Dear Parents:
For the second semester we will be doing a formal research project. We have put together a list of the due dates
for each step in the process, as well as some samples. We will have some books available from the school
library or classroom resources. However, some students may need to go to their local library to find sources for
their research. The students who chose to do a state will have more resources available in the classroom than
those who chose a person to research.
Friday, February 20th – Topics chosen (They were able to choose a state or a famous American.)
Below is a list of which topics were chosen.
Wednesday, February 25th – Outlines due (We have been creating these in class.)
Sample 1st year outline for a state: Georgia
I. Where is it located? (Is it in the north, south, east or west part of the US?)
II. Land and water forms (Tell about any major rivers, mountain ranges, lakes or sites like the Grand Canyon.)
III. Plants and animals (Depending on where the state is, there may be certain plants and animals that are
native to that area, so it would be good to tell about some of those.)
IV. What are some of the state symbols? (State flag, state bird, state tree, state flower, etc. These are things
that the students really enjoy learning about and will be excellent ideas for the visual aids that they will be
doing later on in the process.)
V. Interesting facts (As they are learning about their states, students may come across interesting facts that do
not fit in any of the other points on the outline. For example, Georgia is known as the “peach state”.)
Sample 2nd -3rd year outline for a state: Georgia
I. Geography
A. Where is it located?
B. What is the capital city?
C. What is the weather like?
D. What are some of the major land and water forms or points of interest?
II. Plants and Animals
III. State symbols
A. State flag
B. State bird
C. State flower
D. State tree
IV. Foods – (Different regions of the US have foods associated with those states, e.g. fried chicken, grits,
pintos, cornbread, and fried green tomatoes are foods that are associated with the southeastern US.)
V. Interesting facts (As they are learning about their states, students may come across interesting facts that do
not fit into any of the other points in their outline. For example, in 1996 Atlanta, Georgia, hosted the Summer
Olympics.)
Sample 1st year outline for a state: Abraham Lincoln
I. Birth (This will include any information on where and when he was born as well as who is parents were.)
II. Why is he famous? (This is where they will tell about him being President, working to end slavery, etc.)
III. Is he still alive? (If so, how old is he and if not when and how did he die?)
IV. Interesting facts (This is where they will write anything interesting that did not fit anywhere else, e.g.
Abraham Lincoln had a great sense of humor and was always making jokes.)
Sample 2nd -3rd year outline: Abraham Lincoln
I. Birth
A. When?
B. Where?
C. Parents
II. Childhood
A. Where did he grow up?
B. What did he study in school?
III. Adulthood
A. Was he married and if so to whom?
B. Did he have children?
C. Any special training/skills for his career
IV. Why is he famous?
A. What were his accomplishments?
B. How did they affect/change history?
V. Death
A. When did he die?
B. How did he die?
VI. Miscellaneous/Interesting Facts
Friday, March 27th – Note cards are due:
1st years – 15-30 cards, 2nd years – 25-40 cards, 3rd years –35-50 cards
Sample Note Card – Abraham Lincoln
Roman numeral
from outline
I.
A.
February 12, 1809
Letter from
outline (1st years won’t
have this)
Note of not
more than 5 words
1
tracks
number of note cards
Friday, May 1st – Rough draft is due. We will take the note cards and sort them based on where they fall in the
outline. Then the short phrases/notes will be made into complete sentences and put together in story form. For
this draft we are not concerned with spelling, capitalization and punctuation, but rather just getting all of their
thoughts down on paper.
Friday, May 15th – Editing should be complete. The editing process is done in three steps. First the student
should look over his/her paper and check it for errors. Then they should have a peer look over it. Finally, an
adult should look over it with the student for final editing. Below are the editing marks we will be using:
Friday, May 29th – Final draft due. Students will have two weeks from the time the editing in complete to go
back through and make final corrections, then rewrite their story in their very best handwriting.
Friday, June 5th – Visual Aids due. Students will need to prepare at least one visual aid to show during their
presentations. These can include a picture of the state flag that they have colored in, a map of the state where
they have identified key cities and landmarks, an airplane made from wood or modeling clay (Wright Brothers),
etc. They can use any medium they would like, including dioramas.
Presentations will be June 8th – June 11th. We will be sending home a presentation schedule later in the year,
and we will welcome parents who would like to see their child’s presentation.
Please feel free to email any questions you may have.
Thank you,
Lower Elementary Teachers
Research Topics
States
Zmora -
Eshkol –
Madeline – Oregon
Theo – New Mexico
Azy – Arizona
Kate – Oklahoma
Irene – South Carolina
Tova – Tennessee
Nadav – New Jersey
Naama – New York
Izzy – Hawaii
Yael – California
Eliana E. – Idaho
Ezra – North Dakota
Matan – South Dakota
Ariella – Florida
Rafi – Michigan
Bryan – Pennsylvania
Ilan – New Jersey
Jake – New York
Jennifer – Vermont
Jonathan – Alaska
Dahlia – Hawaii
Ora - Texas
Famous Americans
Chloe – Neil Armstrong
Shmuel Chaim – The Wright Brothers
Naomi – Molly Pitcher
Avigayil – George Washington
Tchelet – George Washington
Sammy S – Abraham Lincoln
Naftali – Thomas Edison
Eliana PL – Harriet Tubman
Betzalel – Robert Frost
Sammy ZL – Jackie Robinson
Adam – Mohammad Ali
Yaffa – Sojourner Truth
Evan – John Adams
Jonah – Theodore Roosevelt
Joshy – Sitting Bull