World Patterns in Human Geography

The purpose of this unit is to gain an understanding of the diversity of countries throughout the world, through researching the reasons behind various human geography statistics. Countries fall into one of three basic categories: Developed Nations, Developing Nations, and Third World Countries. Why do these categories exist? How does a specific country come to be considered to belong to a particular category?

You will be assigned a partner to do research with for an assigned country. There are eight (8) major statistics that you will focus on for this unit:

1. GDP per capita,
2. Adult Literacy (male & female),
3. Public Education Spending,
4. Life Expectancy (male & female),
5. Infant Mortality Rate,
6. Public Health Spending,
7. Electricity Consumption per capita,
8. and HDI.

We will be using culturegrams.com for our statistics. It is available on our computer lab at school and a password will be provided to use this site at home. You can download the stats table we used in class at the bottom of this page.

You will calculate a high, medium and low range for each of the six statistics. Then you determine which category your country falls into (high, medium, low) for each of the six statistics. Once you have done this you will research your country to explain why your statistics are in the categories they are in.

Your research will begin with the culturegrams.com website. To access Culture Grams at home go to: TVDSB website èElementary Resources è Research Data Base è Culture Grams è World Edition - The password is “welcome”

Another good website is:

• http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website
• Example citations: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/writing-a-bibliography-apa-format

You are also encouraged to use encyclopaedias, books and other internet sites to explain your statistics.

Research your country and try to tell us why it has, for instance, a high birth rate. What are the factors which could affect this rate? Does the health care system of this country play a role in contributing to the high birth rate? What about the education system? Is religion a factor? Disease?

Remember: This assignment is about presenting why YOU think things are the way they are in your country. There is no right and wrong answer, and it is not about just presenting a bunch of info you found on some website. It is about justifying your thoughts with facts and reasoning! (We have talked about it before - the most important question you will ever be asked throughout your life - WHAT DO YOU THINK?)

You will present your information to the class in a twenty (20) minute presentation. In that presentation you should do the following:

Presentation

General Introduction (5 marks):

• Where is your country located? What is the main language and culture? Etc.

Statistics Presentation (40 marks):

• Focus on explaining each of the six statistics and providing reasons why they fall into the high, medium, or low area of the particular statistic.

Food Presentation (10 marks):

• As well, we would like to have a cultural aspect to your country’s presentation. You will prepare a sample food from that country (just a taste). A recipe sheet with a list of the ingredients must come with the food.

Written Work

• Worksheet (10 marks): Provide a worksheet for the students you are presenting to, to be filled out during your presentation focussing on the factors affecting each statistic. There must be a minimum of 15 questions. (i.e. true or false, multiple choice, single word fill in the blank. Not short answer.)
• Test Questions (5 Marks): At the end of your presentation hand in five possible questions focussing on the factors that affect your statistics (not the statistics themselves) which may be used on the test. You must choose five questions from your worksheet, then change the format of the question. (i.e. if you chose a true or false question you must make it into either a multiple choice or a single word fill in the blank.)
• Bibliography (10 marks): Keep track of all the encyclopaedias, books and internet sites you use. These must be presented in proper bibliographic format and handed in on the day of your presentation. The required format will be given to you.
  • Use this webpage tool to help with your bibliography: http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website

Final Test

• A final test (20 marks) will be given using the questions handed in by students in addition to general questions from the unit.