Survey Monkey and Research Paper

If you would like to give real feedback on your Human Geography course, please complete the SurveyMonkey (student feedback survey) found here. This survey is completely anonymous, and I will not know how you answer the questions or what comments you choose to make. This link will be live through the end of this week. Thank you in advance!

As promised, here are more details on the research paper.

The length will be at least 1500 words. (That's the equivalent of three typewritten pages.) You have the option of including photos, charts, pictures, graphs - anything that will enhance your paper - but you still have to write at least 1500 words.

The paper is due at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, December 16. It will be posted to your blog. There will be penalties for every day (or portion of a day) it is late.

You will work in pairs, so for the next class please select your workmate.

You will choose your topic by next Tuesday. Here are some suggestions:

• the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest
• Andes mountain dwellers
• Mexico City: an environmental mega-disaster
• the Panama Canal
• the role of the Catholic Church in Latin America
• emigration from Mexico to the US
• the status of women in Latin American society
• Latino "futbol" (soccer)
• Contras and Sandinistas in the 1980's
• indigenous (native) peoples: a forgotten minority?
• Brazil's helpful role in climate change
• history of (pick a country): from colony to democracy
• the growth of Mercosur (a trade organization)
• drug trafficking in Colombia (or Bolivia, or Peru)
• the amazing diversity of the Amazon Basin
• farming (especially soy) in Brazil (or Argentina)
• enviro-tourism in Costa Rica
• the weird relationship between Hugo Chavez's Venezuela and the US
• urbanization and the megacities
• the violent drug cartels of Juarez (a border town near El Paso, Texas)
• how the weather patterns of El Niño affect Latin America - and us
• earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Latin America
• the 2016 Olympics being held in Rio de Janeiro
• how the history of Mexico and Texas are intertwined
• eco-friendly fair trade coffee and biodiversity

If none of these float your boat, feel free to check out the chapter (p. 124 - 177) for more ideas. If you discover something else to write about, please submit it to me for my approval by Tuesday.


Don't forget to take the SurveyMonkey!

Latin America

For the chapter on Latin America, we will write a research paper.

(I will pause here for a moment to let that sink in...)

You guys have already written one research paper this semester, for your English class. This will be a chance to use the same skills and the same research methods, but in the context of Social Studies.

I have a couple dozen suggestions for topics, which we will be discussing in class. If you have another topic you would rather write on, you may submit it to me for approval.

You will be working in pairs on this project. There will be some class time devoted to this paper, but you will be expected to do a significant amount of research and writing outside of class.

You will choose your topic before we go on Thanksgiving break, so you will have the option of working on this over the break. The paper itself will be due in December; I will have an exact date for you soon.

Obviously, there will be a lot more information regarding this paper, which I will be telling you in class and posting on this blog.