Fifth Grade Felines

Specialties Project – Information Packet

About Plagiarism

To plagiarize is to use someone else’s writing and pretend that it is your own writing. If a person copies sentences from a source and puts it in their report, they are pretending that they wrote it and taking
credit for someone else’s work. This is plagiarism, it’s illegal and wrong.  

Plagiarized work will not be accepted, and the entire project may need to be redone,
including a change in topic.

Using the notecards protects you because they require you to put all of your information into your own words, preventing plagiarism and making the work truly your own.

 

The Specialties Project

The Badger Mountain Elementary fifth grade Specialties Project is an opportunity for you to research and present a topic of your choice. Through this project you become the “specialist” in your topic. The major steps in this project are:

                        Researching Your Topic

                        Writing Your Report

                        Designing and Building Your Display Board

                        Developing and Presenting Your Oral Report

                        Presenting at the Specialties Fair

 Researching Your Topic

1. Choose your topic.   You can choose almost any Specialties topic you like but the fifth grade teachers must approve your topic.  Questions your teacher will use to decide on approval are:

• Is this topic appropriate for school and your 5^th grade audience?
• Is it researchable? That is, is there information available on the topic?
• Will this topic lend itself well to a written report, an oral report, a display board and the Specialties Fair?
• Will this topic help you grow in knowledge and skill?

 For your own thinking, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I like this topic enough to study it in depth for four months?
• Can I find information on this topic? Will I learn new things?
• Do I think others will be interested in this topic?
• Can I imagine ways of presenting this topic that will make it engaging to my class and those attending the Specialties Fair?

So, which topic? Consider the possibilities by looking at these categories:

eliminating some topics.

information on topics of interest. Are the articles that you find readable for you?

3. Locate reference materials that will help you in researching your topic. 

• you must use at least five (5) different resources
• only one (1) enclylpedia or computer encyclopedia article maybe used
• WikipediaI cannot be used as a source, butit may lead you to good primary sources on the internet
• Google and other search engines are not sources.  The actual website address is the source.

Some good sources of information are:
books from the school library
books from the public library
magazines
newspaper articles
almanacs
video documentaries
Internet websites
brochures
personal interviews
on-site visits
others ?

Thinking Ahead

Remember to collect support materials along the way. You’ll need the following:

Your presentation board 
Art links—at least two original illustrations, models, etc. 
A math link—a chart, graph, or other mathematics to show your information
A geography link—use a map or globe to share your topic
Other visuals that will support your presentation.

4. Begin your research. 

You will use notecards to collect your information. You will have several notecards for each subtopic with a minimum of four with 3 facts on each card for each subtopic, which is a minimum total of twelve  (12) notecards in all. Most students use many more than 50 notecards!

Everything written will be in your own words and will not be copied word-for-word from a source. The one exception to this is if you quote a source directly, in which case you must show the quote in quotation marks and give credit to the source.

Format for Notecards 

Front of the Notecard:

Write the topic on every card.
Write the subtopic on its set of four or more cards.
Use a key-word outline to “capture” information.

Back of the Notecard:

Write the source of your  information (bibliography) 

Your teacher will show you the exact format for keeping track of your sources. This list of sources is called your bibliography.

How to write your bibliography entries

For a book:

Author (last name, first name). Title. City of publication: publisher, copyright date.

Bueller, Jeanie. Life in Second Place. New York: Random House, 1989.

For a book with two authors:

Author (last name, first name) and second author (first name, last name). Title. City of publication: publisher, copyright date.

Ronney, Edward R. and Grace McClurg. Administrative Power. New York: Lippincott, 1974.

For an encyclopedia article:

“Article.” Encyclopedia name. Most recent copyright date. Volume number, pages.

“Chicago Museum of Natural History.” The New Book of Knowledge. 1978. Vol. 5, pgs. 296-301.

For a CD-ROM encyclopedia article:

“Article.” CD-ROM encyclopedia name. Most recent copyright date.

“Chicago Cubs.” Compton’s CD-ROM Encyclopedia, 1998.

For a magazine article:

Author (if known). “Article,” magazine title.  Date, page.

