Dear Students and Parents,
In our English and History classes over the first six weeks of the new year the grade 8 students will be involved with independent study themes, the focus of which is planning, time management, setting goals, decision making, and organization. This unit is called the Lawson Independent Canadian Study unit, and is done in conjunction with the Lawson Literary Awards program sponsored by the family of Colonel Tom Lawson. It is hoped that these important skills will be further developed and will assist your child in the move from elementary school to secondary school.
The focus of this unit is historical biography. Each student will select a Canadian figure who will become the subject of the student’s reading, writing, research, listening, and speaking. In selecting a person for the student’s research, we recommend that this person not be presently alive, so that the students have the opportunity to look at the entire life of their subject. As well, we always encourage figures from local history. The following is a partial list of some of the historic figures that might be used for this project:
The choice of the biography is open to the student’s interest and suggestions by the students themselves are encouraged.
For this unit students will be required to complete a major essay of 10 to 15 pages length. In the process of completing this essay, they will study proper essay format, bibliographic format, footnoting procedures, etc. From the essay the students will then develop a visual display of the main points from their research. As well, the students will study how to take their written paper and turn it into an oral presentation. Students will have on average 40 minutes of class time per day and are expected to devote a minimum of 30 minutes homework each day. An essay from those written by our students will be selected to represent our school in our family of schools for the Lawson Literary Award. The winner of this award will be published in a book with all the other winners from the other families of schools in our board and has a $100.00 prize.
The goals for this unit are:
setting long range goals and daily goals
productive use of class time
personal planners maintained
regular homework effort
the consolidation of the writing process- writing mechanics: spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphing
explore genres related to a theme
understand the main idea
locating information using a variety of sources
summarizing and organizing jot notes
proper bibliographic format
oral report of research
visual display of work, including the use of computer
ALL MATERIAL FOR WORK IN PROGRESS AND SCHEDULES ARE
TO BE MAINTAINED IN AN ORGANIZED WAY AND
BROUGHT TO SCHOOL EACH DAY.
The following are the specific expectations for the unit
Choosing a topic
-the choice of topic is to be submitted on Monday, January 8th.
-list the sub-topics that are to be investigated
-a wide variety of sub-topics should be investigated so as to fully cover the historical aspects of the chosen topic
-due Monday, January 10th
-we will visit the library on Tuesday, January 11th (All Day)
-summarize and organize point-form notes for each sub-topic
-thoroughly investigate each sub-topic
-organize point-form notes with a colour-coding system so as to make sure that all points are with the correct sub-topic
-submit all research notes on Tuesday, February 4th
-write a topic sentence and a concluding sentence for each paragraph
-content of the paragraph follows the topic sentence
-paragraphs are linked together and follow a logical order
- Three sample paragraphs due Monday, February 14th
-list all sources used to gather information using the given bibliographic format
-use a variety of sources: i.e., interviews, archives (primary sources) books, newspapers, Internet, CD’s (secondary sources)
-submit a preliminary bibliography on Thursday, February 17th
-revise work: make corrections in spelling, grammar, punctuation and paragraph organization so that the final copy submitted is free of errors
-editing of first draft begins on Tuesday, February 22nd
-essay is to be submitted on Monday, February 28th
Visual Presentation
-prepare a display of the main points from the research
-pictures charts etc. should be part of the display
-a logical order to the display should be demonstrated
-the essay itself should be accessible on the display
-display is due Monday, March 4th
Oral Report
-a three to five minute presentation covering the main points of the research will be given
- the oral reports be presented after the March Break. Starting date will be given after the break.
Computer use
-the essay is to be submitted typed, using a standard format that is given specifically for this assignment
-a knowledge of word processing application should be demonstrated i.e., fonts, graphics, charts, etc.
Time Management
-productive use of class time
-material available at school for use during school hours
-homework effort
-all of the above will be evaluated on an ongoing basis
With regard to the library trip, we will be taking the students to the Central Library downtown so that they will have the opportunity to begin their research and to sign out books. Students need to bring a valid library card. We will also need to collect $3.00 to cover the transportation costs.
Mr. Cairns and Mr. Malik