History Research at Penn Charter

The goal of the 9th-grade term paper is to help students develop the skills to write a history research paper. Students choose from an approved list of topics from the ancient and medieval world. With guidance from their teachers and library staff, they conduct research into their topic and develop an argument, choosing from an analysis "menu" (comparison, cause and effect, and biographical analysis). 

Students receive detailed skill instruction and feedback at each stage of the process. The end product is a 4-6 page research paper. All students will write a first draft and then revise their paper based on teacher feedback. Passing this project is a grade-level requirement for moving on to 10th-grade social studies at Penn Charter.

The 10th-grade term paper builds on the skills students developed in the 9th-grade course. In this assignment, students develop an evidence-based argument that connects a current global issue to the past using causation or comparison. Teachers provide instruction on each assignment step and a new emphasis emerges on student collaboration and feedback, now that students have more research skills and experience. 

 In the fall, students will keep journals where they develop questions and seek modern, historic, and personal connections to issues and hold class discussions on current issues.  Once students have developed their research questions and conducted their initial research, they will be put into small learning groups based on region or topic similarities. In these groups, they will provide feedback, and peer review. Students will write two peer-reviewed papers: one exploring a current event or topic in relation to course essential questions, and another identifying and analyzing the historical causes of that event or topic.

Additionally, students present their research to their classmates in class, which is followed by discussion and reflective learning activities. 

In their 11th-grade year, students may choose from a variety of U.S. history courses: United States History, American Studies (an interdisciplinary course), and Advanced Studies courses in Modern American History and American Political History. While the course content differs, students will complete the same year-long research project, choosing a topic relevant to the history of the United States and completing a series of short papers that put primary and secondary sources in conversation with each other. 

Students will then create a short presentation on their research, which they will first present to their classmates. They will revise this presentation based on peer and teacher feedback to prepare for the final research conference. All 11th-grade students will be sorted into groups by topic across courses. At the conference, students will present their research to each other and hold a group discussion.  As the final product of this collaborative learning experience, each student will write a short reflective paper incorporating insights from their own research as well as their peers in their conference group.