The Cultural Research Project-General Assignment: You will write a 2-3 page research report on the culture of a specific country. There are several from which to choose. A list is attached to this packet. Please follow the procedure below to prepare your paper. Researcher Responsibilities Your research work will entail many facets. You will need to undertake the steps outlined below. 1. Identify the topic you would like to develop. 2. Do some preliminary reading about the topic in order to formulate the statement that will serve as the thesis for your research paper. Your thesis will need to do three things. It must address the topic, take a clear position on the topic, and provide several organizational categories that will constitute the body of your paper. Your organizational categories will consist of important points about the topic. For example, if you are writing about a particular people, your organizational categories might deal with the various time periods that these people were present. 3. Begin to conduct research about your topic in order to collect information that you will use in your paper. Your research will be conducted with books and internet sources. You will need two books and one internet source. Your internet source must be a database such an Encyclopedia Britanica or an approved website (.org,.edu,.gov NO WIKI). 4. As you research, you will record your findings on 3X5 boxes in the attached packet, or on the lined paper given in this packet or that you own. You will need at least five good facts for each category in order to properly write your paper. 5. When you have gathered a sufficient amount of information to know how you wish to elaborate on your topic, you will create an outline for your paper. The outline will include an introduction based on your thesis, three organizational categories for your thesis, and a conclusion. Your finished paper will be two to three pages in length, not including the Works Cited page. 6. You will next write the introduction to your paper. The introduction must feature a grabber. This is a device that stimulates the reader to want to read further. For example, the grabber might be a small anecdote about your subject, or even a question. 7. After writing the introduction, you will create the body of your research paper. The body will develop the organizational categories that have been established in your introduction. 8. The final step is to create a conclusion that summarizes the points made in your paper, and leaves the reader with a final, relevant thought. NOTE: You will submit each step of your research and writing for a check to verify that your creation process is moving forward in a productive way. Due Dates As you proceed with your research, you will present various stages of your work for checks in the following schedule: Due Date One : Topic Choice Mon. 2/26 Due Date Two : Information gathered from internet, book, and encyclopedia Tues. 2/27 Due Date Three : First research information check-in Wed. 2/28 Due Date Four : Final research information check-in Mon. 3/5 Due Date Five : Outline of research paper Check-in Wed. 3/7 Due Date Six : Introductory paragraph containing thesis and organizational categories And conclusion Thur. 3/8 Due Date Seven : Body of paper-draft Wed. 3/14 Due Date Eight : Work Cited Tues. 3/16 Due Date Eight : Final Due Date: The Completed Paper (with 5pts. EC.) Tues. 3/20 FINAL DUE DATE: Final Paper Due (WITHOUT EC.) Wed. 3/21
6 th Grade Culture Project Heritage Grove Middle School PSD #202 This pathfinder will be useful in finding information about the countries used in the 6 th Grade Culture Project. Search Aids For an introduction to the topic, see: Handouts prepared by LA Teachers Key Resources at a Glance Peoples of the World Encyclopedia Ref 306 Peo Look up countries by the name for the people of that country. (Ex. Brazil under Brazilians ) World Almanac Ref 031.02 Wor Newest is 2007 Other Specific Reference Sources Peoples of the Americas Encyclopedia Ref 970 Peo UXL - Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes Ref 970.004 Mal Latin America Encyclopedia Ref 980 Ten Resources Books by Country (some have more than others) Afghanistan - 3 1.) Afghanistan, by Gritzner, Jeffrey A., 958.1 GRI 2.) Afghanistan, by Barber, Nicola, 958.1 BAR 3.) Afghanistan, by Milivojevic, Jovanka JoAnn, 958.1 MIL Brazil only 2 1.) Brazil, by Bender, Evelyn, 981 BEN 2.) Brazil, by Morrison, Marion, 981 MOR China many books use online category for more. 1.) Encyclopedia of China: the Essential Reference to China, its History and Culture, by Perkins, Dorothy, REF 951 PER 2.) What Life was like in the Land of the Dragon: Imperial China, AD 960-1368, by the Editors of time-life Books, 951 WHA India many books, as well.search. 