Famous Americans in History Research Project Students have been learning about several famous Americans in history. They have analyzed the character traits of individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr. They have also explored the definition of “courage” as it relates to the historical events and characters we have been studying. Common Core Standards require students to read non-‐fiction passages and understand key ideas and details. Students should be able to demonstrate understanding of a text. They should also be able to determine the main idea and provide evidence of key details that support the main idea. Students should be able to read non-‐fiction and use language that describes the relationship between a series of historical events. They should also be able to analyze and describe cause/effect relationships. The “Famous Americans in History” project will enable students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts. 1. Each student will select a “Famous American” he/she would like to research. 2. Select books, websites, and other sources to learn about your topic. At least two sources must be selected. Provide your sources with your report. Wikipedia sources will not be accepted. 3. The research project will have pages that must be completed as a part of the “research” component. The pages will be due before the final “presentation” project. 4. Each student will select a type of oral presentation. 1 Selecting a Famous American in History Select a famous American in history. You may select a person from the list on this page or research a different individual. The criteria for selecting a famous person to research: • Was the individual recognized for making positive contributions to society? • Have books been written about this individual? • Will you be able to gather enough information to write a research report on this individual? Select a famous courageous American you would like to research. You may also select a famous American not on this list (approved by teacher). Your selection has to be based on the criteria listed above. Barack Obama Eleanor Roosevelt Benjamin Franklin Noah Webster Susan B. Anthony Laura Ingalls Wilder Alexander Graham Bell Neil Armstrong Thomas Edison Henry Ford Pocahontas Martin Luther Rosa Parks King Jr. Jackie Robinson Clara Barton Harriet Tubman Cesar Chavez Helen Keller Ruby Bridges Abraham Lincoln Amelia Earhart George Washington Carver Sojourner Truth Your Choice My Famous American _______________________________________________________________________ 2 Gathering Research on Your Famous American Select 2-‐3 books and/or articles about your famous American. Read your research independently or with the help of an adult. Take notes, using bullet points, about what you are reading. How do I research? Your purpose will be to find out a few facts about your famous person. You will also want to find out contributions made by this person. How did your famous American impact society today? 1. Personal facts about my famous American 2. Contributions made by my famous American 3. How the contributions of my famous American impacted society today Reports that are recorded, word for word, will not be accepted. This is called plagiarism. Students will be given a “0” grade for plagiarized work. Research & Writing Tips Visit www.facthound.com for the best good research sites. When you take notes, don’t copy word for word. Read the information and learn about your topic. If you can tell someone else about it, you can write down some ideas on paper. When you start writing, you will sound like yourself. 3 Due May 11th Name__________________________________________________________________________________________ Record at least 3 facts about your famous American. Write in complete sentences. Use your own words and do not copy directly from your sources. Personal Facts About My Famous American My Famous American _____________________________________________________________ First Fact: 4 Second Fact: Third Fact: 5 Due May 18th Name _________________________________________________________________________________________ Record at least 3 contributions made by your famous American. Write in complete sentences. Write in your own words and do not copy directly from sources. My Famous American __________________________________________________________________ What my famous American did (actions/contribution): 6 What my famous American did (actions/contribution): What my famous American did (actions/contributions): 7 Due May 18th Name__________________________________________________________________________________________ Record at least 2 examples of how the contributions (actions) of your famous American impacted society (people). My Famous American____________________________________________________________________ How the actions/contributions helped society: 8 How the contributions/actions helped society: 9 Due May 14th Name _____________________________________________________ Date ____________________________________ Personal Facts about My Famous Person Famous American Character Traits Analysis Famous American In the three boxes, write three character traits demonstrated by your famous American. Describe one character trait on the back of this page. Draw a picture to support your character trait description. 10 How My Famous American Helped Others Think about the acts demonstrated by your famous American. How did your famous American help others in society? How is the world a better place because of your famous American? How did your famous American change the future of how people act treat others? Think about some facts, and then write some ideas in your own words. Due Monday, May 21st. 11 Timeline A timeline shows important events in a person’s life. A timeline would include the birth and death and major accomplishments of a person’s life. A timeline for a famous person in history would also include any important events that define acts by your famous American. Sample Timeline Create a timeline that includes at least 4 important events related to your famous American. The timeline should include the month and year of the important event. It should also include a brief description that describes the event. Your timeline can be created on a plain sheet of paper. You will create the timeline as a preparation for the final research paper. The final timeline may include photographs. Due May 27th 12 Oral Presentation Students will give an oral presentation about their famous Americans. Tentative dates for the presentations are May 27-‐29th. Students may choose one of the following presentation formats. The purpose of the oral presentation is for the student to demonstrate knowledge of the topic. Speech Interview Debate (famous American gives a (student may be (famous American may speech to an audience) interviewed by parent or debate another individual-‐
student-‐questions asked must be relevant. Parent or must be prepared in student may be part of the advance) debate, but questions and answers should be planned for audience Report Presentation Teach a lesson Play (do not just read from your (imagine you are the report-‐provide visuals) teacher-‐how will you as a monologue (just your present a lesson to your famous American) or students?) dialogue, between your famous American and another relevant character known to your famous American. You will write the script and include important details that your audience would need to know about your famous American. Oral Presentation Rubric: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/30700_rubric.pdf 13 14