Seventh Grade World War II Research Project Topic Commitment Form and Parent Letter---------------------Pages 2-4 Requirements and Expectations ----------------------------------Page 5 Content and Organization------------------------------------------Page 6-8 Note Card Instructions----------------------------------------------Page 9-12 Typing Instructions--------------------------------------------------Page 13-14 Bibliography Instructions ------------------------------------------Page 15 Do s and Don ts ------------------------------------------------------Page 16 Presentation ----------------------------------------------------------Page 17 Grading ---------------------------------------------------------------Page 18 Schedule --------------------------------------------------------------Page 19-20 7th Grade Writing Instructor: Mrs. Sargeant (Name of Student) 1
TOPIC COMMITMENT FORM & PARENT LETTER (Part One) To The Student: For the next few weeks you will be writing a research paper. Many of you have had little, or no, experience in writing a research paper. Remember that the process of doing the background work and writing the paper is just as important, if not more important, that the final research paper itself. In the future, you will be asked to write larger papers in the 8 th grade and high school. The little research paper that we are about to do will help you when you are asked to write bigger projects later on. I will go through each page of this guide with you as well as all of the steps required for writing a research paper as a whole class. There will be many activities that we will do before composition, during composition, and after composition. Because we will spend many hours composing in the computer lab, it is important that you understand that you must use the time given in the lab conscientiously. It is very important that you keep your attendance positive during this time. Finally, if you feel you need additional time in the computer lab, there will be extended hours when I will supervise students who wish to come in early or stay after school to use the computer lab for this project. ~ALL COMPOSITIONS WILL BE COMPLETED AT SCHOOL UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF MRS. S.~ 2
By this time, each of you is considering a specific topic related to WWII or the decade in which WWII took place to research. As I have suggested, consider weapons, specific battles, military equipment, a particular general, fashion, music, sports, women, American workforce, etc. (Remove and Return the Bottom Portion of This Page) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I confirm that I have read this information packet and am aware of my responsibilities. I am also aware of the schedule, grading rubric, and all other expectations for this project. The WWII Topic I WILL Be Researching (Student Signature) 3
To The Parents: TOPIC COMMITMENT FORM & PARENT LETTER (Part Two) Please take some time to review the entire contents of this packet. In addition, please speak with you student about the topic he or she has chosen, the resources they might use, and the essential questions they might want to answer in their paper. You can help your child the most in three ways. One, help them select a WWII related topic that would be easy to research. Second, remove the Parent Copy of the schedule at the back of this packet and place it on the refrigerator at home. Support their work and efforts at school with the project by asking for updates, helping with note cards, resources, notes, the rough draft, and perhaps providing transportation to the library or assistance with research on the computer at home. Third, help them focus what they write about so that it reflects what they want to tell about the topic they are researching. This entire Research Packet is available on my teacher website: www.mrssargeant.net You are also welcome to send a note with your son or daughter, call me at school, call me at home, or email me at my personal email: sksargeant@comcast.net (Remove and Return Bottom Portion) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This confirms that I have read through the research packet and that I am aware of my child s responsibilities and expectations regarding this research project. I also confirm that I am aware of the ways that I can be of assistance to my son or daughter. I have discussed his or her WWII related topic choice. I am also aware of the schedule and grading rubric for this project assignment. (Parent Signature) 4
REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS A title page with graphic Outline A revised, 750-1500 word document (3 pages minimum not more than 5 pages) A Works Cited page (Bibliography) 20-50 note cards. (Rule of thumb = 3-5 cards per page of typed work, or main idea, and one card for each source you use) A minimum of three sources but more are allowable ~ Books, internet, interviews, pamphlets, movies, television, encyclopedia, periodicals, and magazines ~ MUST include ONE book and ONE internet source ~ Wikipedia will not be allowed as an acceptable source ~ One source must be annotated Document must be completed on word processors/ computers at school during school hours or extended lab times with Mrs. Sargeant A report cover (optional) Two final copies 5
