Nonfiction Inquiry Unit MEGA RESOURCE Page

Parent Letter
Paper Requirements and  Due Dates
Online Copy of the Scavenger Hunt
Resources

**Please note that there are may be some changes to the due dates. Changes are in RED.**

February 1, 2009

Dear parents,

This week we began the unit of our curriculum called nonfiction inquiry.  We will be working on this unit until the end of February as your children choose a topic, research it, and write a nonfiction article about it.  The students will research at home and at school, but the writing will be done primarily in class.

Today your children were given a Nonfiction Research Paper Goals chart to bring home to show to you.  This chart contains class goals and a blank space for individual goals.  I will conference with students to determine individual goals for the project.  Students will be graded on their achievement of both class and individual goals.

The chart splits the unit into various stages with various assignments, due dates, and point values.  This unit counts for multiple project grades.  For each day that an assignment is late, 2 points will be deducted from the grade (unless a suitable reason is given).  Grades will be based on completion of the work as well as the effort put into and the quality of the work.

Task                                                                Due Date                                Percent of grade

Choosing a topic                               Thurs. FEBRUARY 4            10%   
Topic sheet and questions

 Research and planning                     Wed. FEBRUARY 17         20%
Sources List with 3-5 sources
in hand

Note-taking                                        Tues. FEBRUARY 23       20%
25 Categorized Note Cards                

Organizing and Planning                   Fri.  FEBRUARY 26          15%
Web or Outline

Working Draft                                   Fri.  MARCH 5                  10%

Final Draft                                         To Be Announced                 25%

Please detach this sheet and return by Thursday, February  4

As you can see, this unit requires parent support.

·        This support includes helping your child manage their work, keep up with due dates, and find sources.  I will be assisting with this too.  Most importantly, because the public library is the best place to find resources, you may need to take your child there.

·        Also, please help your child plan to succeed by turning in all assignments on the due date.

Topic Choice__________________________________________________

Parent Signature________________________________________________

Thank you in advance for your help in these areas.

ONLINE COPY OF THE LIBRARY SCAVENGER HUNT

-Ms. Hagemann's search page

-CESJDS Databases--SIRS Discoverer is great for our projects, Culture Grams is excellent for geography

-Answers.com

-Montgomery County Public Libraries' Especially for Kids

-Montomgery County Public Libraries' article search--the best article search is MasterFile Premier (need a library card number); needs to include "and" in the search if you are searching for words that might not be next to each other

-Montgomery County Public Libraries' Image Search
 

Other Important Resources:
How to Evaluate an Internet Site

Internet Site Evaluation Practice