World Cultures African Current Events Project
Total Points: 40
Description:
1. While you study Sub-Saharan Africa you will be scanning the current news media for stories connected to
the region and its culture.
2. During the time assigned for the project you will find FOUR articles relating to four different topics.
Topics:EACH ARTICLE USED MUST RELATE TO A DIFFERENT TOPIC!!
Religion Trade/ResourcesLeaders and PersonalityModernization Human Rights War and Peace Environment Tradition and Change Foreign Relations
TerrorismGovernmentHealth and Medicine
Education EconomyLiterature, arts, movie
Civil WarWomen’s RightsSociety
Preparation:
1. Scan the following sources:
-Daily Newspaper (Philadelphia Inquirer at Philly.com)
-Weekly News Magazines (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Reports)
-Current Periodicals in your library
-Internet (CNN.com,cnn.com/studentnews/, abcnews.go.com, nbcnews.com, cbsnews.com,
bbc.com/news/, foxnews.com, msnbc.com/)
Project Procedures:
1. Locate 4 articles:
a) Each article must relate to a different topic (see above)
b) Article must be from 3 different sources
c) Article must be from within the last 6 months
e) Articles must be at least 500 words long
2. Entire article must be printed andsubmitted.
*****All summaries must be in paragraph form.
*****All summaries must be typed in a single document. (typed on several pages together)
3. Summary Procedures:
Line 1: Article number, Title of article
Line 2: By-line or journalist (person who wrote article) or contributing source (ex. Associated Press,
Reuters)
Line 3: News source (where did the article come from)
Line 4: Date written
Line 5: Relating topic (see Description)
Line 6: TEN sentence summary answering the 5 W’s: who, what, when, where, why.
Reflection:
How does this information relate toculture? Or make a connection to what we learned in class? Or What does your article reveal about African culture?
4. Cover page and Binding Procedures:
Thecompleted assignment will have 1 cover page with a title in the center and your name
and mod in the lower right-hand corner. Cover page should be followed by all article summaries and
articles. Article should be in the same order as the summaries. Bind the assignment with one staple in
the upper left-hand corner.
Grading:
Grades will be based on completion of project requirements:
- 10 points per article
- 3 points for heading
- 7 points for the summary
In addition, organization and overall effectiveness of the article summaries will be taken into account.
Due Date ______
Submission Check List:
4 Articles on Sub-Saharan Africa
Articles are from at least 3 different sources
Articles reflect at least 4 different dates
Articles reflect 4 different topics
All articles are included in project and are printed in their entirety
Title page with a project title in the center and your name and mod in the lower right-hand corner
Timeline for African Currents Events Project
1. FOLLOW ALL PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS
2. Week 1: Collect at least 2 news articles that meet project requirements and complete summaries.
3. Week 2: Collect remaining number of news articles and complete summaries.
4. Week 3: Review and revise summaries.
If the country is not on the map it’s not a Sub-Saharan African Country.
Summary Hints
- Find the "5 W's": who, what, when, where and why. These are the most basic facts that are found within a newspaper article and should be included when summarizing an article. "Who" refers to the subject of the article; "what" is what is being said about the subject of the article; "when" can refer to the date the article was written as well as the date of the event; "where" refers all locations that are relevant to the subject and what happened; and "why" refers to the reason this event was reported. Remember to put these facts into your own words.
- Who are the main characters in the article? What is their job title?
Why are these people important? How are they involved? - What Happened, When, Where: What is the story about? When did the event take place? Where did the event happen?
- Why is this article newsworthy? Why is this story important?
- Add the main idea(s). The author of the newspaper article wrote the article to get a message across and to create a sentiment among readers and that message is the main idea. The main idea has a direct correlation with the "why" of the article because it is an extension of it. No more than three sentences should be needed to summarize the main idea. Sometimes a newspaper article may have multiple main ideas and if that is the case, keep the description of each brief.
- Include supporting details. Once you have read the newspaper article over at least twice, you should have an understanding of the information that is essential and which details were just added for creative effect. The details that first must be added are those that are imperative to the understanding of the article, like the job position of the subject or how many years of research has gone into a new discovery. Next, those details that give help with imagery can be added.
- Finish your summary with a reflection.
- How does this information relate to culture?
- Make a connection to what we have learned in class.
- What does your article reveal about African culture?
In addition:
When writing about something that a journalist wrote down, use the present tense. This may seem odd, but even though a journalist(s) wrote the current event article in the past, the article exists in the present. For that reason, when writing about something that was written down, use the present tense. Make sure when you discuss and refer to what was written or reported in the article that you use the present tense. Consider using good action words.
Action Words to consider:
discusses, discussexamines, examineexplores, explore
focuses on, focus onnotes, noteemphasizes, emphasize
addresses, addressmentions, mentionstates, state
points, pointis concerned with, are concerned with
Project Guide:
Article 1:Article’s focus is Sub-Saharan Africa and appropriate for project
Heading:
Title: ______
By-line or Journalist: ______
News Source: ______
Date Written: ______
Relating Topic: ______
Summary:
Who: ______
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What: ______
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Where: ______
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When: ______
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Why: ______
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Reflection: ______
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Project Guide:
Article 2: Article’s focus is Sub-Saharan Africa and appropriate for project
Heading:
Title: ______
By-line or Journalist: ______
News Source: ______
Date Written: ______
Relating Topic: ______
Summary:
Who: ______
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What: ______
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Where: ______
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Why: ______
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Reflection: ______
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Project Guide:
Article 3: Article’s focus is Sub-Saharan Africa and appropriate for project
Heading:
Title: ______
By-line or Journalist: ______
News Source: ______
Date Written: ______
Relating Topic: ______
Summary:
Who: ______
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What: ______
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Where: ______
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Reflection: ______
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Project Guide:
Article 4: Article’s focus is Sub-Saharan Africa and appropriate for project
Heading:
Title: ______
By-line or Journalist: ______
News Source: ______
Date Written: ______
Relating Topic: ______
Summary:
Who: ______
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What: ______
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Where: ______
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When: ______
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Why: ______
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Reflection: ______
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