First Quarter Project: Historical Roots Project
Essential Question of Focus: Why is “where” important?
For this project, you will explore a country of your ancestors. After researching the country, you
will write a paragraph for each of the topics listed below. Remember you will work on this project the
entire grading quarter; it will take time to finish. You will not be able to procrastinate and get this done
in one week. On average you will be writing one paragraph per week! This is a research project so you
will need to look at a variety of sources. (You will need to cite the sources you use.) You should plan to
write a paragraph for each of the numbered points below:
1. Complete the "family interview" with a parent or grandparent. You can complete the interview
face-to-face, over the phone, or via Skype/Facetime. Remember, YOU must complete the
interview, your parents should not be the ones recording the answers. DUE Thursday,
September 3rd Turn in to Mrs. York only.
2. After completing the interview, write a journal entry (personal narrative) that explain what was
said during the interview. (You don’t have to write out each answer that you received, just give a
general overview of what you learned.) Afterwards, talk about the following: What surprised
you during the interview? What did you learn about your family? Finish the narrative by
explaining which country you decided to research. Why did you decide to research this country?
Rough Draft completed on Google Docs: DUE Tuesday September 8th
Final Copy Turned in on Google Classroom: DUE Thursday, September 10th Turn in to Mrs. York
only.
3. Introduce your country of choice in the topic sentence. What are some basic facts about your
country? How many people live there? Which language do they speak? Which religion(s) do the
people practice? What type of government does your country have? What are some interesting
facts about your country? (Cite your sources used)
Rough Draft completed on Google Docs: DUE Tuesday September 15th to Mrs. York only
Final Copy Turned in on Google Classroom: DUE Thursday, September 17th Turn in to Mrs. York
AND Mrs. Przela (if you have her for Language Arts)
4. Research the landmarks and/or geographic features of your country. Pick the feature that you
think is the most valuable to your country. Distinguish why that geographic feature or landmark
is the most relevant to your country. (Why is it so important?) Give several reasons to support
your answer. (Cite your sources used)
Rough Draft completed on Google Docs: DUE Tuesday September 22nd to Mrs. York only
Final Copy Turned in on Google Classroom: DUE Thursday, September 24th Turn in to Mrs. York
AND Mrs. Przela (if you have her for Language Arts)
5. Research the history of your country. Pick one historical event that you think was the most
important to your country. Explain what happened in the event; be specific, give details and
facts about the event. Then, argue why you think this event was the most significant in your
country’s history.
Rough Draft completed on Google Docs: DUE Tuesday September 29th to Mrs. York only
Final Copy Turned in on Google Classroom: DUE Thursday, October 1st Turn in to Mrs. York
AND Mrs. Przela(if you have her for Language Arts)
6. Create a presentation that summarizes all of the above mentioned topics. Be creative! Your
presentation should be rehearsed and not read directly from your presentation. Be creative!
Your presentation should be an overview, it does not have to be as detailed as your paragraphs.
DUE Before: Wednesday, October 7th You will present in Mrs.York’s class ONLY.