You are reading historical fiction. Historical fiction is fiction (a made-up story) set in a real time and place (the place in general is real -- our own world -- but a particular town, home, etc. may be fictional), and sometimes there are some real characters in the story. Events may be manufactured, but they fit with events that really happened in that time and place -- they could have happened.
-- You will be researching the reality behind the story of the historical fiction book you are reading.
See suggestions for research in Asking Questions and Finding Answers .
Download a handout on research and how you need to cite sources at Asking Questions and Finding Answers .
Purpose:
1. You will learn about a time and place, event, or person or people from the past.
2. You will practice doing research, and hopefully learn new research skills and understandings.
3. You will learn how to cite information from sources.
4. You will practice writing about a topic after you have researched it.
5. You will learn how to avoid plagiarizing.
6. Your product (project) will teach other people about your subject.
Audience:
The teacher, your classmates, seventh graders in future years, others who may see your product.
1. Select an historical fiction book about a subject or era you find very interesting.
scrunched or spilled on)
A separate grade will be given for the Works Cited "page."
You will need 3 or 4 or more sources.
Each source should be represented by a works cited entry.
You may make your works cited entries on easybib.com or citationmachine.net.
On a PowerPoint your works cited should be on the last slides.
On a Poster it should be attached well to the back of the poster.
On a Scapbook it should be one of the last pages.
On a blog it should be one of the posts.
These projects will be due December 10/11.
Examples of Informal Citations and Entries for a Works Cited Page
Each time I give a fact, I use informal citation to tell where I found it.
Fact:
According to whitehouse.gov
, William Howard Taft was President of the United States from 1909- 1913.
Fact:
Also according to the whitehouse.gov entry about President Taft
, Theodore Roosevelt picked Taft to be his successor, then later worked to defeat him when Taft tried for re-election.
I'm collecting information to create a works cited entry: Title: "William Howard Taft" http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.html , accessed on February 5, 2008. This results in a Works Cited entry that looks like this:
"William Howard Taft |." The White House. Web. 05 Feb. 2008. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.html>.
Fact:
In January of 1910, the New York Times reported
that Austria had accused Russia of espionage.
Information to use in a works cited entry: using http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free would result in a Works Cited entry that looks like this:
"AUSTRIA ACCUSES RUSSIA.; Military Attache Said to Have Been Involved In Espionage." January 27, 1910. Found in the New York Times Archives online -- accessed February 5, 2008.
Other Helps and Links:
Checksheet for using internet sources: http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/checklist.pdf
The handout to go with the PowerPoint:http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/student.pdf
This lesson has lots of great suggestions and helps for creating a PowerPoint and for citing sources and creating Works Cited page: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=787