India and Tunisia Comparison
References
Snaith Primary School. Welcome to India. Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://home.freeuknet/elloughton13/india.htm InterKnowledge Corp.

An Introduction to India. Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.geographia.com/india/

ArabNet. Tunisia. Retrieved October 1, 2006 from www.arab.net/tunisia

Internet Africa Limited. Tunisia Home. Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.tanzania-web.com/www.africanet.com/africanet/country/tunisia/home.htm

Grade Level: three

Activity: Have students learn about the communities of India and Tunisia through research using the above sites, and completing fact posters when they have finished. Students may need some help with the vocabulary in some of the sites because they are written for adults, but the large majority of the content is simple enough for students to understand.

GLO 3.1: Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how geographic, social, cultural and linguistic factors affect quality of life in communities in India, Tunisia, Ukraine and Peru.

SLO 3.1.2: Students will examine the social, cultural and linguistic characteristics that affect quality of life in communities in other parts of the world by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions for inquiry:
- What determines quality of life?
- How does daily life reflect quality of life in the communities (e.g., employment, transportation, roles of family members)? (CC)
- What are the traditions, celebrations, stories and practices in the communities that connect the people to the past and to each other (e.g., language spoken, traditions, customs)? (CC, GC, TCC)
- How is identity reflected in traditions, celebrations, stories and customs in the communities? (CC, I, TCC)
- How are the various leaders chosen in the communities (e.g., within families, within schools, within communities, within government)? (GC, PADM)
- How are decisions made in the communities? Who is responsible for making the decisions? (CC, PADM)
- How do the individuals and groups in the communities maintain peace? (GC, PADM) - How do the individuals and groups in the communities cooperate and share with other group members? (C, CC)
- How is cultural diversity expressed within each community? (CC, I)

Most Relevant ICT outcomes:
- C1 Students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
o 1.1 access and retrieve appropriate information from electronic sources for a specific inquiry
o 1.2 process information from more than one source to retell what has been discovered.
- C4 Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry o 1.1 follow a plan to complete an inquiry
o 1.2 formulate new questions as research progresses
o 1.3 organize information from more than one source

Rationale for computer integration:
Integrating technology into this activity is not essential but it does add to the activity. Firstly, sources of information about Tunisia are not particularly common. Secondly, students may be able to use material that is more recent than that in their classroom. Ideally, students would use a combination of technology and conventional sources such as books and newspapers (which can now also be found on the internet) to conduct their search. This approach would provide the students with the widest possible number of perspectives from which to base their conclusions. This is why the internet is valuable for the activity: in research, increasing the number of quality sources one can access will only improve the results.