Project Rough Draft

You must e-mail the first 6 slides of your project to me by Monday, February 27. This is a 50 point homework grade, based on half the value of the project rubric.

Your rough draft (all 10 slides) is due Tuesday, February 28.

Gale login/password: psmlrc

You can find the project rubric here.

You can find my example presentation here.

Religion in SW Asia

An example of Islamic word and mosaic art.

Today's Objectives
In class, we will focus on understanding the ways in which Islam affects people and culture in the countries where it is practiced. You will:

• Extract information from relevant websites
• Organize the information into a final product
• Present the result

Respond to the following in an e-mail to me. You will need to answer the question COMPLETELY, offering specific support for your response.

After each answer, paste the link where you found the information. You may only use approved sources for your research.


You will have approximately 20 minutes to answer the questions. Work quickly and efficiently.

1. What impact does Islam have on money, trade and the economy in countries that are predominantly Muslim?
2. What are marriage customs like in predominantly Muslim countries?
3. What impact does Islam have on laws, government and politics in predominantly Muslim countries?
4. What impact does Islam have on culture in predominantly Muslim countries?

5 points each question, 20 points total.

Before you search, think about SEARCH TERMS. If you are searching for Islamic marriage rules, would you right away search for "Muslim marriage"? What happens if that doesn't work? What new search term(s) might you use? THINK SIMPLE, one- or two-word phrases.


Approved Sources:

• IslamiCity, a website which hopes to educate people about what it means to be Muslim (use the links on the left). Use this site ONLY to get basic information for further research.
• Encyclopedia Brittanica (PSM LRC Page)
• CultureGrams (PSM LRC Page)
• Three Religions, One God (An article from PBS)
• Gale Student Resources in Context (PSM LRC Page)

Discussion Questions
When we finish with our research, we will take time to discuss what you have learned. I will pose a series of questions and we will work to answer them as a class.


Tonight's Homework: A Current Event
Use the New York Times website to search for a current event article related to one of the countries below:

• Syria
• Iran
• Egypt
• Israel

HINT: Use the search bar on the upper left hand side of the website.

Use the article to complete the following on loose leaf paper:

1. Cite the source, following MLA format. Follow this exact format:
   Author/Editor/Creator/Organization. Name of the Website. Name of Institution/Sponsor/Publisher of Website. Date Created. Type of Source (Web or Print). Date Accessed.
2. Briefly summarize the article.
3. Write down any words you were not able to define in the article, or define any words you had to look up.
4. Why is the article's topic significant? Explain.
5. What impact might the article have on people living in the United States? Explain.

4 points each part, 20 points total

Two-Part Homework

Part 1: Study the Maps!
Tonight, play the map games below. Leave a comment on this post with the following information. This is a 10 point homework grade.

• Your first name and last initial
• Your score for the countries map game
• Your score for the bodies of water map game
• The number of times you played the game to get that score

If you get 100% without looking at another map, you should get 100% on the map portion of your quiz tomorrow!

• The SW Asia Countries map game is at this link
• You can find a game that will help you study the bodies of water in SW Asia here.

You will also need to know about oil, waterways and religion for your quiz -- you'll have 2 short answer questions to complete.

Part 2: Sign Up for PowerSchool Studio

PowerSchool Studio: A New Learning Resource at PSM We have a new online resource we will start using for class: PowerSchool Studio. You will soon start to see material for every class on this website. Follow the steps below to sign up. This is a second 10 point homework grade.

1. Go to the website psm.ecollege.com.
2. Log on to the site using your PowerSchool login, the same one you use to check your grades.
3. Look around the page until you see the box marked “My Communities.” Click the link marked “Find More Communities.”
4. This page shows a list of all the teachers who have materials online for you to see through PowerSchool Studio. Search the list until you see “Nathan Ramin Communities.” Click the link that says “Request Membership.”
5. The link will take you to a membership request form. Type a brief message in the box including your first and last name, then hit send.
6. That’s it! I will approve your request, and we will be able to use the website for class.

Life in Your SW Asian Nation

Imagine that you are a person living in the country you were assigned for your brochure project. Write a journal entry describing a day in your life. Include facts such as:

• What job you might do
• What religion you might practice
• Whether or not you might use a car to commute
• Whether or not you read the paper (hint: literacy rate!)
• Anything else you can find to include!

You must use BOTH of the following sources:

• Your textbook
• CultureGrams (link to PSM LRC page) (User Name: 73-82792REMOTE, Password: BIGCHALK)

Your journal entry should be at least two paragraphs long. Complete it on loose leaf paper.

Due tomorrow on your desk, 20 points.

Brochure Project Requirements

By popular demand, here are your brochure project requirements. Remember -- the rubric (and the map game) are in the post below this one.

Page 1:

•o  Include full color

•o  Include flag of your country

•o  The name of your country

•o  Map of your country


Page 2:
•o  Relative location of your country (using 3 landmarks)
•o  Country’s capital, other cities


Page 3:
•o  Pie chart showing ethnic makeup of country in percentages
•o  Explanation of ethnic makeup


Page 4

•  Symbols of religions
•  Describe religious makeup
•  Describe health care in your country (life expectancy, infant mortality, etc.

Page 5

• Illustration of major resources/economic activities
• Explanation of major resources/activities
• Heading on the back

Map Game and a Rubric

Here are a couple of items for your to take a look at.

First, the rubric for the brochure mini-project we started in class today. It is worth a total of 40 points.

Also, here's a map game for SW Asia.

Play the game tonight, leave a comment on this post including your first name, last initial, and your score.


If you complete these steps, you will earn 5 points of Extra Credit.