Rwandan Genocide
In April 1994, genocide occurred in the small African nation of Rwanda between 2 tribes, the Tutsi and the Hutu majority. Although the UN had a peace-keeping force in Rwanda, they were ordered not to act, and ultimately withdrew from the country. During a 100-day period, 800,000-1 million persons were systematically killed at a rate of 1 person every 12 seconds. While the international community could have prevented these atrocities, they did nothing. Ultimately, a Tutsi-led force was able to overthrow the Hutu government.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
During the 1830s, Charles Darwin began his observations of various life forms during a visit to the Galapagos Islands. He noticed that the sizes and shapes of the beaks of various finches differed, and he began to ponder the reasons why. This helped form his theory of natural selection. This theory states that the strongest living things adapt to their environment and survive to reproduce. Their offspring will then inherit these biological characteristics, while weaker ones will die out. This theory was later applied to social and political issues to describe why strong nations defeat weaker ones, a concept known as Social Darwinism.
American Association of School Librarians Standards for the 21st Century Learner:
1.1.1 Follow an inquiry based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real world connection for using this process in own life.
1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
Common Core State Standards:
CC.11-12.W.1 Text Types and Purposes: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CC.11-12.W.2 Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CC.11-12.W.2.b Text Types and Purposes: Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
CC.11-12.W.7 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CC.11-12.W.8 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
The Gale Virtual Reference Center is a collection of e-books in many topics including social studies. This database includes full-text reference books and specialized encyclopedia sets. The password is cran_log.
Suggestion: Use this database to find information on Rwanda. For this assignment, type "Rwanda" into the search box below. Scroll through the articles to find many articles about genocide in Rwanda.
Student Resources in Context includes content from full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, and audio files. Use this database to search for information about people, places, events, and other topics. This is a good all-purpose database. The password is cran_log
Suggestion: Use this database to find information about Rwanda and Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
The History Reference Center contains a weath of information about American and World History. You can access it by clicking on the icon above, or by going to the Ebsco database section on http://askri.org.
Suggestion: Use this database to find information about Rwanda.
