The Pearl

Directions: You will be assigned to a group to research information relating to the background of our new novel The Pearl. Each group will be required to make a poster (or other visual display) of the information that they have found. You may get information from the hyperlinks below. Each group will present to the class what they have learned. They may either present the information in a power point presentation or use the overhead sheets and markers.


bullet Group 1.  The Harvesting of Pearls
bullet 1. emilinayens:  This site has an essay that gives great details about how black cultured pearls are produced.
bullet 2. Shane Co:  This site gives a great description of the history of pearls.  It also mentions how they are formed and harvested.
bullet 3. Royal Ontario Museum:  This web site has a great tour that gives all the information you ever wanted to know about pearls, but were afraid to ask!
bullet 4. A Brief History of Pearls:  As the title would indicate, this site gives a short history of pearls.  But, then it goes into greater detail about how pearls are formed.

 
bullet Answer the following questions:
bullet How are pearls formed?
bullet How are they harvested now?
bullet How did they use to be harvested?
bullet Where are pearls found?
bullet How long does it take for a pearl to form?

bullet

Group 2. Background of La Paz, Mexico
bullet 1.  Todos Santos Pages--Baja Mexico:  This site gives a very good background of La Paz.  There are some good pictures of what it looks like today. 
bullet 2. Information about La Paz, Mexico:  This page give a brief description of some of the outdoor activities in La Paz.  It is more of a travel/ tourist web site than an informative one.
bullet 3. A Brief History of the Lower Baja Peninsula:  This is a great web site for some history of the La Paz region.  (Unfortunately, the last time I went the pictures didn't work. Hopefully they will work when you visit.)
 
bullet Answer the following questions:
bullet Where is La Paz?
bullet What is a brief history of La Paz?
bullet How do the citizens of La Paz typically make money?
bullet What is the weather like in La Paz?

bullet Group 3. The life of a scorpion.
bullet 1. Scorpions-Desert USA:  this is a great web page that gives all kinds of facts about desert-living scorpions.
bullet 2. The Scorpion Files:  This page links to a lot of other pages that give you great information about scorpions.  There is no real information on this page you must click the links on the left.
bullet 3. Scorpion--enchantedlearning.com--this page gives a brief description of scorpions.  There is a great graphic here that shows a scorpion's anatomy.
bullet Answer the following questions:
bullet What does a scorpion look like?
bullet What kind of venom do scorpions have?
bullet Does a scorpion die after it stings?
bullet What does a scorpion eat?
bullet What predators does a scorpion have?

bullet Group 4. Role of the Catholic Church in small Mexican villages in the 1900's.
bullet 1. Historical Text Achive--The Role and the Mission of the Catholic Church in Mexico.  This web site is fantastic.  It will answer all of your questions.  However, it is long and somewhat hard to read.  I would check this site last. 
bullet 2. Mexico--Religion:  This site has just as much information as the first, but it is a bit easier to read.  Still challenging and long, but easier to read. 
bullet 3. LatinoLA--Comunidad--News and Information about your community:  This web page has a selection of more recent history.  There is some good information, but much of it is after the setting of The Pearl.
bullet 4. MSN-encarta--Mexico:  This is a very long and big encyclopedia selection about Mexico in general.  You must scroll down to find the sub-section on religion.
bullet 5. Politics and Society.  The Colony. History. Mexico for kids.  This is a great web site that is easy to read.  There are some links to more information at the bottom of the page. 
bullet Answer the following questions:
bullet How did the Church help?
bullet How did the Church hinder?
bullet Did the villages like the Church?
bullet How did the Church help educate?
bullet How did the Church help with medicine?

bullet Group 5. Conflict between the people of Spanish and Indian background
bullet 1. Mexico--Ethnicity and Language:  This is a great web site that details the Mexican caste system and some of the inherent racism. 
bullet 2.  Politics and Society.  The Colony. History. Mexico for kids.  This web site is easy to read.  There are two sections about the way that the people of Spanish and Mexican descent treated each other. 
bullet Answer the following questions:
bullet Where do the Spanish people live?
bullet Where do the Indians live?
bullet How did the two groups feel about each other?
bullet Do they each have equal opportunity?
bullet Which group had the most money?