The old Class Project Blog will remain active for students and teachers who want to access archived content.
For the new school year, every class will sign up for a Google Classroom with Ms. Mernick. This will allow for easier, more direct sharing of resources, as well as more flexibility with student comments and work products.
The old Class Project Blog will remain active for students and teachers who want to access archived content. For this project, we'll build on the wonderful work you did on your history fair research so you can practice some of the skills we learned. You have all chosen a topic that interests you about the human body. Use the packet from Ms. Collins to keep track of your research and the sources you use.
Here are some websites that will help you get started: Britannica School This online encyclopedia is good for getting a general overview of your topic. You can do a search for your topic, or browse through the many topics on the Organs and Organ Systems page. Kids Health: How the Body Works This site lets you click into different parts of the human body and find videos, articles, and more. Kids Health Articles Page If you want more targeted information, you can skip directly to the articles page of Kids Health. A keyword search (in the top left of the site) will get you even more specific information. DK FindOut: Human Body Even though it won't have information on every topic, I love this website since it has really great visuals. Kids InfoBits This database site collects information on topics from different sources. The Human Body page lists several body parts and systems to explore. There is also a Diseases and Disorders page. After you've tried these sources, you can use your keywords to do Google search for more information. When you do this, make sure you ask yourself if the website looks like one you can trust for good information. You will be researching two different animals to come up with your own super animal creation. Here are some places to start for online research:
Britannica Online Animal Kingdom This is an online encyclopedia for elementary school kids. To find your animal, scroll down to the alphabetical list under Explore Animals A-Z. You also could type your animal's name in the search box at the top. National Geographic Kids Check the list for your animal. Can't find it? Try searching the National Geographic Animals site - it's a little harder to read, so let Ms. Mernick or Mrs. Lee know if you need help. San Diego Zoo animals site Look for animals by type, or search the full list. Kids Planet Look for your animal on the list of fact sheets. They are organized by continent, so you might find your animal in more than one place. Science Kids The animal facts page of the Science Kids website has kid-friendly information on a whole list of animals. Welcome to your 2016 History Fair resource page. Below you'll find many tools, links, and more to help you understand the process and conduct your research. Looking at everything at once can seem overwhelming, so take your research one step at a time and ask for help if you need it.
Step 1: Connect Think about the theme and what you know about Chicago history. Is there a topic that interests you? How can you connect it to the theme Explore, Encounter, Exchange in History? Start with understanding what those ideas even mean. Here are some definitions from Merriam-Webster Word Central:
You'll start by doing enough basic research to gain context for your topic and be able to relate it to the theme and create a thesis statement that will guide your research. Step 2: Wonder Before you can do your research, you need to make a plan. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of information that isn't useful, and you'll miss out on information you need.
Step 3: Investigate Another way to save work is to make a plan to look for answers to these questions. Fill in the H section of your KWHL (How you will find what you want to know - each type of information can be found in a different place). Consider what sources are most likely to help you find answers to your questions and develop a list of places to look for information. Make sure to include a variety of sources (print vs. electronic, primary vs. secondary, etc). Think about what you hope to find in each source. Here are many of the resources available for you to use, with descriptions of what you will find in each one: Chicago Metro History Fair The Chicago Metro History Education Center has a detailed website dedicated to all aspects of its annual History Fair. Stop here for everything from logistical details to research help, and to view resources on many Chicago history topics. Use the links on the left to pick sections. Encyclopedia of Chicago A free, online version of a print reference book from the Chicago History Museum, the Newberry Library and Northwestern University. With articles on thousands of topics related to Chicago history, it is a great early stop for general information. Gale Research in Context Offers a broad range of authoritative reference content in an easily searchable format. Provides access to full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files, and