Hispanics in the United States of America
This is a 3 day project. You will be working independently in the computer writing lab. Do your own work. Read through the entire project before beginning so you will know how to pace yourself. This will count as a major test grade.
In this activity you will be visiting a web site about Hispanics in the U.S. Some of the information that you will be reading is in Spanish but you should be able to understand enough to fill in the following information.
After you have found some basic information about the various nationalities of Hispanics, you will select a famous person and write a short biography.
Let’s get started!
Fill in the information that you gather on the worksheet that you have been given.
1. Go to the following web site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/spanish/especiales/mundolatino/map_yellow1.shtml
Find the following information and fill in the blanks:
The total population of the U.S. is ______.
The Hispanic population in the U.S. is ______.
The figures in this document were recorded on ______.
The percentage of Hispanics in the U.S is ______.
The estimated Hispanic population for the year 2050 is ______.
2. Answer the following questions (click on the highlighted states on the mapa interactivo)
A} What are the states with the largest number of Hispanics?
B} What is the total Hispanic population in California:
Arizona: and Texas:
C} What is the percentage of nationalities within the Hispanic population?
3. Select one of the highlighted states, click on it, and fill in the following chart:
State: ______
Total population: ______
Hispanic population: ______
Largest nationality: ______
Smallest nationality: ______
4. Now click on the following link:
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hhm1.html
Look under the Population Statistics section, click on the link called Countries of Birth of the ForeignBorn Population, 1850-2000
In 1960, how many people living in the US were born in Mexico?______
In 2000, how many people living in the US were born in Mexico?______
Now, click on the Top 10 Places of 100,000 or more population with the Highest Percentage of Hispanics
What percentage of Hispanics make up the total population in:
East Los Angeles, Calif? ______
Hialeah, Fla.? ______
El Paso, Texas? ______
Miami, Fla.? ______
Next, click on the US Hispanic/Latino Population, Census 2000
What percentage of the Hispanic population are:
Mexican? ______
Dominican? ______
Costa Rican? ______
Argentinean? ______
Ecuadorian? ______
Look under the Economic Statistics section, click on Median Income of Households by Selected Characteristics
What is the median income for the White race? ______
Black race? ______
Hispanic? ______
As you can see from your research, the Hispanic population is increasing in our country. People of Hispanic origin are living primarily in certain regions of our country but, you also know that many Hispanics live even in small towns such as ours. The likelihood of your encountering someone who speaks Spanish is extremely high. Knowing how to speak Spanish will come in handy as you pursue your career. In general, people who are able to speak another language can command higher salaries than those who don’t.
You are just beginning your journey in the study of Spanish. If you decide to continue studying Spanish in college, I would recommend that you spend a semester or a full year studying in a Spanish speaking country such as Spain or Mexico. Being immersed in the language is the only way to truly become fluent.
Now it is time to learn about some famous Hispanic people. You will be writing a short biography. You must word process your biography. I will not accept anything handwritten.
READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING
To write a biography you should:
1. Select a person you are interested in. Go to this link and choose a famous Hispanic person. They are listed alphabetically or you can choose by category from the box on the right.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hhmbioaz.html
Find out the basic facts of the person's life.
A. Birth date
B. Birth place
C. Occupation
D. Origin (which country is his family originally from)
2. Think about what else you would like to know about the person, and what parts of their life you want to write most about. Some questions you might want to think about are: (Choose at least 5 questions to include.)
You will want to go to this link for additional information about your chosen subject.
http://www.biography.com/search/
o What makes this person special or interesting?
o What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? other people?
o What are the adjectives you would most use to describe the person?
o What examples from their life illustrate those qualities?
o What events shaped or changed this person's life?
o Did he or she overcome obstacles? Take risks? Get lucky?
o Would the world be better or worse if this person hadn’t lived? How and why?
o How did his/her family come to the USA? Why did they leave their country?
o Did he or she immigrate to the USA or were they born here of Hispanic parents?