See attached example.)  Include a cover page and a create a separate page for each of the categories listed below  Each page should include a paragraph of about 8-10 sentences and at least one picture, diagram, or chart  Pages should be typed in Verdana or another plain font. Pictures should be downloaded directly to the page, but may be neatly cut out and pasted.  Include an MLA format Works Cited page at the end. (See attached example). Use Purdue Owl for specific information on MLA format.

Cover—illustrated, with your name and name of country. Please staple pages together; do NOT place in a notebook.

Pages 1: 2 MAPS (no paragraphs needed)  A line map of the continent on which the country is located (Color in the country so we can find it easily.)  A larger scale map of the country alone, showing political divisions (states, provinces, etc.), major cities, and important geographical information (rivers, mountain ranges, etc.).

FAMILY LIFE  What does a typical home look like? What building materials are used?  What is an average family size? Is a two-parent family typical?  What is the average income for a family of 4? Who earns the money?  What type of work might support a family?  What might a typical breakfast or dinner consist of?

GOVERNMENT  What type of government does the country have? (democracy, kingdom, communist, socialist, etc.)  Have there been any recent changes in government (revolutions, wars, changes from democracy to dictator, or the reverse)  Who is the leader (president, prime minister, etc) of the country? Write a short description, including your opinion of him/her as a leader. Page 4: LANGUAGE  Find out what language(s) the people speak. Is there anything unique about it? (Clicking, for example? If it largely an English speaking country, find what is unique about their English.  Does it use an alphabet, or a different system? Describe it and/ or include an example.  Is more than one language commonly used in this country? Explain.  Do students regularly learn a second language?  If possible, use a translator program (Google?) to write the following sentence, or one of your own, in that country’s language: “I want to learn more about this country.” (If you choose to translate something else, please provide the English translation.)

EDUCATION  How many years do children typically go to school? Number of days per week?  Is education mandatory, or only for a specified group of people? Is it free or is there a cost?  If education is not the norm, what do children do?  Include a photograph of children in a typical school or other activity in that country.

California Connection  When did people from this country migrate to California?  What drove them/inspired them to come?  Where are their ethnic enclaves located, and what characterizes them?  How does this ethnic group contribute/or how have they contributed to California?

REQUIRED Page 7: Works Cited (see Purdue Owl examples)  MUST follow MLA format  Minimum 3 resources  While researching, use the library coupons to keep track of every source..

Note cards:  Keep track of research information on index cards. (See sample attached)  You should have a minimum of 3 note cards for each topic.

Country Choices: Do NOT choose a country you’ve researched in the past. Colombia Uganda Romania Iran Peru Poland China Pakistan Argentina Russia Japan Mongolia Brazil India Turkey Israel Honduras Hungary Afghanistan Chile Costa Rica Greece Thailand Haiti Cuba Algeria Indonesia Iceland Germany South Africa Ethiopia Sweden Egypt Ireland Australia Finland New Zealand Sudan Iraq Ethiopia Syria Nigeria Czechoslovakia Ukraine Lichtenstein Mozambique Monaco Lebanon My Topic: ______

Minimum of Three Source Coupons Due: Feb.21, 2014 (Alphabetize them and staple them together behind a sheet of notebook paper with your MLA Heading and the title “Source Coupons.”)

18+ Notecards Due (Min. 3 per topic) 24 Feb. 2014 (Put them in an envelope, grouped by topic.)

Typed MLA Works Cited Due: 25 Feb. 2014

Final Booklet Due: 4 March 2014.

3”X5” Note card: (Put YOUR NAME & period on the reverse of ALL cards!) Do not take notes until you have copied all bibliography information onto a source coupon. These coupons are available on the library web page and at the library itself. (Topic) (First word on matching resource card) School Collins

Make notes only about this topic and from this resource on this card.

If you copy a direct quote of any length, be sure to use quotation marks around it. [Sample Bibliography Page]

Works Cited

Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. New York: David McKay Co. Inc., 1962. Print.

Counts, Will. “Little Rock 1957: Pages from History.” Little Rock Newspapers, Inc. Web. 15 October

2010 .

Fitzgerald, Stephanie. The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration. New York: Compass

Point Books, August 31, 2006. Print.

Rains, Craig. The Little Rock Nine. 1997. Web. 15 October 2007.

Roberts, Sam. “1957 The Integration of Central High.” Up Front. 3 September 2007: 24-27. Print.