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DUE:
The reports--oral and written--are due on Thursday, March 15th. We'll
have a brief update session on March 8th, one week before the due date,
during which we'll find out about your individual progress toward the
assignment's completion. You may also raise questions or concerns in
class or by e-mailing me: hallinan@csus.edu
VALUE:
The Local Geography assignment is worth a total of 75 points:
* 10 points for the one-minute in-class oral report
* 15 points for the state map and 2 news clippings
* 50 points for the 2-page written commentary
INITIAL ASSIGNMENT:
On the circulating list in our Geography 100 class sign up for one U.S.
state or Canadian province. Then, using links on the Internet find a
local daily or weekly newspaper published in a smaller city (with fewer
than 50,000 inhabitants) in the part of North America that you've chosen.
Read the online newspaper for at least three (3) issues, whether daily or
weekly. Note especially the local stories rather than any national
or international news. Watch for stories or advertisements highlighting
distinctive local events. Watch for notices of school or club activities,
schedules of church services, local human interest stories, advertising of
real estate or job openings, notices of births, baptisms, weddings, and
funerals. Be alert for clues to economic conditions, social patterns,
outdoor activities, recent weather. As you read think of comparisons and
contrasts you might make between this community and your hometown. How is
life different in this other community? How is it similar?
GETTING STARTED:
Once you've signed up for a state or province on the circulating list
you're ready to begin this assignment. First, you'll need to identify a
suitable place--a smaller city, population under fifty thousand, in your
chosen state or province--and its newspaper. Several websites used in
tandem will assist you in your choices:
ABYZ News Links - United States Newspapers and
ABYZ News Links - Canada Newspapers
These websites have links to newspaper lists for each state or province.
Click on your state or province's name. You'll be taken to an alphabetical
list, often quite long, of places with their newspaper, magazine, radio, and
TV station links. You'll probably recognize the very largest cities; these
are usually too populous for our assignment, and you can eliminate them from
further consideration. In the remaining places look for newspapers listed
in the right-hand column as NP GI ENG (NP=newspaper; GI=general interest;
ENG=in English). Some places, usually cities too large for this assignment,
will have publications in languages other than English (e.g., FRA=in French;
SPA=in Spanish); check with me if you wish to do the research in a language
other than English. Certainly anyone choosing Quebec or adjacent provinces
will need to consider French as an option.
U.S. Census Bureau - Census 2000 Gateway and
Statistics Canada - Community Profiles
These websites will help you check on the population of a community you're
considering. If you're using the U.S. Census site, follow these easy steps:
* Under Data Highlights (upper right) is a list of all states.
Select your state and click Go;
* On the next page, click on State by Place (near top of page)
to see a table of populations;
* On the next page, examine the Populations column to make
sure the place whose newspaper you're thinking of reading
for this assignment has a population under 50,000.
ePodunk - The Power of Place
This commercial site can also reassure you that the community you've
chosen is suitable for this assignment:
* In the upper right find the space Enter a community name.
Type the name of the place whose newspaper you're considering
for this assignment. Use the scroll below your community's
name to select your State; click on Search.
ePodunk will provide the Census 2000 population of the community. Again,
you're looking for a place whose population under 50,000. Results of your
search will also reveal whether the county in which your place is located is
part of a metropolitan area. While inclusion in a metropolitan area does not
automatically eliminate a community and its newspaper from consideration, be
careful to assess how well your choice fits the assignment. Be aware that
newspapers in suburban bedroom communities may be quite different from those
in more autonomous small cities. A similar site for checking on Canadian
communities is available at Directory of Cities, Towns in Canada.
PURSUING INSIGHTS:
As you read through three or more issues of the paper you've chosen,
watch for information on local geography, physical and cultural:
* Focus on physical geography, on aspects of the natural landscape
such as weather and climate, soils and minerals, native plants
and animals, landforms and waterways. Look for both focused
accounts (e.g., nesting geese at the local lake) and for hints
(e.g., the church dinner postponed because of inclement weather).
A story about ice fishing may mention both low temperatures and
types of fish caught. An auto accident report may highlight
local weather conditions, the failure of brakes on a steep hill,
the unfortunate proximity of a lake.
* Focus on cultural or human geography--economic and social life,
housing costs and wages, transportation and communications.
patterns of language and religion and politics. Some articles
may provide you with straightforward information (e.g., the
city is welcoming four families from Belarus). Sometimes you
will need to be more of a detective (e.g., the obituaries
mention four of the five deceased having funeral services at
Baptist churches). Read the want ads, the club notices, the
school news.
PRESENTATIONS:
For March 15th select and print two distinctive local news items--one on
physical and one on human or cultural geography. Each clipping you choose
should be one 8½ x 11 page in length or less. Mount each clipping on a
sheet of colored construction paper. Value--up to five (5) points each;
full credit for those clippings that are clearly germane to the assignment to
the assignment and conform to length and source guidelines.
Using the same color of construction paper as that framing your two articles,
cut out the outline (8½ x 11 or less) of the state where your city is located.
With a star and a name on the map show where your newspaper is published.
Value--up to 5 points; full credit for those maps that--without being
mechanically or electronically reproduced--highlight the location of your
appropriately-selected city with good accuracy.
Prepare a short oral report about what you've learned in reading this
localnewspaper. When your turn comes, provide your classmates with a 1-minute
oral summary. Stress any significant patterns of physical or human geography
you've uncovered. Tell them what the news stories have told you about local
activities, issues, and concerns. If the ads in the paper have told you about
the cost of living--housing, food, recreation--or the availability of jobs,
you might also mention those insights. Add a judgment: given what you've now
learned, do you think you'd like to live in this community? Why or why not?
Value--up to 10 points; full credit for those oral reports that adhere
fully but creatively to the guidelines.
Compose a 2-page written summary telling what you've learned about the local
geography of your chosen community. Summarize your findings. Emphasize
geographic patterns and any relevant comparisons and contrasts you've now
uncovered. Toward the end of your commentary include at least a paragraph
evaluating the assignment. What value do you see in the assignment as you've
undertaken and completed it? What value might it have for students in the
elementary or secondary grades? How might you modify it to make it a better
learning experience? Value--up to fifty (50) points; full credit for
written responses that summarize findings with insight and care and that
evaluate the assignment in a forthright and intelligent fashion.
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