links to quality websites on numerous topics. Britannica School: Middle This is a really broad overview of major topics, so not everyone will find information here. It makes a nice starting point for background information or to better understand broad topics. Library of Congress: American Memory Project (primary sources!) The Library of Congress provides free, digital access to more than 9 million resources documenting American history and culture, broken down into thematic collections. You can search the site for specific topics, or look within a section dedicated to 55,000 photographs from the Chicago Daily News from 1902-1933, provided by the Chicago History Museum. National Archives Digital Vaults (primary sources!) A collection of more than 1,200 primary source photographs and documents from the National Archives collection. There probably isn't something here for every topic, but it's a site to try for inspiration or to get a feel for history. Chicago Public Library: Chicago History The Chicago Public Library has a pathfinder (a web page that points to other resources) with extensive information on Chicago history, including databases, websites, library materials, and several topical sub-sites. It also has a narrower pathfinder dedicated solely to the History Fair. Chicago History Museum: Chicago History Fair The Chicago History Museum offers online resources to help with History Fair projects, including general reference materials and specialized sites on popular topics like the Haymarket bombing or the Great Chicago Fire. CPS Explore! Resources This is a list of links cultivated for different subject areas. While there isn't a section specifically for History Fair, if you scroll down to the Social Science section, there are quite a few high-quality history-based sites. Books and eBooks We have a few books here in the library that might be helpful in doing Chicago history research, as well as a number of eBooks from CPS. Coming soon: Both can be found on this list (anything with [electronic resource] in the title is an eBook; the rest are here in the library). Click on the title to find out if a book is available and how to access it. In addition to the above, anyone with a Chicago Public Library card can access even more databases, including several with primary sources. The following options could be helpful depending on your topic: American National Biography Online Biographies of thousands of deceased Americans, published by Oxford University press. Could be a good starting point for research on famous Chicago figures. Biography in Context A collection of more than 600,000 biographies of people across history and disciplines, this Gale resource will provide articles on many notable Chicagoans. Chicago Defender Historical Archive Searchable first-hand accounts from 1910-1975 of political and social events on a local, regional and national level. Provided by ProQuest’s Historical Newspapers – Black primary source database. HeritageQuest Online Genealogical and historical search site from ProQuest that offers access to local primary sources dating back to the 1700s. Illinois Sanborn Maps Another ProQuest resource, this site allows students to search historical Chicago maps from the 19th and 20th centuries. ProQuest One Search General reference database with access to thousands of titles across popular subjects, including history. Creating Your Bibliography A bibliography (also called a works cited page) is an important part of any research project. It lets others find the exact sources you used. They might want to do this to explore your topic more, to make sure what you said was correct, or to double check for plagiarism. MLA format is a good place to start, and it is one of two accepted formats for the History Fair. We will soon have a tool to help us build notecards and bibliographies. For now, track your sources using Diigo so you remember ALL the sources you used for your project. Welcome to the Hour of Code! From December 7-11 students here at Clinton will take part in the world's biggest educational event, and learn some computer programming basics. Here's a video to get us started Now that we know what we're getting into, it's time to get started!
1. Have your computer and headphones ready - the lesson will begin as soon as you click the links below. 2. Primary students should start here with basic coding games. Older students should pick one of the following tutorials:
3. Remember, so much of coding is trying things out to see what each step does. If something doesn't work the way you want it to, reset and try something new! 4. Students who finish activity before the hour is up can either pick one of the other activities from above, or go to the Code.org Play Lab for more coding fun. 5. If you want to keep coding on your own after the Hour of Code, you can access these games and more from home for free. Just visit the Code Studio for courses of different lengths for you to explore. Here are some sources to help you with your research:
