Christopherson-+Map+List



** Alaska Studies Regional/Map Place Assignment **  ** Tim Christopherson, 8/2010 ** Alaska can be broken-up into six distinct regions based on factors such as topography, climate & weather, Native Inhabitants, and economic activity, among other factors. You will be loosely working in groups discovering a place and region of Alaska.

You will be assigned one place (off of the Alaska Map assignment that you completed in class) to research and report on.

Immerse yourself into the study of the place you’ve been assigned. Find out who lives there (** // demographics/Native groups // **), what the land is like (** // geographic features // **-mountains, rivers, glaciers, etc…), and research the ** // climate & weather // **. What do people do for income? What other ** // economic activity // ** exists in your place and/or region? What ** // plants and animals // ** are there?

Depending on what place you actually research will determine what topics you will emphasize more in your research. For example, if the place you were assigned is the Brooks Range, the emphasis of your research would be more on the geographic features, plants & animals and climate & weather. There aren’t too many communities located in the Brooks Range nor is there much economic activity.

Your grade will consist of the following:

1.Images (25 points): Gather 12-15 images of your place. Make a new folder on your desktop with your Alaska place (#1-95 on the map) as its name. If your place was Nome, that would be the name of your folder. Drag, drop & // re-name // the images for what they are or what they represent.

Example: 01290389.jpg should be re-named to reflect the content of the picture: NomeFrontStreet 1.jpg

2. Paper (50 points): Write 1.5-2 pages (750 words, +/-) about your place. Include all of the topics in your paper (if possible): Demographics, Geography, Climate & Weather, Economic Activity, and Plants & Animals. The paper is fairly informal and does not need to include a bibliography, but spelling and grammar will be graded as well as the content of your paper. Your paper should reflect your in-depth research and knowledge of your place. Don’t simply “report” on your place; try and convey that you learned something about it thru your research.

3. Group grade/presentation (25 points): Everyone with a place in the same region (Arctic, Western, Southeast, Southwest, Southcentral & the Interior) will come together and present about the five topics in your region--Demographics, Geography, Climate & Weather, Economic Activity, and Plants & Animals.

To do this you will compare information regarding the topics, make inferences and generalizations about your regions and conduct a brief 5-7 minute presentation for the class.

Your images will all be dropped into one folder and will play continuously while you conduct your presentation. Everyone must participate and speak during the presentation for full credit.

Research will occur in the computer labs and you will have an opportunity to use the Alaska Geographic’s in class once as well as an opportunity to share what you’ve learned about your place and put together a presentation. You’ll have a long period set aside to type your paper and/or tidy-up your presentation.

Map of Alaska: []

Census Info: [] Census info by state, borough (where applicable) & town/city

Alaska Home Town Locator: [] Physical, cultural, historical info on boroughs & cities

Mtn. Ranges: [|http://www.greatlandofalaska.com/reference/ranges.html#kuskokwim]

Consider using this significant resource if you were assigned a village or town: []