CONTENT & ORGANIZATION Title Page Please put the following information on the title page of your research paper: ~ A creative title ~ A graphic ~ Your name ~ Mrs. Sargeant ~ 7 th Grade Research Paper ~ May, 2009 You may use an acceptable size font, word art, color, etc. Please follow the order given above. Remember that everything on the title page should be centered. Outline Prepare a dirty outline and submit to Mrs. S. by the specified due date. This may be done on notebook paper. However, once you receive the approved dirty outline, please rewrite it on the special outline form provided by Mrs. S. This outline will be turned in with your research paper. The most important thing about your outline is that it will guide you through the writing part of this project. But, how will you know what to write in your paper? What questions will you try to answer about your topic? These questions provide the backbone of the entire research project. Your most important job is to think of some good ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS about the topic, find the answers when you do your research, then write it all down. Create your outline based on your ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS. One of your first assignments will be to show me a list of 10 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS. 6
Introduction This research paper is to inform or explain. It is an expository. However, you still need to prepare a strong thesis statement that clearly defines your purpose for writing this paper. Therefore, your introduction will be a minimum of 100 words with a formal thesis statement written as the last sentence. A complete thesis statement for this research paper should include: 1) The World War II topic 2) A fact about the topic 3) What do I expect the class to learn about this topic Besides the thesis statement, remember that the introduction is your big chance to hook the reader. Think of a creative way to approach this by using some of the tricks we have learned: ~ use a quote ~ use an anecdote ~ use a statistic ~ use a shocking or surprising fact ~ ask a question All must relate to the WWII topic and then transition to the thesis statement. Let me know if you need help with this! Body Paragraphs Use the information you wrote on your note cards to help you form your body paragraphs. Follow your outline. You will need one body paragraph for each ESSENTIAL QUESTION. Find the answers to as many of the ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS as possible. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I will look for it. 7
Conclusion As you recall from other writing we have done this year, the conclusion is simply a summary of the other information in your paper. The conclusion should be 3-6 sentences in length, and they should be strong sentences not weak and puny. USE ACTIVE VOICE!! You need to end your paper with a strong statement that leaves the reader with something to remember or think about. I always say that if you misspelled some words or even wrote some sentences that didn t make sense, they might remember that. But, you can be sure that if you DO NOT have a strong introduction and conclusion then you did a lot of work for nothing. Those are the parts that get and keep the reader even after they have finished reading your paper. Some good techniques to use for writing a solid conclusion include: ~ Find a way to connect back to the story you might have told in the introduction ~ Share an interesting or shocking fact ~ Provide a quote, but not the same quote you might have used in the introduction 8
Use of Note Cards NOTE CARDS USE AND INSTRUCTIONS The number of note cards you will need will depend on two things. One: Your essential questions and the notes you take in answering them will require the most note cards. Two: The number of sources you have will also require an equal number of note cards. If you look back at page 6, you will recall that you must develop 10 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS to respond to. You are going to need one paragraph for each of these and 2-3 details in each paragraph. You have to write your notes on the note cards. Consider this example: 1. EQ #1 asks, How did World War II influence fashion for women in the United States between 1940 and 1945? 2. Let s say one source you used told about clothes, hats, and hair. 3. You would need a note card for each of these fashion items and a list of 2-3 facts/notes on each note card. 4. If there are three fashion items, then you would need three cards just for that EQ to have notes for that paragraph. 5. In addition, you would need one card for the source information so you can use it do prepare your bibliography. 6. All together, for that Essential Question, you are going to use four note cards. 7. You have 10 Essential Questions to respond to. 10 x 4 = 40. This number is just for the body paragraphs. If you used information from a source for the introduction, such as a statistic, then that might require 2-3 note cards; one to two for the notes and one for the bibliography information. 8. For this research assignment, it is not beyond reality to expect to use up to 50 or 60 note cards, but you will probably not need that many. 9
