Denman 8th Graders Rule!

WOW! I am so incredibly impressed with all the hard work you guys did on this project. It was challenging at times, but you finished! Your job this morning is to read some I-Searches you are interested in and leave some positive comments. Once I check all the comments, I will publish them so that the authors can read what their classmates had to say. Click HERE to get started and see some of the best I-Search Reports I’ve ever seen!

Click HERE to see how.  Also, look at the Best I-Searches to get help on a good introduction, a good conclusion, and a good bibliography.   HINT:  the I-Search on Teen Life has an excellent bibliography. 

I’ve been reading your posts with your notes and reports and I’m so proud of you! :)  I see lots of great work, and I know it hasn’t been easy.  Keep it up because tomorrow is our last day!  Here’s my advice for today:

*  Start your report if you haven’t already done that, even if you’re still taking notes. 
*  Start your bibliography today, even if you think it’s too hard.  Ask for help if you need it!  It’s not as hard as you think!
*  Add some images if you haven’t already done so, and ask people like Alice, Helen and anyone else they’ve taught how to do it. Alice can also help you add music if you have some on a cd or on your computer at home.  See me if you want to add music and don’t know how.
*  Add captions to your images to make them more interesting and meaningful to your readers. 
*  Add a links section if you want to share some good sources of further information for your readers. 

The most important advice I can give you is to LOOK AT THE BEST I-SEARCHES TO SEE EXAMPLES OF A FINISHED I-SEARCH!!!  That’s the best way to learn how to write an introduction, a conclusion, and a bibliography. 

Most of you are well on your way to writing a great I-Search Report.  If you’ve finished writing the text of your report, it’s time to work on your bibliography.  Click HERE to get directions on how to cite your sources. 

Plagiarizing?!  What’s plagiarizing?  Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s writing or speech word for word in your own work.  It can happen so easily, especially when you’re copying and pasting.  But it’s a crime, and it can get you expelled from school.  Even more important, you’re not learning when you’re just copying.  I, your hypervigilant teacher, will be noticing when you’re not using your own words.  I know you all, I love and admire you all, and I know how you write.  DON’T PLAGIARIZE!!!!

If you’ve read your sources and taken notes that answer your questions, then you’re ready to start writing your report.  Click HERE to see the guidelines for writing your report. 

The whole point of what we’re doing is for you to create a great research project on something you’re really interested in.  Then you’re going to share your work with other people and try to inspire them to be as interested in it as you are. 

As I’ve said many times, and as it says on your checklist, here are the steps for what we’re doing:

1.  Choose a topic
2.  Develop 5 interesting questions on your topic
3.  Find sources on your topic that answer your questions
4.  Keep a journal on your searching and writing progress
5.  Take notes from your sources
6.  Write your report
7.  Gather images to put in your report
8.  Write a bibliography on your report
9.  Put it all together!

There are instructions on paper and on our website for all of these steps, so let me know if you need any help!  I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction if you give me a specific question or problem you’re having.  Consider me your assistant, your right hand man, your secretary!  I want your work to really shine–please let me know how I can help.

Neither had I until I found it on InfoTrac OneFile at the SFPL online databases.  They have more than 3,000 periodicals online there!!!  What a powerful resource for finding information.  In other words, DON’T FORGET TO USE THE SFPL ONLINE DATABASES!  Unless I tell you otherwise, you need THREE PRINT SOURCES on your topic.  Please let me know if I can help you with this! 

You must cite your sources when you copy them into a comment. That means you have to include WHERE you got your source–the magazine name, date, etc. or the URL and name of the website. Eventually you’re going to write a bibliography for your report and you will need that information. It will be much better for you if you do it now rather than having to go back and find it all again later. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SOURCES!!!

If you’ve got your final topic and have found some sources, it’s time to take some notes.  Click HERE to read about how you should start doing this. 

Leave a comment on this post with your final topic choice and 5 IQs.  (If I told you that 3 or 4 is good enough, just enter those.) 

Check out some great examples of student work by clicking HERE.   Remember, you must make an entry in your I-Search Journal EVERY DAY you work in the lab!  Make your journal entry by leaving a comment on any post.  I will find it and put it into your I-Search Journal page. 

Leave a comment on this post about what you did today.  It should include the following (more or less):

Today’s DATE
What did you search for today?
Where did you search?
How did you search?  (For example, what keywords did you use?) 
How did it go?  Was it successful, fun, frustrating, interesting? 
What are you going to do next time you come to the lab?

Click HERE to see an example of a good I-Search Journal.  You can also go back and look at the Best I-Searches link in the Navigation bar to see some examples of other students’ journals. 

If you’ve got some ideas on what you want to research, the next step is figuring out HOW you’re going to learn something about it.  Some topics are easier to research than others, which is one thing to consider when choosing a final topic.  Click HERE to learn how to do some preliminary research on your topic. 

Today you’re going to begin the first step of your I-Search Project–choosing some topics you might be interested in researching.  If you’re not sure what you want to do research on, take a look at the ideas your classmates and other 8th graders have come up with. Often, other ideas will give you new ideas. Click HERE to get started.

I’m really, REALLY psyched about giving my students a chance to use their own website and I hope you are, too.  Do you have any ideas on ways you could use your website?  Do you have any ideas about what the title should be?  (The title you now have can be changed.  It can even be changed regularly, if you think that would be a good idea.)  Post a comment on this story with any ideas you have.