8th Grade Post WWII Research Paper
As 8th graders, you are responsible for completing a research paper
and presentation on a topic of your choice that played a role in American
society sometime after World War II. Attached is a listing of possible topics
for you to choose for your paper/presentation. Please begin to look over
these topics and use the next two weeks to begin reading about topics that
may interest you to decide which one you would like to do. As you are
thinking of a possible topic, you need to consider how you would answer the
following question: What are three effects that ____________ (my topic)
had on the United States and/or the world? For example, Bill Gates not
only had an effect on the world of technology, but he also contributed to the
growth of our economy and the many charity organizations around the
world. If you cannot answer that question, you may not do research and
write a paper/make a presentation on that particular topic.
On Wednesday, March 14th, you will have a brief conference with
Mrs. Florek, Mrs. Schweizer, and Mr. Steele to discuss the topic you chose.
Again, you must be able to tell us three effects that your topic had on the
United States and/or the world. If you cannot do so, we will not even
consider your topic, and we will instead select a topic for you. Please do not
feel bound by the topic within this packet – there are many others that you
are more than welcome to do – this list is simply to help you get some ideas
in case you can’t think of any on your own. Between now and March 14th, it
is your responsibility to start looking over the topics, narrowing down your
choices, and finding three effects that your possible choices had on America
or the world. Finally, when choosing a topic, please pick a topic that
interests you – after all, you will spend the 4th quarter research, writing a
paper, and making a presentation on the topic that you choose.
Topic Choices
Historical Figures
Space Travel
Dwight Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. Bush
Bill Clinton
Steve Jobs
George W. Bush
Bill Gates
Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton
Colin Powell
Mahatma Ghandi
Mao Tse-tung (Zedong)
Lech Walesa
Dalai Lama
Golda Meir
Margaret Mead
Mother Teresa
Sandra Day O’Connor
Nelson Mandela
Susan Sontag
Barrack Obama
Sarah Palin
Michael Jackson – legacy/controversies
Mitt Romney/Newt Gingrich/Rich Santorum
Ted Kennedy
Neil Armstrong
Apollo 13
“Teacher In Space” Program
Challenger
John Glenn
Columbia
Other astronauts
Mars
NASA space program
Civil Rights
Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks
School integration – Brown v. Board of Education
Civil Rights Act
Emmett Till
Civil Rights
Discoveries/Breakthroughs/Technology
Albert Einstein
Founding of Facebok
Twitter
Sputnik
Social Networking
Medicine/vaccinations – specific choice
Child/Adult Obesity (negative effects)
Diseases (AIDS, diabetes, etc.)
Historical Events/
Issues
Hurricane Katrina
3-Mile Island/Love Canal
Exxon Valdez/oil spills
Chernobyl (Ukraine)
Nuremburg Trials
Israel as an independent state
Tiananmen Square Massacre
“Chicago Seven”
McCarthyism
Cuban Revolution
Chinese Cultural Revolution
Apartheid in South Africa
Northern Ireland Conflicts
Affirmative Action
BP Disaster
The Tea Party
Occupy Movement
Cuban Missile Crisis
Nuclear Threats (ie. Iran)
Gabby Giffords (AZ shooting)
Death of Osama bin Laden
Libya (Gadhafi)
Obama’s Presidency
Haitian Earthquake
Feminist Movement
NAFTA (North American
Trade Agreement)
2012 Election
Fall of “Dot Com” companies
Silicon Valley
Immigration legislation
News Media
Peace Corps
Teenage Pregnancy
Wall Street
Current State of the Economy
Fast Food (positive/negative effects, recent changes)
Television (something specific)
Hubble Telescope
Cancer cells/George Otto Gey
Crick and Watson (DNA – double helix)
Ballistic missles
Tablet Technology
Polio Vaccine – Jonas Salk
Rh Negative Vaccine
Heart Transplant/artificial heart
Stem Cell Research
Weather Patterns/Changes
Japan Earthquake/Tsunami
Persian Gulf War
Election of Obama
Oklahoma City Bombing
WTC 1993 Bombing
Columbine (media response,
bullying, school safety)
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Royal Wedding
Korean War
Vietnam (protests, POW’s,
narrow the focus)
Watergate
9/11 (airport security, attack
on towers, Pentagon,
change in rights, terrorism)
Health Care – current issues?
Coal Mining dangers
Genocide
Cambodia “Killing Fields” – 1978
Bosnia – 1992
Somalia – 1992
Rwanda – 1994
Darfur – present day
Art
Andy Warhol
Jackson Pollack
Georgia O’Keefe
Music
Protest songs of the 1960s
Motown
Music Technology
Internet and Music – legal
issues