Instruction For Filling Out the Note Cards BIBLIOGRAPHY CARDS 1. Use a separate note cards for EACH source you acquire. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Source Card # Name of Article Name of Encyclopedia (Ex. World Book Enc.) Volume Number or Letter, Page Number Edition: Year of Publication Note: Some encyclopedia articles have the author s name and some do not. Most do not. If it is available, provide the author s last name first, then first name. EXAMPLE: Fashion World Book Encyclopedia Volume 6, Page 100 20 th Edition: 2000 1 MAGAZINE OR PERIODICAL: Source Card # Last Name, First Name of author(s) Title of Article Title of Magazine Date: Page Number(s) EXAMPLE: Sargeant, Fred and Sandra Sargeant How Our Parents Dressed in the 1940 s Vogue Magazine January, 2009: Pages 50-51 2 INTERNET: Source Card # Last Name, First Name of author(s) Title of Article On-Line Source: Internet Date you read article Website Address (either with http or www or both) EXAMPLE: Pierce, Matthew Fashion, Females, and Foxholes On Line Source: Internet April 30, 2009 http//:fashionista 3 INTERVIEW: Source Card # Last Name, First Name Job or Why they were interviewed Date of interview EXAMPLE: Mary Lou Crick Young bride of a sailor during WWII Interviewed on Monday, April 29, 2009 4 10
BOOK: Source Card # Author s Last Name, First Name Title of Book City: Publisher Year of Publication EXAMPLE: Green, Irene Those Were the Days New York City: Parkerhouse Press 1989 5 TELEVISION PROGRAM OR MOVIE: Source Card # Name of Program or Movie Channel viewed on Date you watched program or movie: time EXAMPLE: The Military is in My Closet PBS Channel 47 Sunday, April 19, 2009: 7 P.M. 6 DVD OR VHS MOVIE: Movie Title DVD (Date of release) Date your viewed the movie Source Card # EXAMPLE: 7 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and My Shorts DVD (1995) Viewed on Friday, April 24 11
Note Cards (with notes you collected from your research) EXAMPLE II (Roman No.) Hair Fashion - 1 (This card has notes that your will use in paragraph 2) (This is the main topic of par. II and this is the first card with notes written about hair fashions) Information you want to write p. 15 (page number from the source where you got the information) 12
WORD PROCESSING (TYPING) INSTRUCTIONS Page Set-Up WARNING!!! SAVE all pages in YOUR STUDENT FILE on the server. ADD the title page, outline, and bibliography TO THE TEXT DOCUMENT. DO NOT make a new file for each part (title pg., outline, bib.) ONE FORMAT THE TITLE PAGE ON TOOL BAR: Select the CENTER button RETURN eight times Type the Title Add the Graphic RETURN eight times Type your name and press Enter twice (do not type BY) Type Mrs. Sargeant and press Enter once Type 7 th Grade Research Paper and press Enter once Type May, 2009 TWO FORMAT THE TEXT Select Format : Choose Times New Roman, Bookman Old Style, or Palatino Select Format : Choose 12 or 14 pt. font size Select Format : Change spacing to double spacing REMEMBER: 2 spaces after a period and one space after comma DO NOT put anything at the top or bottom of any of the pages with body paragraphs. You will prepare the title page first then format the text for the body paragraphs. When you have finished typing the body of your paper it will be time to type the Works Cited page (bibliography). 13
THREE FORMAT THE BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE On the master tool bar at the top of the screen, click on the Align Center button. Type WORKS CITED and press Enter three times. On the master tool bar at the top of the screen, click on Align Left button. Place your source cards in alphabetical order by first word on the card. Type the cards in this order. Press Enter after you type all the information for the whole card. NOTE: Do not underline titles on this page. Change underlining to italics. 14
SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE WORKS CITED Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and My Shorts. Boy George, 1995. DVD Crick, Mary Lou. Young bride of a sailor in U.S. Navy during WWII. Personal interview. April 29, 2009. Fashion. World Book Encyclopedia: Vol. 6, pg. 100. 20 th Edition: 2000. Green, Irene. Those Were the Days. New York City: Parkerhouse Press, 1999. Pierce, Matthew, Phd. Fashion, Females, and Foxholes. Fashionista. On Line. Internet. April 30, 2009. Available: http://www.fashionista.org Sargeant, Fred and Sandra. How Our Parents Dressed in the 1940 s. Vogue Magazine. January, 2009: pgs. 50-51. The Military is in My Closet. PBS Channel 47/WTVP. April 19, 2009. 15
