Barrels of oil . . . Dazzling diamonds . . . Glittering gold
Plus copper, iron, coal and more!

All of these resources are found on the continent of Africa. Mining is a large part of the economy of African countries. Large amounts of petroleum, which is used to make oil and gasoline, are found in Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Gabon and Angola. Ghana is one of the world's leading exporters of gold. Other African countries supply the world with copper, silver, uranium, and titanium. In the late 1800s, South Africa became one of the leading producers of diamonds and it is still a leader today. With all these valuable commodities, how is it possible that poverty is so widespread?

Essential Question : How can a continent so rich with natural resources have millions of people living in poverty?

Social studies students will write a short research paper about problems facing modern Africa. Students will select a country in Africa and research many aspects of the country (such as environment, religious tolerance, human rights, civil rights, equality for all, life expectancy, per capita income, natural resources, education, government, economy, physical features, health issues, etc.). Students will determine the three major reasons why their country and the people of their country are not more prosperous. Students will develop a three part thesis statement and write a five paragraph paper citing evidence and details to support their thesis.

Students will type or neatly handwrite the final paper. Students will need to include a bibliography of resources used for this project. Mrs. Whalen's final papers are due on Thursday, May 20, 2010.

Students are encouraged to use both print and digital resources. Select library books have been put on reserve in the school library. Below are some digital resources students might find useful.

Grolier Online--encyclopedia articles. At-home use requires username and password. Click here for details http://www.ccps.org/ccps/grolier/grolierhome.htm (An email message from Grolier will assign you a personal username and password.) CultureGrams (Use to answer question 12) At-home use requires log-ins & passwords. See Mrs. Slacum for that info. SIRS Discoverer At-home use requires log-ins & passwords. See Mrs. Slacum for that info. SIRS Knowledge Source At-home use requires log-ins & passwords. See Mrs. Slacum for that info. Gale Virtual Reference Library Select any article found in Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students. Countries of the World The World Fact Book--select your country from the drop down menu War in Africa Human Rights Watch—select your country in the lower right side of screen A Troubled Decade for Africa's Children Why is Africa Still Poor? UN Urges Africa to Harness Natural Resources to Beat Poverty Conflicts in Africa HIV Affecting Global Workforce Education in Africa AIDS orphans: Facing Africa’s ‘silent crisis’ Latest African News South Africa : Government take Lead in Tackling HIV-AIDS Crisis Try using Infotopia to search for other sites. Infotopia evaluates websites so you can be certain you will get the best sources. Type:   your country's name +war your country's name +education your country's name +economy your country's name +government your country's name +landforms your country's name +farming   All websites are NOT created equal. Some are written by experts, are up-to-date, and contain accurate information. Others contain misinformation, are biased or are not relevant. If you choose to use Google, you must complete a Website Evaluation Checklist PRIOR to taking notes from the site. If the site scores 13 or more points, it is a good site for getting facts. If the site scores less than 13 points, do not use this source for your project.