World+Geography+8+Research+Project


 * World Geography 8 Research Project Letter and Handouts **

 Dear Families and Students:

I am excited to embark upon the research project this quarter. This meaningful endeavor is designed to enhance the students’ critical thinking, informative and analytical writing, and organizational skills within the context of the social studies curriculum. Additionally, the entire research project, which includes selecting a topic, locating relevant materials, note taking, outlining, giving credit to sources, and writing a well-organized, informative, investigative, thought-provoking paper, will take place during mid March until May. In order for this process to be a successful learning experience, we will complete each portion in steps, which are carefully described and modeled in this research manual. (The links for the research manual are below.) Each component has a separate due date, culminating into the final product. In fact, students will be presented with a Power Point presentation which will answer “Frequently Asked Questions” regarding the research project. Such areas as why the students must formulate three questions about the research; why it is important to create an outline of the facts discovered during research; how long and in what format the paper should be; and what happens if work is submitted late, are all covered during this presentation. In addition, it should also be noted that students and their families can locate information, extra copies, and models for all of the needed research requirements on my Wikispace page at www.room301scholars.wikispaces.com by clicking on the World Geography 8 Research Project page. Although there will be many opportunities to visit the library in school and to work on writing during class, students are expected to work independently at home and during study hall, if needed. Please also be reminded that the regular, academic programs will still be occurring; therefore, students should manage their time wisely in order to prepare for quizzes, exams, and other academic responsibilities that may be unrelated to the research project. Parents and Guardians, I thank you in advance for your support and encouragement of this project. Please sign the form on the third page of the enclosed timeline to indicate that you have carefully reviewed this manual and understand its contents and are aware of the due dates.

Sincerely, Torrye Parker 7th/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Research Project Timeline and Checklist and Parent/Guardian Form

Step-By-Step Research Process

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Choose Your Research Topic & List of Topics

Topic Selection Form

Effective Notetaking

Avoiding Plagiarism & How to Use Citations in Your Research Paper

How to Prepare a Works Cited Page

Works Cited Entries

Works Cited Worksheet

Making an Outline

Outline Peer-Editing Rubric

How to Write the Introduction

Rough Draft Peer Editing Rubric

Parenthetical Citations