Name:____________________________________________Date:____________________Block:______

African Countries South of the Sahara

We will be using the next few classes to complete a mini-research project about countries in Africa south of the Sahara. You will be assigned an African country to learn more about. Our goals are to: research information about the geographic characteristics, economic systems, historical events and leaders, forms of government, and cultures of an African country. practice good research skills. use what you have learned to create a final product that can be displayed for the class.

Your project will revolve around 6 main topics: Basic Facts: Include the name of your country, its capital, population, GDP Per Capita, literacy rate, and life expectancy. Geographic characteristics: What are the physical features of this place? What is the climate like? What is there? Economic systems: How does this country make money? What kind of GDP does this country have and do you think they have a good standard of living? Are there problems with this countrys economy? Historical events and leaders: What recent events (in the last 30 years) have shaped this country? Are there any particularly important people that have helped to shape the country? Forms of government: Based on your Forms of Government notes, what kind of government does this country have? Who is in charge? What kind of power do they have? Culture: What is life like in this place? If I were a teenager in this country, what would I wear? Eat? Do for fun?

Mrs. Falling, our Information Specialist, will be assisting us with this project. She will show us a database that includes all of the information you need to research your country called CultureGrams. The database is located at http://online.culturegrams.com. You do not need a password at school, but when using it at home you will need the following: username (student) and password(dodea). You can find this log in information for this database on page 20 of your agenda book. You will use note taking sheets to gather information. Notes should be quick bullets of information in your own words, not complete sentences copied from the database! Remember, it is very important that you always cite any sources you use when completing research. Because we will only be using CultureGrams for this project, you will only need to include one citation on your note taking sheet. If you choose to add images to your final project, you will also need to cite the source of your images. Your final product for this project in Geography will be something you can display for the class (a Google Apps Presentation). It should include bulleted information about all 6 topics you have taken notes on and present a good overall idea of the country you researched. Before you begin work on your display you will need to get your notes signed off on by Mrs. Sharp, Dr. Massingill, Mrs. Wright, or Mrs. Falling.

Calendar: Grading Items: Notes on geographic characteristics, economic systems, historical events and leaders, forms of government, cultures, and basic facts about your country 5 points each Final product (Google Apps Presentation) Name and Date (2 points) Content: Basic facts and information about each topic is represented (3 points each /18 points total) Neatness: 10 points Citation on final product Total possible points Possible Points 30 November 7/12: Project introduction and note taking November 13/14: Work on taking notes. Get notes signed off on by the teacher November 15/18: Short presentation on what a good final display looks like. Work on display. November 19/20: Last day to work on project November 21/22: Class Presentations

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