** New Due DateAfrican American History Month Project

Attached are the same papers I gave the children yesterday.

African-American Research Report

Project Due Tuesday 2/9/16

 

February is Black History Month.  You will research a famous African-American. 

Follow these directions:

1. Choose an African-American to research and complete category 1 on your note-taking graphic organizer.
2. Go to the library and borrow a book and/or find information off the internet from a reliable source. These resources will be recorded on your note-taking sheet.
3. As you research, use the note-taking sheet to take notes for each of the remaining categories.
4. After looking over your notes and making sure you have all the required information, use the essay planner to plan and organize your essay.
5. Type or neatly handwrite the essay.
6. Attach it to the inside part of the cover (as shown in sample pictures------------------à
7. Make the cover. (See example pictures on the side.)
1. Find a picture of the person’s head (about the size of your hand). Copy and paste it to a word document—as shown in class—and size it to half the page.
2. Print out the picture.
3. Paste it at the top to look like the head on a body.
4. Use colored pencils, crayons, colored construction paper, and other art materials to creatively construct the cover.  Make a jacket, shirt, etc. to create the top part of the “body”.
5. Find 6 pictures that show important events in this person’s life.
6. Paste the pictures on the inside flaps and write a caption.
7. Create a timeline of the person’s life, including 5 major events that occurred in their life based on importance.
8. Go over each part and make sure it is complete.
8. Attach the rubric to your report.

Steps to Success:

Ø  Follow the directions carefully.

Ø  Use the rubric to guide you.

Ø  Ask an adult to help you.

Ø  Double-check your work and make sure your rubric is attached!

Ø  Hand in your project on time… due date Thursday 2/4/16.

Name:______________________________

E.Q.  How can you use your notes AND a plan to write a well-organized report?

You will use your notes to write a well-organized essay about the famous African-American you researched.  You will use the planner below to help you write the essay.

* Follow the ESSAY FORMULA: An essay is written in a special format that includes the introduction, body, and conclusion.  Your essay will have a total of 8 paragraphs. 

*Follow the PARAGRAPH FORMULA: Every paragraph begins with a topic sentence, 3 or more supporting sentences, and a closing sentence.

Use this planner to help you write the essay. Follow the ESSAY FORMULA

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Use category 1 from your notes, to write an introduction.  Begin the paragraph with a famous quote (category #1) for a catchy beginning. A transition you could use at the end of the introduction to lead into the body is:

I learned about the accomplishments, family life, childhood, education, character traits, and other interesting facts about ________________________. (person’s name)

Paragraphs 2-7: BODY The body of the essay is the “meat” of the essay. 

Use categories 2-7 from your notes to write the body of the essay.  You will use the category number from your notes to separate into paragraphs.  For example, category 2 is about ACCOMPLISHMENTS and CONTRIBUTIONS.  Therefore, this paragraph will only be about that specific topic. 

You may want to start off paragraph 2 by saying…

      One notable accomplishment (or contribution) of _____________________________ is that he/she … (write one accomplishment. ) Another accomplishment is______________________

Conclude (end) that paragraph by saying… These are just a few of his/her contributions or accomplishments.

Begin paragraph 3 by indenting and introducing the next topic, which is FAMILY LIFE.

      ______________________ grew up in a family of _______________ (how many children did his/her parents have?) .  He/she had __________ sisters and ___________ brothers.  Their names are __________________They were close/not close.  They enjoyed doing___________________.  He/she got married to ___________________  on _______________(date) * and later had _ (number) of children.  Their names are ____________________________ If this person didn’t get married or have children, write “______________ never married or _________ had no children.”

*Continue writing the body (paragraphs 4-7) by starting a new paragraph for each of the remaining categories using the same paragraph formula as the modeled ones above.

Paragraph 8 CONCLUSION… Choose a lead for the conclusion: 

In conclusion        To sum it up              Overall                        In summary               In summation            

In the conclusion, you will sum it up and write a final thought about this person.  It could include a lesson you learned or something you feel strongly about after learning about that person.