1.) Cultural Atlas of India, by Johnson, Gordon, Ph.D., 954 JOH 2.) India: a Primary Source Cultural Guide, by Draper, Allison Stark, 954 DRA Italy many titles for this country look. 1.) Italy: a Primary Source Cultural Guide, by Favor, Lesli J., 945 FAV 2.) Italy, by Allen, Derek, 945 ALL Japan 10 books 1.) China and Japan, by Hammond, Paula, 391 HAM 2.) Japanese Art and Culture, by Khanduri, Kamini, 709.52 KHA Books, continued. Korea only 3 titles. Search Terms (Use for computer searches) Name of your country + culture Subject Headings (Use in card catalogs and print indexes) social studies political science culture Call Number 900 s (Dewey Decimal) 500 s (Dewey Decimal) Databases EBSCO User Name: hgrove Password: huskies Culture Grams User Name: Naperville Password: d203 Britannica User Name: hgms Password: 202 Library Catalog Destiny on each computer User Name MCAT Password destiny202
1.) North Korea, by Nash, Amy K., 951.93 NAS 2.) South Korea, by Shepheard, Patricia, 951.95 SHE 3.) North Korea, by Gifford, Clive, 951.93 GIF Mexico quite a few titles look it up, as needed. 1.) Mexican Art and Culture, by Lewis, Elizabeth, 709.72 LEW 2.) Mexico and Central America, by Morrison, Marion, 972 MOR Native American (Apache and Cherokee a fair amount of books, and many others) 1.) Apache History & Culture, Dwyer, Helen, 979.004 DWY 2.) The Blackfeet, Lacey, Theresa Jensen, 970.004 LAC 3.) Cheyenne History & Culture, Dwyer, Helen, 978.004 DWY Journals/Magazine Articles - find through EBSCO User ID hgrove Password huskies 1. Click Student Research Center. 2. Filter search by checking boxes for: Magazines, Books & Encyclopedias. 3. Scroll Down to set Lexile Reading level for grades 6 to 8. 4. Click Social Studies 5. Check the box for Culture and Traditions. 6. Fill in the search box with the name of your country. 7. Press Search. 8. A list of articles will pop-up click on one s that look usable. 9. Click on HTML full text to see articles. 10. Print them, as needed. 11. Be sure to write down the citation information. Britannica find through the HG Homepage 1. Click on Department & Programs on toolbar. 2. Scroll down to Media Center click. 3. Go to right side of page in Links Click on Britannica School. 4. No user name or password needed. 5. Click on Middle. 6. Put your country/culture in the search box at the top of the page, and click on the magnifying glass to search. 7. On the left will be: articles, images and more. 8. Check out the Web s Best Sites for other related information. Web Pages and Web Portals Library of Congress Country Studies http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles.html (No user name/password is required.) Culture Grams Choose World Edition or Kids Edition http://online.culturegrams.com User Name: Naperville Password: d203 World Culture Encyclopedia http://www.everyculture.com (No user name/password is required.)
Topic List five questions about your topic to guide your research. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Topic Sentence: Topic Sentence: 5 facts: 5 facts:
Topic Sentence: Topic Sentence: 5 facts: 5 facts: Computer Note Taking Option You may choose to write everything out in the packet, but if you do that, you will need to write your facts WORD FOR WORD and that takes time. A good option for internet facts that you find is to copy and paste into your office 365 account. Directions: 1. Log on to Office 356 using your ID # and your computer log in password 2. Open FIVE word documents for your FIVE subtopics 3. When you find facts on the internet that you want to use in your paper, copy and paste them into the word documents that you have labeled for that subtopic. You will also HAVE to copy and paste that link on to the word document as well so you know where you got that fact.
Topic Sentence: 5 facts: Sources: Internet Article:,. Date of internet publication,. Web address (www.) Date of document or download Internet Article:,. Date of internet publication,. Web address (www.) Date of document or download Internet Article:,. Date of internet publication,. Web address (www.) Date of document or download Internet Article:,. Date of internet publication,. Web address (www.) Date of document or download Sources: Encyclopedia:,..,. Name of encyclopedia Copyright year Volume # Pages Encyclopedia:,..,. Name of encyclopedia Copyright year Volume # Pages Encyclopedia:,..,. Name of encyclopedia Copyright year Volume # Pages Sources: Book:, Title of book :, Place of publication Publisher Copyright year Book:, Title of book :, Place of publication Publisher Copyright year Book:, Title of book :, Place of publication Publisher Copyright year
Name:_ Topic:_ Expository Research Paper I. Introduction A. Lead: B. Transition: C. Thesis Statement: I. Body A. Topic Sentence #1: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. B. Topic Sentence #2: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. C. Topic Sentence #3: 1. 2.