Frye, Cameron. “Learn to relax,” Psychology Today. June/July, 1980.

For information from the Internet:

Author (if known). “Title of page.” World wide web page address.

Froman, Abe. “The Sausage King of Chicago.”  http://www.chicagosausages.com

For a personal interview:

Name of person interviewed. Name of person conducting interview. Date of interview.

Sloan Peterson, interviewed by Florence Sparrow, RN. June 11, 1986.

Writing Your Report

5. Create an outline. 

Using your notecards you can now organize your information into an effective outline. At this point you don’t  have to be concerned about figuring out everything you will write, just getting it into a sensible order. 
 

Let’s concentrate first on organizing the subtopics…..

To organize your subtopics you can lay out your cards in their four groups and arrange them in the order that makes the most sense:

Write your outline on lined paper:

1. Introduction
   
2. First Subtopic
               
1. key words       
2. key words 
3. key words 
4. key words 
5. key words 
6. key words 
7. key words 
8. key words
9. key words 
10. key words 
11. key words 
12. key words     
    
3. Second Subtopic (1.–12. keywords)
   
4. Third Subtopic (1.–12. keywords)
   
5. Conclusion

Your teacher will explain this outline in class.

6. Write your rough draft. 

Now is the time to think about an effective introduction and conclusion.  How are you going to grab people’s attention? What will lead them into all the great information you will be presenting in the main part of your report? How does the conclusion tie everything up?

In the body of the report, follow your outline and get your ideas down in an organized and clear manner.

Some expectations for the rough draft include:

• Your rough draft will be double-spaced, handwritten in blue or black ink.
• Your rough draft will follow the outline you have prepared,
• Your rough draft will have an introduction and a conclusion
• Your rough draft also includes a bibliography
• Your rough draft must be six to eight pages in length, (not including the bibliography),

7. Revise and edit your first rough draft. 

First, YOU must revise your report. Go back yourself and look for improvements that you can make in your writing. Make sure the report is organized the way you want it and the sentences make sense. 

Next, ask two other people to help you revise your report. Use the scales on the following pages to get good quality feedback. Your editors can be other students and family members. And remember, when giving others feedback be both kind and honest!

Then edit your report. Look for errors in spelling, punctuation and capitalization and correct these. Next, ask two other people to help you edit your report. Use the scales on the following pages to get good quality feedback. Your editors can be other students and family members. And remember, when giving others feedback be both kind and honest!

Choose one adult and one 5^th grade student to read and edit your first rough draft. Have your editors critique your paper:

Your ideas were organized, clear and stayed on-topic.
You had an interesting opening and a strong ending.
You gave “layered details” that made the writing interesting.

You used expressive and/or descriptive words (highlight words).
Your sentences made sense and sounded “natural.”
You used paragraphs correctly.
You accurately used correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
  

Summarize your editors’ feedback here:

What is Working: 

 What Needs More Work:

Now, go back and write in any changes that are needed to make your report clear and interesting. This edited and changed copy is your second rough draft, the one you will turn in. Be sure your editing feels complete. 

8. Write your final report. 

Your teacher may suggest changes to improve on your report. Use these suggestions as you work on your
final draft.  

Some expectations for the final draft include:

• Your final draft will be handwritten in blue or black ink or typed.
• If typed you, the student, must do all the typing!
• If typed, use Times or Arial font, font size 14 points (the size in this packet) and double space the lines.
• If handwritten, you can use manuscript or cursive but it must be easily readable.
• Include the bibliography page at the back of your report.
• Create an attractive cover for your report. Be sure to include the name of your topic, your name and the date.

Developing Your Display Board

The standard display board is 48 inches wide and 36 inches tall. Each of the side panels is 12 inches wide.  Different colors are available at office supply, craft store or large stores, or you can make your own board this size. 

*Note that gifts, food or candy cannot be given away during the Specialties Fair. A brochure on the topic can be designed, printed and given away.

You should put your report on the table in front of your project for presentations. Select the most important and interesting information to share.

