This week is devoted to research and gathering information for your website project.  Here are a couple big points to keep in mind:
  1. Your goal is to persuade, not just inform.  Find PERSUASIVE information.
  2. Connect with a real person who can provide expert testimony or stories.
  3. Don't worry about organizing your information yet, just gather it.  Organize next week.
  4. Don't forget SCOPE.  Use these tools to make sure are persuading.
 
Every day, you'll click on the Website Project Tracker to check in and let me know how you are making progress.

1) Make sure the tracker is current at the end of each class.
2) Do not change anyone's status but your own.
3) Be honest, so if you get a little behind schedule I can help you.

Once this blog post is no longer on top, just click the new link on the sidebar of this blog.
 
Parents, if your child is having difficulty studying, you might want to check out Study Smart, an article that explains some interesting research findings on how our brain likes to learn.
 
Maybe you don't want that new cell phone after all.  Texting can be potentially fatal.
 
Some students are missing assignments, so be sure to check it out.
 
It will be Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 p.m. in the gym.  Childcare will be provided.
 
Don't forget what you've already learned about research:
Check out this video from Common Craft on how to find what you want on the internet efficiently.

Here are some search tips:
  • Search with keywords, not questions.
  • Imagine what words will be on the site you would like to find.
  • You probably want to ignore the advertised sites at the top.  They paid to be there.
  • Words like of, the, a, and in are usually left out of your query.
  • Use quotation marks to search for phrases.  For example, searching for sand sharks will look for those two words in any order in any places on a website, but "sand sharks" searches for that exact phrase in that exact order any place on a website.
  • Sort your Google search results by reading level.
  • Use a search engine that automatically gives you reliable results like Sweet Search

If you want to use the Information Gathering sheet that we've used in the past, you can download it here:
research_gathering_information.doc.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Also, check out a student-oriented research engine called InstaGrok.
 
The American Revolution page has been replaced by the Civil War page on our website.  Check it out!
 
 
Our final large project for the year is definitely a big one.  We'll use a little bit of everything we've learned this year and throw it all together to see what you can do.  You'll have a chance to be very creative, to work on something that really matters to you, and to direct yourself as opposed to just trying to please your teacher.  Read on for the details.

Objective
Independently use the research process and the writing process to create a website designed to persuade your audience.

Expectations
  1. Independently research your chosen topic, gathering, selecting, and sorting information.
  2. Write the equivalent of at least a five paragraph essay.  (Intro, three topics, conclusion)
  3. Use persuasive techniques such as SCOPE and logical arguments.
  4. Fully revise and edit your work using all the skills we've learned this year (sentence openers, transitions, who/which clauses, thesis statement, etc.)
  5. Design and build an appropriate and professional website to present your information.
  6. Independently manage your time and project to meet deadlines.


Possible Topics We Discussed in Class
Why be a Christian
Conservative or Liberal?
Driving age
Why not to do drugs
Same sex marriage
Child abuse
Animal abuse
Dog fights
Debt/credit cards/money
Taxes – who should be taxed and how
Television – appropriate content, time
Be physically active
Career Choices
Cancer
When is War Just? 
Christian school/public/home?
Pollution
Abortion
Dating
Environmentalism?
Climate change
Cigarettes
Marriage/Divorce
Adoption
Suing for unimportant matters
Cloning, stem-cell research
Suicide
Euthanasia
Kony