Latin America – 7th Grade
Created by K. Crossley 1/31/07; revised 2/7/12
You will be researching geographic questions about five Latin American countries: Brazil, Jamaica, Peru, Mexico and El Salvador. Look for physical maps in Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book, using the instructions below.
Below are resources to help you with your research project. If you read the notes next to each source, it will help you find what you need. You can find the passwords for online sources on Edline in the Departments/Media Center page. You will create a bibliography with at least 3 sources in NoodleTools. Tips for citing each source in NoodleTools are in red.
Books
The books Hoover Media Center owns are available in class only and are stored on a cart.
Encyclopedias - An encyclopedia is always a good place to begin your research. Here you will find basic information that will help you decide how to continue your research.
NoodleTools: Encyclopedias are considered a reference source – not duplicated from a printed work. Do NOT provide a URL. Encyclopedia Britannica – Use the search box to find your country. Read the section on "Land and Climate" to find facts. You will also find physical topography maps in this part of the article where you can see the physical features of your country. Once you open the country article, look on the left under “Content Related to this Topic.” You can click on Maps and Flags or Images. On the right under “Expand Your Research” you can find Images and Media, or Quick Facts. You can also use Webs Best Sites. If you use a website, cite it as a website, since it is not part of Encyclopedia Britannica.
World Book Online – Search for your country, click on the article and look at the article contents on the left.
Subscription Databases
Culturegrams (World Edition) – Open the World Edition, and use the map or country list to go to the country you are interested in. An amazing array of info is found here!
NoodleTools: Follow this path: reference – online- other – no, this is not duplicated from a printed source – database publisher is ProQuest. Do NOT provide a URL.
World Data Analyst – Select your country in the search box to get a data sheet about it. Use the zoom tool to zoom in to see it clearly.
NoodleTools: Cite as a reference source – other – no, this is not duplicated from a printed source – database is World Data Analyst Online – publisher is Encyclopedia Britannica. Look at the bottom of your country’s article for its e-publication date. Do NOT provide a URL.
Student Resource Center – Be sure to click to get into Student Resource Center to find the most useful articles. Search for your country, and look under the Reference tab for the most information. Look under the Magazine or News tab for current information.
NoodleTools: Look at the top tab and the 2 lines at the top of your article to see what citation type you should use. For Reference (except for encyclopedias) follow this path: reference source" → online → other → Yes, I will provide publication details. The “title of reference source” is the book or encyclopedia listed on the second line at the top of the article. The database is “Student Resource Center.” Do NOT enter a URL for any data
Websites – Check the copyright or update date and use the most up-to-date statistics.
NoodleTools: Cite as websites. DO include the webpage URL.
Country Information
- CIA World Factbook - Find your country on the map. Open up the section you think might contain the statistics you are looking for to see what is there.
- U.S. Department of State Background Notes - Find your country’s name on the list, and click to find tons of very current info!
- United Nations InfoNation - This website will allow you to compare data about each of your countries in the data categories of population, economy, health, technology and environment. Select the countries you want to compare, click go, then pick the Data Category and statistic you want. You can compare many factors! Then, click on the country name to get a profile of that country.
- Lonely Planet: Worldguide - Click on your area of the world on the map, and then click on the left at “Places in _______” Find your country on the list, and click your country name. You’ll find weather, tourist sites and more here.
Weather
- BBC Weather – Look up your country to find out about weather there.
- World Weather and Climate Information – Click on your country and then look for your city on that country page for precipitation, average temperatures, and average amount of sunshine/month.
