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East Asia and the Pacific World Report (Russ, Lawrence, Simpson, and Dodson 8th Grade): Mr. Russ's Assignment

Project Details

Each student will choose a topic from the list on the back.  You will then complete a written report meeting the following criteria:

LENGTH AND FORMAT:  Your report should be approximately 600 words in length, which is around two pages typed, double-spaced.  Typing is preferred, but not required.

SOURCES: You must have at least two sources for your report (maximum one encyclopedia, minimum one non-Internet).  There are no other restrictions on the sources you may use.  While the exact form in which you cite your sources is not important, it is essential that you do cite your sources.  DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!!

CONTENT: You need to develop a thesis statement (like a topic sentence in a paragraph) and include it in the introduction to your paper. You should then organize your paper into three or four body paragraphs, each consisting of a main argument in support of your thesis. Go beyond a simple report on your topic and offer an analysis of how this issue/person/event affects people and nations.  Try to explore the causes and effects, the “why” as well as the “what.”  Make sure that you organize your content and that you follow the rules or grammar and usage we have discussed! You must turn in the OUTLINE/PLANNING SHEET with your written report!

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In addition to the written reports, each student will also make an oral presentation to the class.  The oral report should meet the following criteria:

 

LENGTH: Your presentation should be around three minutes long.  This means that you will need to practice at home to make sure that what you intend to say fits into the allotted time frame!

CONTENT: Much like the written report, provide an overview/summary and also indicate significance/importance.  Organize your material, make an argument, and remember that you are teaching this information to the rest of the class.

PRESENTATION: You may NOT take a copy of your written report to the podium with you; rather you are limited to the use of one 3X5 note card. It is imperative that you practice in order to do this well!!

 

DUE DATE: Wednesday, May 8

TOPICS

Angkor Wat - splendid Buddhist/Hindu monastery in Cambodia, built around 1100
Boxer Rebellion - anti-foreigner rebellion in China around 1900
Confucius - influential Chinese teacher and thinker
Dalai Lama - spiritual and political leader of Tibet
Daoism – influential Chinese philosophy
earthquake/tsunami – Japan quake of March 2011
East Timor – former Indonesian province; newly independent nation
Great Barrier Reef - world’s largest coral reef
Great Wall of China - begun in the 200’s BC to protect China’s border (NOT visible from space!)
Ho Chi Minh - communist leader of Vietnam until his death in 1969
Honda, Soichiro - founder of the motor company by the same name
Hong Kong - British crown colony until returned to China in 1997
Huang He Civilization - one of four ancient river civilizations
Khmer Rouge - brutal leaders of Cambodia in the 1970’s
Korean War - Cold War conflict from 1950-1953
Mao Zedong - leader of Communist China until his death in 1976
Marcos, Ferdinand - dictator of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986
Mongols - Asian warriors who briefly controlled the world’s largest empire
Opium Wars - series of battles between British and Chinese in mid-1800’s
Outback - Australian wilderness
rice - cultivation and importance of this key Asian crop
samurai - traditional Japanese warrior class
Shintoism - Japanese naturalism/animism
Singapore - history and overview of one of the world’s busiest ports
Suharto, General - longtime dictator of Indonesia
Sun Yat Sen - Chinese Nationalist leader until his death in 1925
Suu Kyi, Daw Aung San - Nobel laureate and activist in Myanmar
Taiping Rebellion – mid-1800’s uprising against the Qing led by ‘God’s Chinese Son’
Tet Offensive - 1968 attack during Vietnam War
Tibet - isolated, Buddhist highlands claimed by China
Tiananmen Square - site of 1989 protests; “Gate of Heavenly Peace”
Three Gorges Dam – the world’s largest dam and largest hydroelectric plant
tsunami – December 2004 natural disaster affecting nations bordering the Indian Ocean
Zen Buddhism – naturalist variation of Buddhism prominent in Japan