Britannica Middle School: Classical music Country music Folk music Hip-Hop Jazz Popular music (Pop) Rhythm and blues Rock All Music (website): Classical Country Folk Jazz Pop/Rock R&B Music Genres List (website): Classical Country Folk (aka Singer/Songwriter) Hip-Hop Jazz Pop R&B/Soul Rock Other websites: Shine Music School: The History of Pop Music Shine Music School: Jazz vs. Classical Music MTV Music Evolution: A Brief History of Hip-Hop E-books (search for your genre) BToday we will be focusing on ways to avoid plagiarism as we research our Native American tribes. But first, what is plagiarism? Plagiarism: the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person (Merriam-Webster). It's OK to use ideas you find in other places, but you need to do two things: put them in your own words (paraphrase) and give credit to your source (cite). You'll notice both of these are included in your research assignment. Using the Paraphrasing - You Try It! document I emailed you, we'll walk through a strategy to help you paraphrase the information you find in your research into words you can use in your report. Use these articles from Britannica School to start:
Remember, you need to find and organize information about your tribe for each of the following areas:
To let you to focus on the process of taking notes, we're providing several sites for you to find this information. For more information after you have done the paraphrasing activity with the Britannica article, try these sites: Inuit of the Arctic - The Canadian Encyclopedia: Inuit - How Stuff Works: The Inuit - Ducksters: Inuit Peoples - Windows to the Universe: Inuit Culture, Traditions, and History - Access Genealogy: Eskimos - Britannica: American Arctic Peoples Kwakiutl of the Northwest - Native American Facts for Kids: Kwakiutl Tribe - The Canadian Encyclopedia: Kwakiutl - Access Genealogy: Kwakiutl - Britannica: Northwest Coast Indians Nez Perce of the Plateau - Native American Facts for Kids: Nez Perce Tribe - Indians.org: Nez Perce - How Stuff Works: Nez Perce - Ducksters: Nez Perce - Access Genealogy: Nez Perce - Britannica: Plateau Indians Hopi of the Southwest - Native American Facts for Kids: Hopi Tribe - Indians.org: Hopi Indians - Access Genealogy: Hopi - Britannica: Southwest Indians Pawnee of the Plains - Native American Facts for Kids: Pawnee Tribe - Indians.org: Pawnee Indians - How Stuff Works: Pawnee Indians - Access Genealogy: Pawnee - Britannica: Plains Indians Seminole of the Southeast - Native American Facts for Kids: Seminole Tribe - Seminole Tribe of Florida: History - Indians.org: Seminole Indians - How Stuff Works: Seminole Indians - Ducksters: Seminole Tribe - Access Genealogy: Seminole Tribe - Britannica: Southeast Indians Taino of the Caribbean - Indians.org: Taino Indians - Tribal Directory: Taino Indians - Kids.net.au: Taino - Taino Tribe.org Brochure - Taino Indian Culture (toPuertoRico.org) - El Boricua: Tainos - Smithsonian: What Became of the Taino? - Britannica: Central American and Northern Andean Indians Now that you've chosen a topic for your science fair project, the next step is to learn more background information about that topic. Think about the main science idea (e.g., how do plants grow, why do planes fly, what makes mold grow, etc.) and not your exact research question. The more you understand about how your subject works, the better the project you'll be able to design. Start with some of the research links below.
HOW to do your research:
WHERE to do your research:
We also have some books right here in the library that might help:
Don't forget - keep track of all the resources you use, since you'll need to create a bibliography later. There are a few good ways to do this - I'll be showing different options to different grades. To combine PE with library, technology, and science, we will be participating in an online program from the Chicago Blackhawks called Future Goals - Hockey Scholar. Today we will create our accounts and get started.
1. Visit the registration page. 2. Enter your class code (copy and paste from below). 217: eb673479 224: 78c36b31 3. Fill in the information on the next screen. YOUR USERNAME MUST BE THE SAME AS YOUR CPS USERNAME. If you are not sure what your username is, see Ms. Mernick. 4. Log in to the site. We will all get started together once everyone has registered. Welcome to your first research project of 4th grade! Today we'll be using books and online resources to find information about our assigned countries.
Here are some great websites to start with:
Also try searching our eBooks (enter your country name in the search box on either of these pages): Don't forget about regular books!
With all research projects this year, get in the habit of giving credit to your sources. For every source you use, make a list of these simple facts:
We'll add more details in throughout the year - before you know it you'll be writing full citations! |
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September 2016
AuthorHello, I'm Ms. Mernick, the library media teacher at Clinton. This blog will give students easy access to resources and links to use for assignments and research. Questions or suggestions? Contact me at any time at [email protected]. Categories
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