During the colonial and revolutionary period in America, thousands of people, such as patriots, loyalists, and members of various religious groups and cultural groups, made great contributions to American history. You will research a historical figure in order to prepare an oral presentation to share with your class and write an essay so that we may all gain a better appreciation for the hard work required to make a country great. WRITTEN PROJECT (rubric provided) You will prepare a written project that will include the following items: A cover page with your project title, your name, date, and a supporting picture A table of contents listing each item in the project A three-five paragraph informative essay on your topic please be concise! (rubric provided) *Written at school A timeline of the main events in your person s life *Created at school A picture and caption (drawn or copied) representing your topic (different than the one used on your cover) A map and caption of an area in the American colonies representing your topic A bibliography written in the correct format containing at least three different resources you used (examples provided) *Created at school ORAL PRESENTATION (rubric provided) You will prepare an oral presentation that will include the following items: Index cards with notes to help you deliver important information (you may not read from your essay!) Visual a tri-fold display board (such as for a science fair project) which will help your audience better understand your information (Optional) Artifacts such as a costume or other items representing your topic *** You will be assessed on the content and length of the oral presentation (3-5 minutes), clarity and volume of voice, and the appropriate use of eye contact, note cards, and visual. My Historical Figure: "----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We have read and understand the requirements of the Historical Figure project. Please return this slip by Jan. 4, 2013. Student Signature: Parent Signature: _
Historical Figure Essay of the Colonial and Revolutionary Time Period Writing to Inform Fifth Grade Research Project As part of your Historical Figure research project, you have read about a number of different topics concerning one person s life during the colonial or revolutionary time period. Now it is time to share your information with your classmates and teachers so that they may better understand an individual who helped to shape America. Think about how the information you found may answer the following questions: What was this person s early life like? How did he or she arrive/end up in the American colonies? What was this person s adult life like? Was he or she involved in any interesting events or stories? What is this person famous for today? What major contributions or impact did this person make on American history? You will use the information you have found to write an essay on your historical figure s life. Your essay should consist of at least three paragraphs: an introductory paragraph, at least one detailed paragraph, and a concluding paragraph. The detailed paragraph should answer the three bullets above. Before you begin writing, organize your ideas and information in a way that will help you to write a quality essay. This organizer may be a web, an outline, a chart, etc. While writing, be sure to think about the traits of writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. We know we ll all learn something new from you and your historical figure!
Historical Figure Essay Rubric WRITING TRAITS SOCIAL STUDIES: IDEAS The writing includes: Important details about your historical figure s early life Important details about your historical figure s adult life Important details about the major contributions or the impact your historical figure had on American history LANGUAGE ARTS: ORGANIZATION The writing includes: An inviting introductory paragraph, a detailed paragraph, and an effective concluding paragraph Thoughtful transitions that link key points and ideas Logical, effective sequencing that flows smoothly VOICE The writing includes: A serious tone Wording that is formal and age appropriate WORD CHOICE The writing includes: Striking words and phrases that catch the reader s eye Vivid verbs and adjectives; specific nouns Carefully crafted words and phrases SENTENCE FLUENCY The writing includes: Sentences that have varied beginnings, lengths, and structure Sentences that have an easy flow and rhythm CONVENTIONS The writing includes: Spelling that is generally correct Accurate punctuation and capitalization Correct grammar and usage Paragraph breaks that organize the writing PRESENTATION The writing contains: Typed Double-spaced Appropriate fonts and font sizes An appropriate title Strong 5 Effective 4 Developing 3 Emerging 2 Not Yet 1 Writing Grade Comments:
