Global Studies
Global Issue Project
Overview: Students will choose a local issue from outside the United States to research and develop a campaign for a proposed solution. The campaign will include:
•a letter to the editor of a newspaper of magazine
•A letter to a business that could help the cause
•a presentation requesting funding from a panel of fictional “donors.”
•a list of sources
Possible Topics:
Students are strongly encouraged to choose a presentation topic from the list of projects undertaken and endorsed by Mercy Corps. A list of these projects can be found at
The more specific the topic, the better. For example, students should focus on providing clean drinking water to a village in Pakistan rather than trying to solve the problem of global climate change.
Calendar
Date
/Activity
May 2 / Choose TopicsMay 6 / View Sample Project/Library 2nd Half
(Initial Research)
May 8 / Sample Outline of Presentation/Library 2nd Half
May 10 / Library 2nd Half
May 14
May 16 / Library 2nd Half/Assign Presentation Dates
May 20
May 22 / Library 1st Half/Practice Presentations
May 24 / Presentations / Final Drafts of Letters
May 29 / Presentations
May 31
Grading
Item
/Points
/Due Date
Letter to a newspaper or magazineProperly formatted, at least three paragraphs, obviously edited / 20
Persuasive call to action / 10
Letter to a company
Properly formatted, at least three paragraphs, obviously edited / 20
Persuasive call to action / 10
Interviews
Presentation
Professional appearance, handshakes and treatment of panel / 20
Appropriate volume and eye contact / 20
Effectively describes the problem--its history, causes,location, and the people affected / 20
Effectively places the problem in context by describing similar problems to this one and the successes and failures of relief efforts / 20
Effectively describes the efforts to solve the problem that the student supports (Probably the Mercy Corps solution) / 20
Includes a compelling call to action for the panel / 20
Sources
A typed list of sources in proper MLA format / 20
TOTAL / 200
May 6, 2013
Karen Perez, CEO, Petsmart
2122 River Way
Jackson, MI, 67890
Dear Ms. Perez:
I’m writing to describe a fantastic opportunity for your company. Farmers in Pakistan need help, and you could both help them and help your company’s public image with a single donation.
Water buffalo are the tools the farmers of the Sindh region use to plow their fields, just like farmers here use tractors. Recently, horrible flooding has destroyed crops in the region, causing a food shortage. Farmers are faced with the choice of feeding their families or feeding their animals. Of course, they’re choosing their families, but their animals are dying, and the death of their animals will eventually lead to the death of agriculture in the region. Without water buffalo the farmers can’t plow their fields to plant the fall wheat crop, and that crop feeds the people of the Sindh region (and their animals) for the winter. Eventually, the death of their animals means the death of the people of the region.
This is where Petsmart can help. A single donation of $30,000 could feed all the water buffalo of the Sindh region for the summer. This would allow the animals to plow the fields that feed both them and the farmers of the region. However, this donation wouldn’t just help farmers and their animals--imagine the public relations and advertising benefits your company could reap. We will work diligently to ensure that there is press coverage of the program and Petsmart’s role will be displayed prominently. Also, imagine an advertisement that displays American families with their pets, then Pakistani farmers with their buffalo, all under the tag line, “Petsmart cares.” We hope you do care. Please contact me for more information, or go to go to savethesindh.org to donate.
Sincerely,
Dave Case, Director, savethesindh.org
1223 Rand Road
Hood River, OR, 97031
May 6, 2013
Hood River News
P.O. Box 390
Hood River, OR 97031
To the editor:
As citizens of an agricultural community, Hood River Valley residents understand the importance of a tractor--without these important tools, no orchardist or farmer in this valley could turn a profit. That’s why I ask the people of the Hood River Valley to consider helping the farmers of the Sindh region of southern Pakistan. Their tractors are dying, and you can help.
How do tractors die? They don’t, but water buffalo do, and water buffalo are the tools the farmers of the Sindh region use to plow their fields, just like farmers here use tractors. Recently, horrible flooding has destroyed crops in the region, causing a food shortage. Farmers are faced with the choice of feeding their families or feeding their animals. Of course, they’re choosing their families, but their animals are dying, and the death of their animals will eventually lead to the death of agriculture in the region. Without water buffalo the farmers can’t plow their fields and plant the fall wheat crop, and that crop feeds the people of the Sindh region (and their animals) for the winter. Eventually, the death of their animals means the death of the people of the region.
This is where the people of the Hood River Valley can help. There are 22,000 residents of this county. If each citizen donated one dollar we could feed all the water buffalo of the Sindh region for three months. During that time they could help farmers plow their fields to grow the crops they need, restarting the cycle these families have depended on for generations. We all know that not everyone will contribute, so I’m encouraging all Hood River residents to go to savethesindh.org and donate twenty dollars to help this struggling community. Twenty dollars could save twenty lives.
Sincerely,
Dave Case, Director, savethesindh.org
1223 Rand Road
Hood River, OR, 97031
MLA Works Cited List: How to Cite . . .
1. An Article from a Magazine or Newspaper (a hard copy—not one online)
Author(s). "Article Title." Title of Magazine or Newspaper Day Month Year: page number(s). Print.
Pone, James and Susan Smith. "TV Makes a Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2010: 70-71. Print.
2. An Article Published in an ONLINE Version of a Magazine or Newspaper (No author listed? Ignore this part, and alphabetize by the title. Use “n. p.” if no publisher is provided; “n. d.” = no date of posting provided; “n. pag.” = no page numbers provided.)
Author(s). "Article Title." Magazine or Newspaper Day Month Year: page. Name of Website. Web.
Date accessed.
Brown, Ana. "TV Makes Three." Newsweek 20 Nov. 2010: 70. The Daily Beast. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
Li, Bill. "Targets." Washington Post 24 May 2007: n. pag. Washingtonpost.com. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
3. An Online Article that does NOT Appear in Print(No author listed? Ignore this part, and alphabetize by the title. Use “n. p.” for no publisher; “n. d.” = no posting date; “n. pag.” = no page numbers. For sites like ABC News, scroll to the very bottom of the home page and look for a copyright date; there should be a publisher or sponsor right next to it.)
Author and/or editor names (if available). “Article Title or Web Page Title.” Title of Website. Name of
Publisher or Sponsor (if available), date originally posted (if available). Web. Date accessed.
“Japan Plant Precarious.” CBSNews.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
4. Article From an Online Database like OSLIS (ProQuest, Gale PowerSearch, or Infotrack)
Cite the original publication information, then the name of the database (italicized and followed by a period), then “Web,” then the date you accessed it.
Author. " Title." Title of Original Source Day Month Year: page. Database. Web. Date accessed.
Li, Bill. "Center Targets." Washington Post 24 Dec. 2012: B11. Infotrack. Web. 24 April 2013.
5. A Personal Interview
Person Interviewed. Personal Interview. Date of interview.
Neitzel, Karen. Personal Interview. 12 May 2013.
Citing a source not listed above? Consult the “MLA Formatting and Style Guide” in “The Owl at Purdue” website: