Research Reading

Now that we've read The Incredible Life of Balto, read the following 2 pages and then answer the questions below. 

Page 1

Page 2

Questions to answer:

On loose leaf and in complete sentences, answer the following questions:

1. What questions led McCarthy to her research?

2. Who did some people believe deserved the recognition of being a hero over Balto?

3. What usually reliable source even got Balto's story wrong?

4. Why did McCarthy end up painting Blato brown?

5. why do you think we read this book and article prior to completing a research project?

Research project rubric

This is the rubric I will be using for your research project:

	4	3	2	1
Content	Writer included much relevant content about his/her topic and showed a great deal of new learning.	Writer included some relevant content but did not showcase his/her new learning as much as he/she could have.	Writer included almost no relevant content about his/her topic. There is little evidence of the writer’s new learning.	The writer included no relevant content about his/her topic and there is no evidence that he/she learned anything new.
Accuracy	The content of the writing appears to be 100% accurate.	Most of the content of the writing is accurate. Some liberties may have been taken for the sake of voice and artistic expression.	Most of the content is inaccurate. The writer appears not to have done much research on his/her topic.	None of the content is accurate.
Writing	All of the traits of writing were used effectively and kept the reader engaged throughout the entire piece. The writing is coherent and the piece is a cohesive unit.	Most of the traits of writing were used effectively, with the exception of one or two, but the writing kept the reader engaged through most of the piece. The coherence and cohesiveness could use a bit more work.	Only a few of the traits of writing were used effectively, which prevented the reader from truly being engaged in the piece. Coherence and cohesiveness need more work.	The writer appears not to have considered any of the traits of writing and did not create an engaging, coherent piece of writing. Coherence and cohesiveness are quite lacking.
Credibility	The writer showed great credibility by using sources effectively.	The writer showed credibility by mostly using sources effectively.	The writer has an idea of how to use sources effectively but some improvements could be made.	The writer appears to have very little understanding of how to use sources effectively in a piece of writing.
Sources Bibliography/ Works Cited (x2)	The writer used the correct number of reliable sources that included at least two print sources. Bibliography/Works Cited was formatted correctly.	The writer used reliable sources but did not include the appropriate number of sources. Bibliography/Works Cited was mostly formatted correctly.	The writer appears to have not done much research on this topic and/or the sources used were not reliable. Bibliography/Works Cited was not formatted correctly.	No sources appear to have been used for this assignment. There is no bibliography or works cited.

You can choose any genre/format you wish for this project, but it must include writing in some way. You also need to remember that the goal of this project is to show your new knowledge of the topic you chose to research. So if you choose a poem and only write a haiku, is that really going above and beyond to show your new knowledge?

8th grade Black History Month project

Everyone needs to choose one African American who has made history in some way and do a research project on him/her.

The format you choose for this project is up to you, but you must turn in the following:
1) A research project that thoroughly proves your knowledge/admiration for the person you chose.
2) Two pages of notes proving your research.
3) A typed bibliography

Suggestions for possible project formats:
1) Poem
2) PowerPoint
3) Video
4) ABC book
5) Picture Book
6) Persuasive essay explaining why that person deserves to be... (an award winner, in the hall of fame, etc.)
7) A multi-genre project (choose a variety of genres to showcase your knowledge)

Remember: this project needs to showcase what you have learned about the person you chose.

Suggestions for people to choose:
1) Alvin Ailey - famous dance company creator
2) James Baldwin - American author
3) Langston Hughes - American poet/author
4) Maya Angelou - American poet
5) Josephine Baker - entertainer/Civil rights activist
6) Grace Bumbry - American opera singer
7) W.E.B. DuBois - founder of the NAACP
8) Billie Holliday - famous Jazz snger
9) Hattie McDaniel - first African American to win an Academy Award
10) Jackie Robinson - first African American baseball player in the major leagues
11) Effa Manley - first woman to be inducted in the baseball hall of fame
12) BK Bruce - first African American senator
13) Harriet Tubman - conductor of the Underground Railroad
14) Phillis Wheatly - one of the first African American poets to be published
15) Malcom X - human rights activist
16) Sojourner Truth - abolitionist, activist
17) William Carney - first African American to be awarded the medal of honor
18) WC Handy - known as "The Father of the Blues"
19) Medgar Evers - instrumental in desegregating the University of Mississippi
20) Duke Ellington - famous Jazz musician
21) Jimi Hendrix - one of the most influential American guitarists of all time
22) Louis Armstrong - famous Jazz trumpeter
23) Thurgood Marshall - first African American to serve on the supreme court
24) Frederick Douglass - abolitionist, first African American appointed to a high rank in American government
25) Scott Joplin - famous musician known for composing ragtime jazz
26) Elijah McCoy - mechanical engineer and inventor, known for the saying, "The Real McCoy."
27) Jesse Owens - one of the world's greatest track and field athletes
28) Booker T. Washington - freed by the Emancipation Proclimation, civil rights activist, poet, and professor
29) George Washington Carver - scientist, educator, inventor
30) Carter Woodson - one of the first scholars to see the value in studying Black History

3rd quarter extra credit: Newbery/Caldecott Challenge

For those of you looking for a challenge in your reading, for extra credit, you can do one of the following:

1. Read one of the 2013 Newbery honor books and write a review of it in your literature journal, explaining why you think it is worthy of a Newbery honor.

