End of Year CMAS

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow we begin our End of Year CMAS testing. Students must arrive ON TIME to school, and have had a good breakfast! We will test on the following days:

Tuesday 4/28

Thursday 4/30

Friday 5/1

Monday 5/4

Your help with avoiding tardies or absences on these days really benefits the students. If they are tardy or absent, they miss other class periods to make up the tests and this causes them to get behind on their classwork. 

Last day of research...time to start writing!

Today, students are finishing up their research on their self-selected topic.  Students split their 5 days of research in class between library books and online research.  They have been notified several times in classroom announcements and through email to complete research at home if this allotted time is not enough.  

Tomorrow, students will organize their notes and begin writing their introduction paragraph for their essay.  This is an assessment that will be checked by the end of the hour on Wednesday.

Click here for a few helpful tips to begin the writing process. 

Click here for our research essay timeline
Click here for our research rubric


 
Paper DUE April 22nd! No excuses!

Final Research Project

April 6, 2015

Our final research project for the year is under way!  This project is DUE APRIL 22, 2015 IN CLASS!!  Please make arrangements to accommodate any absences during this time.  There will be no exceptions made for assignments to be submitted AFTER the due date!

Students worked yesterday to select topics that fit with our overarching concept:  "Looking beyond myself."  This concept requires that students select a research topic that is outside of their normal realm of likes, passions, and interests, that would have a greater impact on a community of people, their future or their world.  This research project is an opportunity for students to select something that ultimately piques their curiosity, but MAY or MAY not directly impact THEM, and/or fulfills a greater issue in others' lives.  Students were really excited today to browse the selection of books available in the school library to help them narrow down their topic choices.  Please ask your child what they are researching about!  

April 7, 2015

Today, students will continue to work on collecting their research out of books in the library. Tomorrow, students will switch their research skills to online research about their topic.  Please see the attached timeline of events for this research paper.  This timeline has been reviewed in class and is hanging in the classroom as a resource for student use.  

The final product for this assignment is a research paper in which they have clearly developed their topic with clear, relevant and organized factual information that is explained in detail throughout the essay.  They will be required to use content specific vocabulary about their topic while maintaining a formal style throughout.  The research essay requires a strong introduction that engages the reader and a conclusion that wraps up all of the findings from their research.  The rubric has been reviewed in class and is hanging as a resource for student use.  Please see the attached rubric for further information.

Please encourage your child to do the following at home FREQUENTLY throughout the research time: 

*conduct more research if necessary (students do not have school on Friday, so this is an EXCELLENT opportunity to visit the public library for additional books or online resources if necessary)

*organize their research to prepare for the final paper

*organize their sources/sites so it is clear where they are obtaining their information from