Revolutionary War - Short Research Project

Week of October 27th

This week, we will be taking time to learn more about the Revolutionary War.  Three of our book choices for book club are about the Revolutionary War.  George Washington Spymaster - How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas Allen, The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Scheinkin, and A Young Patriot - The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy by Jim Murphy.

You will get to choose what you would like to research.  Either George Washington, Benedict Arnold, or the Revolutionary War.

After you choose a topic, you will research it, take notes, and create a presentation using either Google Presentation, Lucid Press, or Muraly.

What will you hand in?
1.  Notes Sheet
2.  One piece of annotation using Evernote
3.  Presentation - Click here for Rubric

Emmett Till

Who was Emmett Till?  Why was he important?

Thursday and Friday

Today, you will be completing day one of a two day short research project.  You will be gathering information about Emmett Till so that you can use it to create a final product that explains who Emmett Till was and why he was important.

We're studying Emmett because one of our book club options is Getting Away with Murder:  The True Story of the Emmett Till Case.  

Since this is a research project, you will probably be using several websites to find your information.  You may even want to use some videos.  Make sure you use your ear buds if you are watching videos, ok?

The notes sheet needs to be done by the beginning of class next week (Monday for B days, Tuesday for A Days)

Notes Sheet
Paragraph Rubric

Steve Jobs

Who was Steve Jobs?

We use many of his ideas every single day, but what do we know about him?  One of your choices for book club books is Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different.  Just like we did with Malala, we're going to take some time to get to know more about Steve before we pick which books we want to read.  

Today we're going to use all of the skills we've been working on to complete this assignment. Here's what we will be doing:

1.  Complete a Google Search by reading level to find a biography of Steve Jobs.

2.  Check the options to see which one seems the most reliable.

3.  Read the article carefully.  

4.  Answer the close reading questions; give a lot of details.

5.  Share the questions with me when you complete your assignment.
6.  Share your thoughts about Steve Jobs on the blog if time allows (B day hours 5-8, I will publish your comments when I get back to school!)

Close Reading Questions

Evernote - Web Clipper

October 9 & 10
Today, we're going to play around with Evernote and the annotation part of it - Evernote Web Clipper.  You will be using the directions and working with your shoulder partner to try to figure out how to use it.  Post what works as well as your questions to the blog.

Website for Web Clipper Notes

Using Advanced Search Tools

Did you know that you can sort your results in a Google search to find things at your reading level?  You can!  Today, we're going to try it out.  I want you to look for an article about Malala's attackers.  They were recently captured.  Try to find a news article about it at your reading level.  Then blog about what you found.  Reply to others' comments.

Malala Yousafzai

Today, we're going to be learning about Malala Yousafzai.  Her book, I Am Malala - How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World, is one of our choices for our nonfiction book clubs this year.

Step One:  Read the Article that you are given in class and annotate it on paper (Our next project will be digital annotation).  You will either get a Time magazine article or a Biography.com article.  I will be checking your annotation before the end of the hour.

Step Two:  Complete the close reading questions online and share your responses with me.  The links are below.  Directions are on the sheets; make sure you read them!!  :)

Time Magazine
Biography.com Article

Step Three:  Blog your thoughts about what you read.  This could include whether or not you would like to read the book as well as your reactions to Malala's story.  Then reply to others' thoughts.

What will be graded?  Close Reading Questions and Annotation