General Information Project Overview Curriculum Connections Evaluation

  General Information

  Project Overview

World Geography 3202 is a Senior High social studies course which focuses on world patterns of social, political and economic behavior. Included in the course is also the effect of the physical environment, the climate and natural resources on the peoples and their cultures within various regions.

Students participating in the project will select a region in the world and research the effects of climate on that region. The objective for World Geography 3202 are also the same objectives for this project. The reports will include:

1. Table of Contents.
2. Introduction and statement of thesis.
3. Map of the research including:.

• Overall climate.
• Climate graphs of region.
• Basic description of the region's ecosystems.
• Effects of climate on the economy, social structure and transportation of the region.
• Relationship to global climatic phenomena, e.g. El Nino, Gulf Stream, etc.

  Curriculum Connections

Social Studies:

• The subject matter explored in this project has direct relevance to other social studies courses such as Democracy, Global Issues, and World History. Students will be able to apply many of the concepts learned in their research towards these courses thus broadening their knowledge base beyond the basic curriculum objectives.

Language Arts:

• Students will be required to submit their research reports following the APA style of writing as closely as possible with emphasis on proper usage of language.

Technology Education:

• The Internet is one of the tools of the future, and its essential for the graduate to have a strong working knowledge of the advantages of using it as a source of information. This project will make the Internet accessible to a cross section of our high school population, and ultimately, to most students at some time in their high school careers.

  Evaluation

Students will develop proficiency with the computer as an information accessing tool and with the Internet as a source of up-to-date data on issues relevant to their studies.

Students will enhance their literacy skills through the process of researching, downloading and editing information relevant to their project. Their research will be complied in a presentable, academic level document.

Students will enhance their presentation skills through the oral delivery of their research results to others in their course.

Rationale

This project can be completed by utilizing older print material located in the school resource center and by accessing material via generalized CD-ROM's such as encyclopedias, etc. Television and radio provide some information but it is usually sketchy and selective. Local newspapers and weekly newsmagazines provide infrequent coverage of this topic, and are not always available. Using the Internet as a research tool shall provide the student with experience using modern technology and in editing the vast amounts of information available into a viable report.