The 2013 Newbery honors are:

• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
• Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

2. Read the 2012 Newbery winner, Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos and then write a review of it in your literature journal, explaining why you think it is worthy of a Newbery award.

3. Read ALL of the 2013 Caldecott honor books and write a review of them in your literature journal, explaining why you think they are worthy of a Caldecott honor.

The 2013 Caldecott honors are:

• Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
• Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
• Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
• Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue

The responsibility falls on you to get a hold of these books if my library or the school library does not have some of them. 

To help you with this assignment, here are the criteria for selecting a Newbery and Caldecott award:
Newbery Criteria
Caldecott Criteria

Congratulations Katherine Applegate, winner of the 2013 Newbery Award for The One and Only Ivan!

Photo courtesy of Mr. Schu. I like how the Ivan on the book cover seems to be admiring his new sticker. :)

Dear 6th graders, as much as I am relieved and happy that we had a snow day yesterday, a part of me wishes we could have been together when Ivan was announced as the 2013 Newbery Award winner. Many shrieks and screams and tears poured forth from the people in that room in Seattle where the awards ceremony was held, along with the people watching at home or at school. It tugged at my heart just a little that I wasn't in a room full of joyous 6th graders when the award was announced.

What a wonderful tribute to Ivan for his book to win the Newbery Award only a few months after he died. Too bad he couldn't have been alive to see it. 

Thank You Jennifer Holm! Order Babymouse stuff

Jennifer Holm Skyped with us today and talked about her awesome books, including Babymouse and Squish. For those of you who are interested, you can order some awesome Babymouse and Squish gear at her Babymouse store.

Let's talk about what we read over break

Welcome back 6th graders!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!  Now that we’re back in school, it’s time to talk about all the great books we read over break.  So here’s what I want you to do:
In the comments section tell us in two concise paragraphs about your reading experiences over break. Here are some questions to consider:

• Did you read a really great book you couldn’t put down?  If so,  share with us!
• Did you struggle with certain books?  Getting reading done at all?
• Any cool reading-related gifts?
• Did you try a new reading experience for the first time? (Listening to an audiobook?  Reading an e-book? )
• How far did you progress in your twenty book goal? (or just how many books did you read in general?)

To make sure this doesn’t just become an assignment that you all come on here to complete without actually reading others’ thoughts, you will also be required to refer to a previous classmate’s post. You can always come back and comment later if you’re one of the first commenters and you don’t have anything to respond to.
This assignment will be worth 30 points.  Twenty points for your two paragraphs and ten points for adding to the discussion by mentioning something from another classmate’s post (and it should be more than just, “Hey _____,   that sounds really cool!”)


What did I read over break? Well I'm glad you asked!

I know a lot of you will be jealous to hear that I am currently reading the ARC of The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, the sequel to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. It is just as funny as the first book, and since I listened to the audio of the first book, I keep hearing Bronson Pinchot's voices for all the characters in my head as I'm reading. It's a pretty awesome experience actually. 

I finished an incredibly spooky audiobook called The Diviners by Libba Bray. For those of you who like Mary Downing Hahn and want to move into a more young adult book, The Diviners would be a great choice, though it's 578 pages so it is quite a time commitment. But it is so good! It takes place in 1920s New York, during the Prohibition and Flapper era and the main character, Evie, has special powers that she's trying to use to help stop a serial killer.

I also finished reading a book called You Tell Your Dog First by Alison Pace. It's a series of personal essays about why dogs have been so important in her life and writing career. I loved everything about it because it was funny, endearing, and helped me find a kindred spirit in knowing there are other people out there just as crazy about her dogs as I am. :)

I read a ton more books but I'll leave you with that. I could actually write like ten more paragraphs about the books I read but I doubt you'd read it all. I'm just happy that two weeks of no grading or lesson planning got me out of my reading funk. I was having a really hard time finishing books for quite a while and my lazy days of doing nothing helped me get quite a bit accomplished. My final book tally for 2012 was 93 books. Granted, those are novel-length books and when you take picture books into account I read over 300.