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=Uprisings in the Middle East=

BACKGROUND: For decades, dictators in the Middle East have held complete control over their people. In the last few months, however, the citizens of a surprising number of these nations have risen up in an attempt to overthrow their tyrants and achieve democratic reform. These events have caught many by surprise- most notably the dictators themselves- and political scientists are still scrambling to understand what CAUSED these uprisings, let alone predict what might come next. This is crucial, because the matter is far from over (see graph below for a glimpse at the region's instability and which nation could fall next), and if the struggle for basic human rights wasn't enough to interest you- it will impact your life at the gas station at the very least.



YOUR TASK: 1) In groups, you will research the events of a revolution in one of these nations:
 * Tunisia
 * @Egypt
 * @Yemen
 * @Libya
 * @Bahrain
 * Syria

Each person must read and take DETAILED notes from at __least__ four articles (but you'll probably need more). Save the following form to your H drive. Take notes on it and you will submit those notes to me for your individual grade.

During the course of your research you should concentrate on the following areas:
 * Causes/background
 * Major events/steps
 * be sure to note dates and locations
 * Major people
 * definitely give a history of the leader who the people are trying to overthrow, discuss any nasty things they did while in power
 * if there are leaders of the rebellions, find info on them, too
 * Goals of the rebels
 * Reaction of the government
 * Current status
 * Reasons for success/failure of the rebellion (your interpretation on how it's going)

As you conduct this research, keep the Russian Revolution in mind and consider what parallels there are (hint hint)

2) Once your information has been collected, your group will create a website using google sites. One person will create the site, and send invitations to the other people in the group. You will then invite me ( abobsein@palisadessd.org) //as owner.// The website must include the following:


 * At least three different 'pages', with links from page to page
 * A summary and analysis of the rebellion (including all of the info mentioned above)
 * The vast majority of this should be in your own words. Any direct quotations must be properly cited
 * The information should be presented/arranged in a way that is visually appealing
 * A prediction of what you think the end result will be
 * Multiple pictures (cited)
 * At least one video (embedded or linked)
 * Graphs/tables if available
 * A map showing the locations of the biggest events/places involved. You can use a map you find online with the major cities/battles marked which you will then refer to, or for extra credit you can create your own map using google maps or scribblemaps.com
 * A works cited page

3) Once the website is finished you will post the website address on edmodo so everyone can view it. 4) Once all websites are posted you will review each others and look for similarities and differences between the revolutions 5) Finally, an online discussion will occur on edmodo regarding what you've learned through the course of this activity.

EVERYONE []