8^th Grade U.S. History – 3^rd Quarter Research Project

GOAL: To research a question of interest from American history, answering the question through effective written communication based on research, using primary sources as the basis for the research, analyzing the accuracy and potential bias of these sources as a part of the research.

STEPS:

· #1: PROPOSAL PAPER. Decide upon a question of interest from any era of U.S. History and find 3-5 primary sources to be used for research of this project.

• All topics must be approved by Mr. Black. No two students will have the same topic.

• SUGGESTION: Choose a topic of interest first, and then find appropriate primary sources. If you have difficulty finding appropriate sources, then ask Mr. Black for help. It is much preferred to complete a project in an area of interest than one which you choose simply because there are easily available sources for the project.

• While primary historical sources are to be used most often in your research, additional secondary sources may be used as well

• Here are just a few of the vast Internet sources for primary source documents:

• NY Times historic newspaper archives, available through the Denver Public Library with a valid DPL library card (available from 1851 to the present)

• For current newspaper articles (most often later than 1990) from newspapers around the country, online databases entitled America’s Newspapers and Newspaper Source are available through the websites of most local public libraries

• American Memory, from the Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html)

• The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm)

• Making of America (http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/)

• History Matters – U.S. history survey on the web. Over 1,000 primary sources related to U.S. history available here (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/)

• U.S. History sources from West Virginia University (http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/)

• American Journeys – first hand accounts of the exploration of North America (http://www.americanjourneys.org/)

• University of Washington – History on the Web (http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/tm/)

• Local Public Library Websites:

• Arapahoe Public Library District
• Douglas County Libraries
• Jefferson County Public Library
• Denver Public Library
  

• Make sure your topic and sources are approved by Mr. Black prior to submitting your proposal paper.

• DUE on Friday, January 26 is a proposal paper with the following elements:

• A brief description of your approved topic, the issues involved with your question, and an explanation of what you hope to learn from your research (3-4 paragraphs)

• A list of three to five (or more) primary sources that you have identified to use for your research. Include links to Internet sources where appropriate.

• A list of secondary sources you plan to use with your research.

· #2: OUTLINE

• Create an outline for your written paper and submit this to Mr. Black. Be sure to save a copy for yourself so that you may continue to work on this project once the outline is turned in to Mr. Black.

• Your outline should have five main sections (based on the scientific method, which may also be applied to the social sciences):

• Introduction and summary of your question

• Hypothesis: What do you think the answer to your question might be? Why?

• Test of the hypothesis: What does your research say? What evidence is there to support or refute your hypothesis? Share all the issues connected with this topic.

• Conclusion: Based on your research, was your hypothesis correct or incorrect? Why?

• Summary: What was the final answer to your original question? Tie up any loose ends to your work in this section.

• Use proper outline form, beginning with Roman numerals for the main topics, then capital letters for the subtopics, then Arabic numerals, etc. (I, A, 1., a), i., etc.)

• Use proper indentation for your outline, lining up similar points vertically

• Make sure that each sub-point has a minimum of two details if details are used.

• DUE: Thursday, February 22

· #3: ROUGH DRAFT

• Approximate length is 3-5 pages typed, double-spaced, using 12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font, with standard margins.

• Please include a title page for your work

• Include a bibliography sheet using the format shared with samples on a paper handed out separately.

• The rough draft should also include an essay after the bibliography which analyzes the sources used for this research paper. What sources were used? Analyze the sources for accuracy and bias.

• Feel free to add electronic images within your paper. However, these images do not count toward the final text goal of 3-5 pages.

• We will spend one class period doing some peer proofreading and editing before final copies are due.

• DUE: Wednesday, February 28

· #4: FINAL COPY – Due Tuesday, March 6^th

This paper is worth 200 pts. under the Projects grade for 3^rd Quarter U.S. History. Here is the breakdown of the grading:

33 pts. – Proposal Paper

33 pts. – Outline

33 pts. – Rough Draft

100 pts. – Final paper

200 pts. – TOTAL (one point free!)

The proposal paper and final copy should be examples of a student’s best writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and writing structure. The outline has separate requirements, and the rough draft is designed to be an editable work in progress.