3. 4. 5. D. Topic Sentence #4: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. E. Topic Sentence #5: III. Conclusion 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A. Restate Thesis Statement: B. Transition: C. Clincher:
RESEARCH PAPER NOTES INTRODUCTION NOTES: 1. LEAD The point of a lead is catch the interest of the reader and make them want to continue reading. You have two options. a. Imagine help the reader picture themselves in your country. b. Fact Find one of your best and most interesting facts to catch your reader s interest. 2. TRANSITION a. Describe lead more thoroughly b. Briefly describe topics 3. THESIS - One sentence telling what your entire paper is about. a. ONE sentence telling what your entire paper is about b. MUST have Country + subtopics + culture = Thesis Statement GOOD EXAMPLES: Imagine walking down the streets of China, walking in and out of the stores and restaurants, and exploring the magnificent gardens and wildlife. Chinese culture has survived throughout the centuries and has remained constant with very few changes. Fashion, wildlife, food, economy and family are all parts of Chinese culture, both modern and ancient. In China there are rules on how many children each family can have. Until 2013, you could only have one child, now some families are allowed to have two. The population is so huge that they have to govern how many new people are born into society. When researching China, one will find an interesting culture of fashion, economy, technology, education, and family. BODY PARAGRAPH NOTES: 1. Topic sentences are your research questions turned around. a. EX: What is the education like in China? into The education in China is complex and advanced. 2. ONE fact per paragraph needs to be WORD FOR WORD, in quotes, with where you found it. a. Example: Hundreds of dead bodies can be found within the cement of the Great Wall of China. (www.britanicaschool.com) 3. The other four facts need to be PARAPHRASED or written in your own words in a shorter clearer way. a. Think: How could I explain this to an elementary student? GOOD TRANSITION WORDS: Plus Words Also In addition Besides Moreover Again Next finally First second Third fourth Further Lastly Last Finally In conclusion To finish Place Words There Here Near Underneath Nearby Above Adjacent Adjacent to Time Words Never Ever Always Now Then this time In time Soon Sometimes While After Immediately Then Next Similar Words In the same manner Likewise In the same way Opposite Words Yet However On the other hand In contrast At the same time But Otherwise Though Nevertheless Cause/Effect Words Because Since Therefore Thus As a result
CONCLUSION NOTES: 1. The first sentence needs to be your THESIS STATEMENT. 2. Transition: general statement about culture of the country to tie the thesis and the zinger together. 3. Zinger: your zinger needs to leave the reader in awe of your wisdom a. Cool fact (if you didn t use one in your lead) b. Relate back to your lead about fact or about what it would be like to visit there. OTHER IMPORTANT RULES: 1. You cannot use contractions. EX: don t must be do not 2. You cannot use numerical numbers, they must be spelled out not 2 weeks but two weeks 3. You CANNOT use 1 st person. No I, We, Us, you. Instead of you may think try one may think 4. This is NOT a compare and contrast paper, we are not comparing your countries culture to the United States. HOW TO TYPE YOUR PAPER AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME: 1. Log on to Office 365 using your ID # and your computer log in password 2. Open a word document make sure you are working IN BROWSER do not work IN WORD 3. Your paper will automatically save for you to continue working no matter where you log in. WORK CITED PAGE DIRECTIONS: 1. You MUST do your Work Cited page in Word on your computer. If you do not have Word at home, you can go on office 365, open a new document and then click on Edit in Word and it will download the document to your computer to work on. 2. Follow the directions in this packet for creating a Work Cited page. 3. Once created, copy and paste on to the LAST page of your paper. It should be on a page all by itself. HIGHLIGHTING YOUR PAPER: YELLOW: Highlight Thesis in both introduction and conclusion GREEN: Highlight your Lead and your Clincher BLUE: Highlight your quoted facts in each body paragraph NUMBER your facts in each paragraph to prove that you have five facts in each body paragraph PINK: Highlight your topic sentences and concluding sentences in each body paragraph