ON-LINE SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT

PART I: Gathering Information (50 points)

Here are examples of some of the types of information that we are hoping to find. Each student will have a country to research and should try to find as much of the information as possible. Finding extra interesting facts is also encouraged!

Social customs

Foods

Clothes

Holidays

Religions

Folk Games

Tourist Information

Prices of things such as milk, sugar, rice, eggs, unleaded gasoline, etc.

Family units

Hobbies, sports, other interests popular in that country

Schedule of activities on a common day...On the weekend

An important event that has happened in that country during the past year. Why was it important?

Education

Is the country made of mainly of big cities, small towns, villages, etc.?

A. Print Resources

Use any available resources, including the Internet. Remember to make a note of the information you will need for your bibliography. (Title, Author, Date, Name of Article if appropriate, page numbers) If you use the Internet, use only appropriate sites for gathering your information. A site is appropriate if:

a. The source is reliable

b. The information is relevant

c. The information is easy to understand.

A source is reliable if you can trust the people who are putting out the information. For example, a college, university, or national organization will probably be reliable. You can probably trust that they are giving out correct information. On the other hand, if the site is being produced by one individual that you have never heard of before, or it is produced by a group that you know to be out of the main stream of things, it may be best to choose another site. Your parents should help you decide if a source is reliable or not. (If there is a tilda: ~ in the URL, that is a clue that the site is produced by an individual.)

The information is relevant if it is something that you have discussed or watched on a video during class or have read in the textbook. It is related to what you are studying. Mrs. Lail or Mr. Triplett can help you decide if the sites you find are relevant or not.

The information is easy to understand if you can read it without having to use a dictionary. Lots of pictures can be helpful, too, when you are looking at things with which you are not familiar, such as items and places in other countries. You will have to decide if the sites you find are easy to understand or not.

BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN WHERE YOU GOT YOUR INFORMATION!

B. Human Sources

1. Try to find a keypal from your country. If you are already a member of an online discussion group, ask for one! (You may want to tell the group that you need the keypal for a project for school; that may help you get a response.) If not in a discussion group, search the Internet for keypal sites and sign up on some of those. The teachers will also post requests.

2. E-mail to Mrs. Lowman at [email protected] with the date(s) that you request a keypal or signed up for one, and where you looked. Include the URLs for any Web sites.

3. Forward any keypal responses you get to Mrs. Lowman at [email protected]

4. Find out as much as you can from your keypal (but not all in the same message!).

5. Send a carbon copy of each message you send your keypal to Mrs. Lowman.

6. Forward each response you get to Mrs. Lowman.

7. When you are finished with your project, send a thank you note to your keypal!

C. Land Pollution Activity

1. Choose a place in your neighborhood that you can patrol for trash. This can be your yard or your block or your street. GET YOUR PARENTS' PERMISSION!!! They must agree to let you do this.

2. Pick up the trash from your chosen area for five days. You might want to wear plastic gloves or use a "pick-up stick". It is a good idea to avoid any broken glass. BE SAFE!!

3. Keep a record of the KINDS of trash you pick up, and HOW MANY of each kind of trash you pick up. It might look something like this:

4. Ask your keypal to do the same and to E-mail you their results. Keep a record of their results, too.

5. We will come to the computer lab at school and compile everyone's information into a spreadsheet. You will need to bring your results and your keypal's results when you come to the lab. This information is due September 5, 1997.