Friday, March 18, 2016

Historical Investigation, Day 4 - Class Recap


A picture that I took on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates during last Spring Break. I used my dad's camera (a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which is super nice) and a 15mm fisheye lens to make it look like the world was a city. Fun effect!

Dear class,

Welcome to Spring Break! I hope you enjoy the week off from school. There is also plenty of work for all of us to do! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.

Soundtrack: "Edge of the Ocean" by Ivy. Selected for today because I imagine that a few students will be heading to the beach over Spring Break! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/18/16:
News Brief - Baylie
Spring Break
Part B Recap
Library

Homework: Read the blog! Continue to work on Part B - researching your historical investigation! Part B (2-3 pages of your research in at least three paragraphs) and Part D (your works cited information) due next class, printed. Next news brief: Mr. Fritz.
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News Brief: Baylie had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Women secretly film inside ISIS stronghold. We found Syria on our world maps (apparently only the third time all year!) and talked about the ongoing situation there, and why it is important.

I volunteered to do the news brief after break.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Spring Break: I asked the class if there was anything interesting or noteworthy that people were up to over Spring Break. It is always nice to check in with everyone about what you are up to outside our classroom! I know that for some students, being home over break is possibly not very fun, and my message is that we care about you, and that I am looking forward to seeing you after the break. I hope that everyone is able to enjoy the time off somehow! :-)

Part B Recap: Before we headed over to the Library again, I went over the MLA citations guideline and how you should be citing your information that you find as part of your investigation. Here is the paper that I passed out in class: MLA citation guide - 7th edition. Every source that you use for your project should fit into one of those categories on the second page. That is what you are adding to your bibliography (Part D) as you go along.

Finally, for Part B - the Summary and Use of Evidence, please look at page 3 of the Historical Investigation assignment.

That document will help you with understanding what Part B is all about. Remember, Part B (which is 2-3 pages) is due the Wednesday we get back from break.

To help with Part B, here is the second document - a template for filling out as you find good sources of information that relate to your research question:


This is a nice and easy way to complete Part B. Remember that you need to have at least three good sources (so you could fill out this document four different times, if you wanted). Again, no Wikipedia - the source has to be reliable information.

The best way to find good sources is using the Westview High School Library website. Here is the guide that I wrote up for using it.

Another good way to find good, reliable information is through a search on Google Scholar, which looks through academic articles (make sure you aren't using a book review as a source, though).

I know this is a LOT to take in. Please let me know how I can help better explain what you need to do.

Library: After explaining all of this, we headed over to the Library to work. Part B and Part D is due as a rough draft next class! This means having two to three pages of research using, like an essay (in paragraph format with citations). Let me know if you need support with this over Spring Break! Have a great week, everyone!

16 comments:

  1. I am Mahatma Gandhi.

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  2. hey coach what is the username and password for ebsco agaon?? i forgot hahaha.

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    Replies
    1. Look under the ground rules on the blog for instructions! But basically, username is beavsd and password is griffith. Good luck!

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  3. Are we allowed to use websites as a source?

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    1. Yes, as long as they are good academic sources that usually have authors you can tell are qualified.

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  4. Will we be turning the rough draft in next class?

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    1. Yes. 2-3 pages are due on Wednesday, when you get back.

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  5. Whenever I search on google scholar the articles/books cost money and I can not find any useful sources on ebsco.

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    Replies
    1. Try using the WebPath Express option, which brings up good regular websites to use. See the link on the main page, under ground rules.

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  6. Is it ok to use a website even if we can not find the author of it? (The website is a valid source... I think.)

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    1. Dear Student,

      Make sure it is a credible source of information. It's usually a bad sign of you don't know who wrote it. If it is something like History.com, that is fine to use.

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  7. I need one more source. I have tried EBSCO and WebPath, I still get random topics or similar topics. I have also tried a broader/keywords and not getting much. Not sure what to do, any ideas?

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    Replies
    1. Ideas: check the citations for the sources you have already found. Sometimes, those are other related sources that are good. Go to a local library. See if Wikipedia has any sources that they are citing that are credible.

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    2. By Wikipedia, I mean that you can't use the text from Wikipedia at all. Just click on the links (if available) and see if they are good sources to use.

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    3. Ok I will try these out!!
      Thanks

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