Name:____________________________ Class:____________

Black History Month Biography Report Notes

Category 1. I am learning more about ________________________________

Date of Birth: ____________Date of Death: _______ or Still Living: ____(check off)

Birthplace: _______________________________________

 Famous Quote: What is something he/she is famous for saying? “__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________”Category 2.Accomplishments/Contributions: What did this person do that was special and made him/her famous? What did he/she do to make a difference? Be specific.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category 3.Family Facts: What facts can you find about his/her mother and father? Did this person have brothers and sisters (how many?)? When he/she became an adult did he/she marry and have children?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category 4.Childhood: What was this person’s life like when he/she was growing up? Was life difficult?  Obstacles: Was life always easy for this person? Was there anything he/she had to overcome, such as slavery, poverty (being poor), discrimination, etc.? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category 5.Education: Did this person go to school? For how long did he/she go, and what did he/she study? Was there anything interesting or unusual about his/her education?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category 6.Character Traits: What character traits did this person have that helped him/her  out in life? How did those traits help him/her achieve fame?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category 7.Other Interesting Facts

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Resources I Used

Books:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Websites:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Name:___________________________________________________  INFORMATIONAL WRITING: BIOGRAPHY                                     

	4 (Above Grade Level)	3 (At Grade Level)	2 (Approaching Grade Level)	1 (Below Grade Level)
Focus/ Information **Important events in the person’s life CCSS*:  RIT – 1  W – 2	 Responds skillfully to all parts of the prompt  Demonstrates a strong understanding of topic/text(s)	 Responds to all parts of the prompt  Demonstrates an understanding of topic/text(s)	 Responds to most parts of the prompt  Demonstrates limited understanding of topic/text(s)	 Responds to some or no parts of the prompt  Demonstrates little to no understanding of topic/text(s)
Organization/Structure CCSS:  W – 2a  W – 2c  W – 2e  W – 4	Organizes ideas and information into purposeful, coherent paragraphs that include an elaborated introduction with clear thesis, structured body, and insightful conclusion  Logically groups related information into paragraphs or sections, including formatting  Uses linking words, phrases, and clauses skillfully to connect ideas within categories of information	Organizes ideas and information into logical introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs  Groups related information into paragraphs or sections, including formatting (e.g.,headings)  Uses linking words and phrases appropriately to connect ideas within categories of information	Organizes ideas and information in an attempted paragraph structure that includes a sense of introduction, body and conclusion  Grouping of ideas lacks cohesion (e.g., list-like, rambling, or repetitive)  Attempts to use some simplistic linking words to connect ideas	 Does not organize ideas and information coherently due to lack of paragraph structure and/or a missing introduction, body, or conclusion  Does not group related information together  Uses no linking words
Support/Evidence Includes evidence from the text. CCSS:  RIT – 1  W – 2b  W – 8  W – 9b	 Skillfully uses relevant and substantial text support from the resources with accuracy Develops the topic with well integrated facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples	Uses relevant and sufficient text support from the resources with accuracy  Develops the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples	 Uses mostly relevant text support, but may lack sufficient evidence and/or accurate use  Develops the topic with limited facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.	 Does not use relevant or sufficient text support from the resources with accuracy  Does not support opinion with facts, details, and/or reasons
Language CCSS:  L – 1  L – 2  W – 2d	 Uses purposeful and varied sentence structures  Demonstrates creativity and flexibility when using conventions (grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) enhance readability  Utilizes precise and domain-specific vocabulary accurately throughout student writing	 Uses correct and varied sentence structures  Demonstrates grade level appropriate conventions; errors are minor and do not interfere with the readability  Utilizes precise language and domain-specific vocabulary	 Uses some repetitive yet correct sentence structure  Demonstrates some grade level appropriate conventions, but errors may interfere with the readability Utilizes some precise language and/or domain-specific vocabulary, but minimally and/or inaccurately	 Does not demonstrate sentence mastery  Demonstrates limited understanding of grade level conventions, and errors interfere with the readability  Does not utilize precise language or domain-specific vocabulary
Cover	Cover is skillfully, neatly and creatively constructed. Includes all required parts as indicated in directions.	Cover is neatly constructed and includes most required parts.	Cover is not neatly constructed and is missing some parts.	Cover is not neatly constructed and is missing most parts.
Timeline	The timeline includes 5 major events that are important and interesting.  The events are placed in proper order and a complete date has been included.	Most of the included events are important or interesting, one or two events may be missing.  Almost all events are placed in proper order and complete dates are included for almost every event.	Some major events are missing.  Most of the events are placed in proper order and an accurate date has been included for almost every event.	Many major events are missing.  Most events are incorrectly placed on the timeline and dates are inaccurate or missing for several events.