Oral Presentation Rubric Name: Historical Figure: Criteria Speaks clearly and loudly Uses appropriate eye contact Uses note cards appropriately Uses visuals to support presentation Visual is organized and easy to read Creativity of the presentation Content information is appropriate and interesting Appropriate time length (3-5 minutes): 3 = excellent/always apparent 2 = satisfactory/apparent most of the time 1 = attempted/sometimes apparent 0 = not present SCORING KEY A = 22-24 B = 20-21 C = 17-19 D = 15-16 E = 0-14 Grade and Comments:
Name: Historical Figure Project Rubric A cover page with your project title, name, date and a picture Table of contents Timeline of Historical Figure Drawn or copied picture and caption Map and caption Bibliography in correct format Project turned in on time All parts were complete: written project, visual, task sheet Total /40
Historical Figure Task List DATE Weds., Jan 2 Weds., Jan 2 Mon., Jan 7 TASK Begin to locate a variety of resources on your topic. For example, find books, Internet web pages, encyclopedia articles, etc. Write down the information from each source that you will need to include in your bibliography. (At school AND at home) Begin reading and taking notes from your resources. Create an organizer to organize your information. (At school AND at home) Begin writing the rough draft of your essay on the life of your historical figure and his/her impact on American history. (AT SCHOOL ONLY) CHECK- OFF PARENT/ Teacher INITIAL Mon., Jan. 14 Finish writing the rough draft of your essay. Have someone respond to and assist you in revising and editing your draft. Utilize these suggestions to begin revising your draft. (AT SCHOOL ONLY) Fri., Jan. 18 Final draft of your essay should be complete. It is going home with you today. Begin assembling your written project by creating a cover, table of contents, timeline, picture(s), map(s), and bibliography. (AT HOME) Fri., Jan. 25 Written project should be complete. Begin preparing for your oral presentation by writing the information you wish to share onto note cards. Your oral project should be slightly different from your essay and should be between 3-5 minutes in length. (AT HOME) Fri., Feb. 1 Oral presentation should be complete. Begin preparing the visual that will support your oral presentation. This should a display board. It may include pictures, captions, maps, artifacts, written explanations, etc. (AT HOME) Fri., Feb. 8 Visual should be complete. Practice your oral presentation including the use of your visual project to enhance your oral presentation. Have someone listen and time you. (AT HOME) Tues., Feb. 12 Completed projects are due today!! Remember to bring in your project task sheet, written project, visual aid, artifact (optional) and note cards.
etools: Information on Demand Online reference sources available to all Howard County Public School elementary school students both at school and at home CultureGrams http://online.culturegrams.com Username: howardcps Password: howardcps CultureGrams offers concise, reliable, and up-to-date country reports on over 190 cultures of the world. It goes beyond mere facts and figures to deliver an insider s perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world s people. NoodleBib 6 http://www.noodletools.com/login.php Username: HCStudent Password: HC21042 SIRS Discoverer http://discoverer.sirs.com User ID: MD1570H Password: 21042 http://www.teachingbooks.net/signin.cgi Password: hcpss [e-mail address not needed for students] Generate, edit, and publish an MLA Works Cited list or APA Reference lists that complies with the rules of the current MLA Handbook and APA Publication Manual. NoodleBib takes care of punctuation, alphabetization and formatting, producing a polished source list for import into Word. SIRS Discoverer offers a database of easily retrievable full-text articles, often with accompanying graphics, with full printing and saving capabilities. The full-text articles database consists of articles reprinted with permission from approximately 1,600 newspapers, magazines and U.S. government documents. Other features include: The World Almanac for Kids, The Funk and Wagnall s New Encyclopedia, and a Spotlight of the Month. TeachingBooks.net is a timesaving portal to thousands of online resources of book-related resources you can use to explore children s and young adult books and their authors. It provides immediate access to useful materials and exciting programs (short movies, audio book readings, book discussion guides, and more) that add a multimedia dimension to reading in the classroom, library media center, and home. World Book Online Reference Center http://www.worldbookonline.com Username: howco Password: worldbook World Book Online Reference Center is an excellent source of reliable, easy to understand information for students. World Book Online offers all the features of the print encyclopedia plus links to maps, web sites, and other print articles. Howard County Library http://www.hclibrary.org Use your Howard County Library card and pin number (request a pin number from the library) to access many online reference sources. To locate the online resources, click on Databases.