9. Design your display board. 

Some required expectations for the display board include:
 

• Have a clear, eye-catching title 
• Two art links—include at least two original visuals, models, etc. (note: these cannot be computer printed)
• A math link—include a chart, graph, or other mathematical representation to show your information 
• A geography link—use a map or globe to share your topic 
• Other visuals that will support your presentation. Present information from all the subtopics—everything necessary for someone to understand your topic.  

Organize your information by subtopics in different areas of your display board. For example, if you were reporting on Kauai you might choose the left panel to show all of your information on geography, including maps, pictures of the area and blocks of typed material. 

On the left panel might be large letters reading “Geography.” 

Helpful hint: using colored paper behind pictures, typed information or artwork helps “frame” the object, making it stand out from the background.

While these are just the basic expectations, consider some of these possibilities:

Suggestions for Visuals and Support Materials

Display a collection.
Make an etching.
Create a paper-maché globe.
Make a model.
Create a collage.
Make a travel brochure.
Draw a map (art and geography)
Make a diorama       
Make a timeline
Make a clay sculpture
Invent a game
Make a poster
Draw a chart
Design a mask
Make a diagram
Make a mini-mural
Produce a video
Make a mobile

10. Build your display board

 
Here are some ideas to produce a great display board:

• Think about your background. A colored background usually works better than a white background, so think about buying a colored display board, covering a white board with colored paper,  painting it, or    using colored paper behind the items on your board.
• Think big. Choose the central focus of your display and make it large. Make sure your title is readable from across the room. Make your subtopic titles a little smaller but still large. Use large pictures, artwork and math representations.
• Use color. Color can be used to attract attention, mark areas, or just make your display more exciting.
• Go 3-D. Three-dimensional that is. Use real objects or three-dimensional models.
• Type your information using a large type size. Small type won’t be read. Be sure to proofread your work!
• Print materials on card stock or index not on regular paper. Light-weight paper might wrinkle when glued to your board. 
• Use a good quality glue stick or double-sided tape to attach your items without having tape showing.
• Before you glue or tape everything down, lay it out to see how it fits.

Be sure to ask for help if you need it. This is your project and we want to see your work, but your parents and your teacher (and your art teacher!) want you to succeed, so they will do everything they can to help. However, they won’t know you need help unless you ask! 

Make a list of things you will need to build your display board and share this with your parents:

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Developing and Presenting Your Oral Report

You will bring your completed display board to school on your assigned date and present your research to the class. This takes its own preparation beyond everything you have done so far.

11. Prepare your oral report. 

Do not read your written report out loud as your oral report. Prepare your original notecards for use in your oral report by doing the following:

• Choose the notecards that have the information you want to present.
   
• Arrange them in the order that will make the most sense to your audience. Remember to include everything that will help your audience understand your topic.
   
• Write additional notecards that will capture or clarify the information you need to present.
   
• Write notecards for your introduction and conclusion. Note that all of the new notecards do not follow the format for research cards; they simply have the information you need to say.
   
• Number the cards in the order you will use them.

12. Practice and present your oral report.

An effective oral report depends on good practice! Practice on your own and then ask someone to be your audience. As you practice, focus on these things:

• Speak loudly and clearly. Don’t rush through your material; remember that this is the first time your  audience has heard your research.
   
• Maintain good eye contact. Let the audience know that you are speaking to them by looking at them.
   
• Use your display board by pointing to things on your board as you talk about each subtopic.
   
• Practice enough that you can control the “butterflies”. They might not go away, but at least you can make them stand in line!
   
• Make sure your practice audience agrees with you that your information is clear and makes sense.

• You will be assigned a day to present you Oral Report to the class. On your assigned day you will bring your display board, costume, notecards, and any other objects you need to school.

Presenting at the Specialties Fair

13. Congratulations! 

You have completed a long, complex and difficult project. You have one more step to go. The Badger Mountain Specialties Fair will be held in the gym on:

On the day of the Specialties Fair,  you will need to bring your display board and any other needed materials to school. Again, make arrangements with your parents as needed to bring your materials and also to transport them home. 

If your report involves anything that may need special consideration (for example electricity, live animals, etc.) you need to make arrangements with your teacher to get permission and/or arrange for resources that you will need.

Be sure to invite your family, friends, and neighbors to join us in the Gym and see all our terrific Specialties Projects!