Project Reminders and Rubric

A few reminders about the project:

1. The project (note cards, rough draft, and final draft) is due on Friday at the beginning of class.
2. You should have ten note cards with at least three facts and an MLA citation on them.
3. Your rough draft should have editing and revision marks on them.
4. Your final draft should be typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, and include a works cited page.
5. Do NOT ask me to print off your essays during class on Friday.
6. You should have in-text citations throughout the paper. Give credit where it is due!
7. All periods, except for block, should have a five paragraph essay. Block should have an eight paragraph essay.


Mr. Spivy is available for help; contact him either through LiveGrades or using the Remind Texts.

Research Project

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Teacher Name: Mr. Spivy


Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	10	9-7	6-4	3-1
Introduction	First paragraph has a "hook" or interesting beginning. It ends with a clear thesis.	First paragraph has a weak "hook". It ends with a clear thesis.	An interesting beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy. The thesis is unclear.	No attempt was made to catch the reader\'s attention in the first paragraph. The thesis is unclear.
Organization	The essay is organized into five distinct parts with clear transitions.	The story is divided into five distinct parts, though the transitions are unclear.	The essay is not divided into the correct essays. The essay lacks much organization.	The essay is not organized at all.
Research	The essay concludes with a correct Works Cited Page and includes many in-text citations.	The essay includes a nearly correct Works Cited Page and include many in-text citations	The essay includes a nearly correct Works Cited Page and few in-text citations.	The Works Cited Page is incorrect; there are no in-text citations
Format	All formatting requirements (double-space, font size, dialogue, technical aspects) are met.	Most formatting requirements are met.	Half of the formatting requirements are met.	Little to no formatting requirements are met.
Grammar/ mechanics	There are no grammatical or mechanical errors in the story.	There are one to three grammatical/mechanical errors.	There are more than three grammatical/mechanical errors.	Grammatical and mechanical errors are innumerably, making the story difficult to read.

 

In-Text Citations and Works Cited Page

For your research project, you are required to include in-text citations and a works cited page(bibliography). In-text citations should appear throughout your essay. The works cited page will be the last page of your essay. Check out the links below to assist you in this endeavor. While skimming is more fun and exciting (and, really, just easier), I would suggest actually reading the information. After the spelling test tomorrow, we can discuss your essays at length.

In-text citations <==click here!

Works Cited Page<==click here! easybib.com will assist you in this process. Use it. It is your friend.

Research Project--Note cards

One of the assignments for your research project is to create ten note cards. These note cards should have the MLA citation at the top. To create your MLA Citation visit easybib.com and fill in the necessary information.

Below your MLA Citation, you need to include three facts, direct quotes, or statistics. These should be found within the website or source that you cited at the top of your card. When you are done, you should have 30 direct quotes, facts, and statistics.

Mystery Research Project

Link to project description

Mystery Research Project

During the next two weeks, you will be researching a true, unsolved mystery. These mysteries could be unsolved murders, unsolved disappearances, paranormal occurrences, historical mysteries, and mysterious creatures. You will be researching police reports, news reports, eye-witness testimony, and relevant evidence. Your focus should be on a particular mystery instead of a broad topic. For instance, you could research “Area 51” instead of “Aliens.” Each person in the class will be researching a different topic. A list of possible topics can be found here. You will be turning in an eight paragraph, typed essay, a rough draft with editing and revision markings, and 10 fact note cards. Your research project should have at least five reliable sources, one of which cannot be an online source. Check the blog for updates and further instructions. This will be due on Friday, May 29.

Note cards:

The note cards for your research should be a great way to help you organize your information and also assist in avoiding plagiarism. Here are some steps to help you get started!

   

1. At the top of the card, write down the MLA citation. There are many websites that will generate the citation with minimal effort.    

       

2.  Gather facts- As you gather your facts, type them into a new card.

               

• should NOT be written in complete sentences unless they are a direct quote

• should contain facts, quotes, or statistics

• should have an average of 3-4 facts on each card
  

3. Keep the note cards organized; you may divide a sheet of paper into four parts instead of using real note cards.

Research Project:

Eight (at least) written paragraphs, 5-7 sentences each

1. Thesis statement and introduction
2. Historical background of the topic (time period, location, first occurrence) Two paragraphs
3. Modern day research/evidence (eyewitness testimony, scientific data, suspects, police reports, etc.) Two paragraphs
4. Theories/explanations (what else could it be?) Two paragraphs
5.  Closure/proving of the thesis

Anne Frank Journal Entry Options

Option A- We quickly learn that Mrs. Van Daan is a superficial person who probably only married her husband for money. Describe the perfect person to date. Are your ideals superficial? Does personality matter more than appearance? What are the best qualities a person can have?

Option B- Anne’s relationships with adults vary widely. With some, she is friendly and cordial. With others, she is combative and antagonistic. She believed that many adults just did not understand her. What are some things that you wished adults (in general) better understood about you? Why? Why don’t they understand these things?

Option C- Assume you had to hide from those who wanted to imprison and ultimately destroy you. Where would you go? Why would you go there? How would you provide for yourself? What would you do to occupy your time?

Bell-ringer and Activity

Be good today. I expect an excellent report when I return. Enjoy your abbreviated spring break. Do good thing; make me proud.

Bell-ringer:
Direction: Create and solve the equation. You cannot use a calculator.

For a field trip, four students rode in cars and the rest filled nine buses. How many students were in each bus if 472 students were on the trip? 

Directions:
Block-6th Period:
1. Do the web quest found in yesterday's post. You will have to write on your own sheet of paper. Be sure to write down the name of the website where you found your information for each question.
2. If you finish the activity, you may go to freerice.com

7th and 8th Period:
1. Finish the Non-Jewish Victims Chart
2. Do the web quest found in yesterday's post. You will have to write on your own sheet of paper. Be sure to write down the name of the website where you found your information for each question.

Bell-ringer and Web Quest

Bell-ringer.

Re-write the following sentences, correcting any grammatical, mechanical, and spelling errors. 
1. three mile island pennsylvania was the cite of the worst neuclear accident in us history.

2. On march 28 2013 at 4 am a valve got stuck open in a reacter
3. Because of this the reactor were not able to be cooled down.
4. The workers of the plant was not trained proper for the situation.
5.  A small amount of chemicals were release in the air. 

Directions for today:
1. Finish the Non-Jewish Victims chart from yesterday.  You are not finished until the whole chart is complete. This is a group grade.
2. Complete the Web Quest. This document cannot be edited. You will need to use multiple web sources (not Wikipedia!). Write your answers on your own sheet of paper. 
Click here.