Objective:
To learn how the history of Guatemala has impacted the lives of its Maya citizens in recent decades.
Scenario:
You have just gotten a job in Guatemala. You are going to be a journalist working for a newspaper in Guatemala City. It gets more interesting because you have also been hired to work under-cover by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
Your Mission:
1.) Quickly read or scan the information on Guatemalan history contained in the following web-link. Consider how that history fits into the pattern of Latin American history that we have studied. Use this web-link as a resource as you continue this project.
https://www.centralamerica.com/guatemala/history/
Below is another resource, called Facts on File, that may assist you in learning about background information on modern Guatemala. In order to access this site use “hrhs” for both the username and password.
http://fofweb.infobase.com/WGCO/Country.aspx?Page=1&iPin=M0019783
2.) Your investigation has led you to four individuals/characters who have been impacted by war and violence in Guatemala. You can learn about the stories of Sebastian, Dora, Rosario, and Diego by visiting the following website.
http://www.centralamericanstories.com/characters/
Web Link to videos - https://sites.google.com/hr-k12.org/centralamerica/home
The Guatemala maps and facts tab on the characters’ stories page is also helpful. The glossary will also be useful.
3.) Conduct in-depth research using the Congressional Research Services (CRS) report found at the University of North Texas website at the following url.
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820880/
The CRS is the public policy research arm of Congress and they provide detailed reports at the request of the legislators.
4.) Write a newspaper article describing what you have learned from your investigation. Be sure to identify the individuals/characters that you have gotten your information from. Use quotation marks to identify any direct language that you are including. Reference at least two of the four characters in your article. Try to include a discussion of the following factors.
A.) Impact of the long Civil War.
B.) Who committed much of the violence.
C.) Who were more often the victims.
D.) Displacement.
E.) The economic situation.
5.) Visit the website provided below to examine some data about Guatemala from the World Bank. Write an analysis of one of the graphs on the website. Identify the graph that you have selected. Look for drops or rises in the graphs and consider the causes of those shifts. See whether you can relate those shifts to events found on the Guatemalan timelines.
https://data.worldbank.org/country/guatemala?view=chart
6.) Write an assessment report to CIA headquarters. Explain your prediction of how the quality of life will be in Guatemala over the next decade. Provide suggestions that you have to improve the quality of life in Guatemala. Consider any impact that the situation in Guatemala might have on the United States.
7.) Create a bibliography that includes the resources that you have been asked to use and any other sources that you use. This should be MLA and typed in size 12, Times New Roman font. You may use EasyBib (easybib.com) or BibMe (www.bibme.org/) to help with the format for your bibliography.
8.) After completing all of the elements of the project write a reflection describing the success of the research, analysis, and writing. Explain how useful this project was for learning about the recent history of Guatemala and the history of Latin America in general.