How to Write a Bibliography A bibliography is a list of magazines, books, and newspapers that have been used in your research. There are many different ways to write a bibliography, and this sheet uses the bibliographic format recommended by teachers, and is based on MLA style. Where to find the information: Information for bibliographies is taken right from the source. Look at the title page for the publisher, city, and author. Copyright information is found on the verso page. Another good place to look is the computer catalog at the library. Tips The book or magazine title is always underlined in a bibliography! If a citation is more than one line long, indent the second line five spaces. Put the bibliography in alphabetical order, by the author s last name. If there is no author listed, use the first word of the title (not a, an, or the ). When there is more than one author, list the authors in the order they are listed on the title page. If you use information from an article in a book or magazine, the article is listed before the title. NoodleTools http://www.noodletools.com/login.php Use this to create a quick citation that you can copy and paste into your bibliography. Book Citations: Book with one author: Higham, Cindy. Snowflakes for All Seasons. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2004. The author is listed, last name first. The title is underlined. The city where the book is published is listed followed by a colon and the name of the publisher. The year the book is published is then listed followed by a period. Book with two authors: Rhatigan, Joe and Newcomb, Rain. Prize Winning Science Fair Projects for Curious Kids. New York: Lark Books, 2004. Encyclopedia and Other Reference Books: An encyclopedia article may or may not have an author. The author s name can be found at the end of the article. An article that has an author is called a signed article. CD-ROM (Encyclopedia) Author (last name, first name). "Name of article." Name of encyclopedia. CD-ROM. City: Publisher, Copyright Date. Example: McGinnis, Terri. "Dog." The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book, Inc. 1995. Signed articles: Dundes, Alan. Magic. World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 13. Chicago: World Book Inc., 2005. The name of the encyclopedia article is placed after the author s name and put in quotation marks.
Unsigned articles: Human Spaceflight. Compton s Encyclopedia. Volume 22. Chicago, Encyclopedia, Britannica, 2004. Magazines and Newspapers: Magazines and newspapers are good sources for locating current information. When citing a magazine or newspaper [sometimes called periodicals], use the following formats. Periodical articles may or may not have an author. Magazines: Signed articles: Keith, Ted. From Cursed to First. Sports Illustrated Kids. January 2005: 31-33. Urbanas, Jason. Bodies of Pompeii. Dig. March 2005. Vol. 7: 16-17. The author s name is given first, the name of the article, then the name of the magazine, the date of the magazine, a colon and then the page number(s). Unsigned articles: Charged. Kids Discover. February 2005. Vol.6, Issue 2. p.4. Newspapers: FBI Agent Risked Life by Posing as Wise Guy. Chicago Tribune. 10 March 2005. Section 1, Page 1. If the article has an author, it is placed before the name of the article. World Wide Web/Internet: Australian Scientists Prove Less Trees, Less Rain. Online. 10 March 2005. Blank space<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/syd269633.htm.> If there is an author, list it first. Title of item is underlined. [online]. Date of access and put the <website address> in brackets. On-Line Magazine Article Author. "Title." Journal Date. Date you read it URL Example: Halls, Kelly. "Juggling History." U.S. Kids June 1997. 10 Mar 2000 <http://discoverer.sirs.com/cgi-bin/dis-articledisplay?id=ma152516791158& artno=031110&searchkey=apples>. Internet Citation for an Articles from an Online Database like Infotrac or Biography Resource: Bowling for Bounty. Consumer Reports. January 2004: 7. Infotrac. Gale Group Databases. Downers Grove Public Library. 15 March 2005. <http://webz.infotrac.galegroup.com.> Author s name first. Then the title of the article, followed by the title of the magazine or newspaper, the date of publication, and then the page number(s). Name of the database, name of the service (the company that provided the site), the name of the library that provided the service, date of access, and the network address. Prepared by Sharon Lawrence and Brian Crawford, revised April 2005 From: http://www.downersgrovelibrary.org/kidsstuff/writeabiblio.html