Directions You have several steps to successfully complete this project.

Initial Research – Research individually a geographical topic of your choosing on Western Europe.
Group Discussion – Participate in a group to determine what issue will be examined by your project.
Independent Research – Complete additional research on the topic.
Group Discussion – Create a hypothesis.
Constructing a project – Collaborate with a group to design the presentation.
Presentation – Present the final product.
Initial Research

Group Discussion: Topic Discussion
Now that you have identified a topic of interest and completed some research, you are ready to discuss with a group. Follow your instructor’s directions for finding a small group.

In your group, take turns presenting your topic. Report your two facts and why the topic is interesting to you. When it is not your turn to present, pay attention to the other topics. Ask questions and discuss.

Your research guide has space to record notes on your discussion. As a group, decide what topic to research and present on. Each person will need to decide to search and find a primary source and a secondary source on the topic.

Independent Research
This May Help
Social media is considered a primary source. The topic you are researching may be current enough that you can find comments and information posted on social media sites. If this is the case, you can consider using such information as a source and even cite it for your presentation. You will need to be careful, however. If you use information from a social media site, first, be certain that it is appropriate. Such information will also need to be relevant. For instance, a young person complaining about air pollution would not be effective as a source, but a government official or scientist giving an opinion and data on air quality would be.

On your own, conduct research on the group’s decided topic. You will be responsible for finding information from one primary and one secondary source.

A primary source is an original document or artifact that comes from the period of time being studied. Someone from that time period actually wrote, created, or used the object the historian is studying.

Examples of primary sources are diaries, letters, oral histories, and eyewitness accounts.

Secondary sources are documents written after the event occurred. They provide a secondhand account of the event or topic. Secondary sources often contain more analysis, or even conclusions, about the events or topics discussed.

Examples of secondary sources are newspaper and journal articles, academic textbooks, encyclopedias, reference books, and other non-fiction books and Web sites.

When searching for information, your two sources, primary and secondary, should support each other’s claim. With two sources making the same claim, you can be more certain that the information is accurate.

Fill in your research guide with the information you have found.

Group Discussion: Creating a Hypothesis
Once independent research is complete, return to your group with the information you have collected. Compare your findings, and begin discussing what you have learned about the geographical issue the group identified. Be sure to take turns sharing what you find. Record what your peers have said in your research guide.

Now, you and your group are informed enough to create a hypothesis that could solve the issue you have identified. Based on the information that your group has collected, discuss possible solutions to