DO S & DON T S DO have a catchy opening. Check-out the hand-out in your packet, Good Beginnings. You only have one chance to make the reader want to read your paper. DO have a solid ending. Check-out the hand-out in your packet, Happy Endings. Make sure everything is wrapped up and summarized, AND, you leave the reader with something cool to think about. DO have solid facts, statistics, quotes, etc. Write deliberately with active voice so you will appear as though you are an expert on the company you have chosen to research. DO have a strong thesis statement in your introduction. DO us strong transitions to let the reader know you are beginning a new part of your paper. DO proofread. Running Spell Check is a good thing, BUT, it is VERY important that you read your entire paper even after running Spell Check. Start at the title page and go all the way to the bibliography. You can t always rely on Spell Check. For example, if you type their but you meant there it won t catch the wrong usage. It only checks for spelling and their is spelled correctly. Also, while proofreading, make sure subject and verb agreement is right. You can avoid confusing the reader this way. DO make sure you indent your paragraphs. Follow your outline and indent each time you start typing a new paragraph about a new Essential Question. DO NOT use abbreviations and symbols in the body paragraphs unless you check with me first. Write out every word. DO NOT use slang. Please write using Standard, Formal Register English. If slang is part of a quote or something, check with me first. DO NOT use contractions. Again, type out all words completely. Remember, When In Doubt, Write It Out. DO NOT use I am going to tell you about a company, I, me, you, we, stuff, thing, like. These are overused and will make your paper sound lazy and immature. DO NOT use questions in your writing except in the introduction. Facts and good information supported by lots of details and good sources will make you sound like an authority on the company, not asking questions and giving answers. 16
PRESENTATION You will prepare and give a presentation about your WWII topic. The audience for this presentation will be your language arts classmates and me. Be sure to sign up for your presentation date and begin preparing in advance so you will be ready on your assigned day. Unless you are absent, no presentations can be made up. 1. Use an outline or note cards to do your speech 2. Just as in your paper, you need to make sure you have a good beginning, plenty of information in the middle, and a great ending 3. Prepare a 3-5 minute presentation 4. Discuss all of your Essential Questions 5. Prepare some type of visual. You may use Power Point. If you use Power Point, you must have a minimum of eleven slides: Title slide plus one slide per paragraph. 6. You will make your presentation during language arts class 17
GRADING 1. Schedule and Student/Parent Signatures Completed 2. Content: Accuracy of information 3. Focus: Introduction, conclusion, stay on topic 4. Organization: Paragraphing, topic sentences, ending sentences 5. Support: Explanations, examples, information 6. Conventions: Grammar, style, mechanics, spelling, revisions 7. Homework: Note cards, outline, dirty drafts 8. Word Processing: Typing, indenting, spacing, margins 9. Formatting: Proper title page w/graphic, proper bibliography, proper outline, proper pagination, proper font, pages in order 10. Requirements: On time, title page w/graphic, outline, body paragraphs, 750-1500 words, bibliography, three sources, 30-50 note cards, drafts 11. Presentation: Speech, visual aid, content 18
WWII RESEARCH PAPER SCHEDULE ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE POINTS POSSIBLE Research Proposal April 23 20 Points Proposal Thesis Statement April 24 10 Points Thesis (30) Key Ideas April 27 10 Points Ideas 10 Essential Questions April 28 20 Points Essential? s (30) 30-50 Note Cards (notes) April 30 30 Points Note Cards 3 Note Cards (sources) 10 Points Source Cards (40) Outline May 1 10 Points Outline Introductory Paragraph 20 Points Into Par. (30) Rough Draft (typed) May 8 50 Points Draft Title Page 10 Points Title Page (60) Final Paper Due! 10 Points Two Copies on time 3-5 Pages (typed) This does not include the additional title page and May 15 May 15 (10) bibliography page Presentations May 18-22 50 Points (250 Points Total) I will be available to assist or supervise you before and after school in the library from 7:45-8:10 A.M. and from 3:15-4:00 P.M. for additional working time. Be sure to note that you may also access Carnegie Library in Lewistown and Parlin Ingersoll Library in Canton any time during their regular business hours. Please see me the day before you need to use the computer lab here at school so I can give you a pass and know that I need to be available to supervise. 19
COMPANY RESEARCH PAPER SCHEDULE PARENTS COPY ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE POINTS POSSIBLE Research Proposal April 23 20 Points Proposal Thesis Statement April 24 10 Points Thesis (30) Key Ideas April 27 10 Points Ideas 10 Essential Questions April 28 20 Points Essential? s (30) 30-50 Note Cards (notes) April 30 30 Points Note Cards 3 Note Cards (sources) 10 Points Source Cards (40) Outline May 1 10 Points Outline Introductory Paragraph 20 Points Into Par. (30) Rough Draft (typed) May 8 50 Points Draft Title Page 10 Points Title Page (60) Final Paper Due! 10 Points Two Copies on time 3-5 Pages (typed) This does not include the additional title page and May 15 May 15 (10) bibliography page Presentations May 18-22 50 Points (250 Points Total) I will be available to assist or supervise you before and after school in the library from 7:45-8:10 A.M. and from 3:15-4:00 P.M. for additional working time. Be sure to note that you may also access Carnegie Library in Lewistown and Parlin Ingersoll Library in Canton any time during their regular business hours. Please see me the day before you need to use the computer lab here at school so I can give you a pass and know that I need to be available to supervise. 20