8th+Grade+Research+Project

toc __**8th Grade Research Project**__ During this project you will be working in groups of 3 students to research and create an eBook on WW2.

Your jobs will be to:

2. Use your research and web evaluation skills to identify sources of information for the project, 3. Share this information as social bookmarks using Evernote 4. Use Twitter or Today's Meet to share your "nuggets" of information. 5. Collaborate with your group in planning your presentation.

__**Questions to Consider**__
 * What point of view will you present from?
 * What information will you need to support your point of view?
 * What information will you need to ensure that you have different points of view and balanced the argument.

6.Create an ebook about your research topic using iBooks Author.

Topics
You will be able to choose one of several topics to investigate.
 * **Women in WW2**
 * **D-Day**
 * **Pearl Harbour**
 * **The Holocaust**
 * **Rationing**
 * **Children of WW2**

Pathfinder
Please use this Google Custom Search to explore the various topics.

media type="custom" key="22134622"

Lesson One: Website Evaluation
Work in pairs. Start by using the Google Custom search bar above to browse various sites about WW2. You may then search outside of the custom search pathfinder. Evaluate the sites and try to find examples of sites that are reliable. Remember to ask yourself the following. Copy the following table into a Google Doc and use it to fill in your findings. You will be expected to report back at the end of the lesson. What makes the author and expert on this subject? Can you find out more about this author? || **Bias:** What language and information does the the author use to convince you about this information? || What is the publisher's reputation. Do they publish anything else? || **Evidence:** Has any evidence been provided by the author? How does this match up with any evidence you have found elsewhere? || Is the information recent? When was it last updated? || **Links** Who links to this page. What does that tell you about the information on this web page?
 * **Author:**
 * **Publisher:**
 * **Date:**

(Remember you can use the AltaVista link:[URL] command to investigate this.) || Is the information on the website accurate? Are their errors in the writing? Does the information fit with what you already know? || **Links To:** What does the website link to? Do the links work? What do these links tell you about the website? ||
 * **Accuracy:**

Homework:
Create an account at Evernote.

Lessons 2-3: Search Tools
During these lessons you will apply your search skills with boolean operators and utilise a variety of search tools. Your research findings will be annotated, contain your notes and be shared in your Evernote Notebook for the project

Here is a link to the Smart Search Tools we have used in the past.

**Using Evernote to Create Notes and Notebooks**
media type="youtube" key="9qKlbCGvaKQ" height="315" width="560"

You will need to download the Evernote Web Clipper for this activity for the browser of your choice.

**Web Clipping With Evernote**
media type="youtube" key="t2l8ogMLGpw" height="315" width="560"

Sharing with Evernote
media type="youtube" key="gOOn_DYnlZM?list=UUfr2M9soztlxv0v6_Sx3Jvg" height="315" width="560"

__***Remember your topic is World War 2 and you will be creating a presentation to use while you present your findings to the class.**__

You may use some of the sites in the Google Custom Search Pathfinder, you used last lesson to evaluate websites, but should search out additional sources of information too.

Watch the following video as a class to brush up on your Boolean Operators.

Web Search Strategies __**In Plain English**__ media type="youtube" key="B8aYoVpdz8o" height="315" width="560"

Now try out some of these different Smart Search Tools to find information for the project, remember to evaluate your sources, using the strategies from the first lesson to help you find the best information for your project.

**Homework:**
Create a Twitter account for yourself. Don't use your real name or upload a real picture of yourself. Use an avatar instead. Go through your account settings and make sure that they are set up in a safe manner.



Lesson 4 Twitter
During this lesson you will be using your Twitter account to tweet a number of posts using the hashtag #abcict. You must read through the research in your Evernote notebook and extract important information to share in 140 characters or less. This information must not be copied and pasted. Instead you need to read through it, make sure you understand it and summarise the main points to be tweeted. You will need to post a minimum of 3 text tweets in the lesson and 2 images. Please see the ABCICT lesson on Twitter for more details on how to do this.

Your Tweets and those of everyone else in the grade can be accessed after each lesson in our Google Doc.

Creating the iBook
The next step is to use your research to create the iBook. You will be using iBooks Author to do so. Please click here to access the next set of lessons.