Biography Research Project for a Speech
Topic Choice Assignment
Google Form Links by Class 1st period 2nd period 4th period 5th period 7th period |
Day One (DLD) Topic Choice & Resource Navigation
1. Visit FIND MY ROLE MODEL from the Academy of Achievement and fill out the indicated questions of the Biography Topic Choice Google Form. (Codes on the left.) 2. Continue considering topics in the next sections of the Google Form and by visiting the Smithsonian Magazine's 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time. 3. Then complete Google Searches on all five names you found from these sites. Also do an informal search on other people you believe are significant "gamechangers,' worthy of research and being the subject of your speech to develop more choice options. 4. Complete the choice preference questions. Later, check the Biography Topic Choices sheet to see which one you'll get to do. (First Come-First Served in each class period.) |
Days Two & Three (Block + Skinny)
1. After logging in to the GCPS student portal, click Google Workspace for Education in order to make a copy of your Biography Research for Speech Google Doc.
2. Together, we will review and practice finding your person to research in the Biography in Context database. (See RESEARCH SOURCES below.) If he or she is not covered in that database, work with Ms. Dolcimascolo to see if you need to choose a different individual.
3. Run through the steps of citing source, reading to find the best pieces of information to gather, and then rewriting that information in your own voice and style to paraphrase the source's sentence.
4. Get at least four solid facts from source one, ideally one of the reference type or other sources on your person from Bio in Context. Remember to take your time to write a great paraphrased version of that fact--That is the first draft of a sentence for your speech and should make writing it much easier!
5. Choose a second source, either one of the other distinct sources on Bio in Context, one of the other databases listed before, Biography.com, or a source you have carefully evaluated from a Google Search. If the person is alive and has a website with a biography on it, that might be a good choice.
6. Cite source two--use MyBib if it's a website rather than a database that provides citations--and gather at least three facts from it to paste and then paraphrase those pasted sentences.
7. Finally begin writing your speech. We will fill in specifics of what's required with Ms. Dolcimascolo.
2. Together, we will review and practice finding your person to research in the Biography in Context database. (See RESEARCH SOURCES below.) If he or she is not covered in that database, work with Ms. Dolcimascolo to see if you need to choose a different individual.
3. Run through the steps of citing source, reading to find the best pieces of information to gather, and then rewriting that information in your own voice and style to paraphrase the source's sentence.
4. Get at least four solid facts from source one, ideally one of the reference type or other sources on your person from Bio in Context. Remember to take your time to write a great paraphrased version of that fact--That is the first draft of a sentence for your speech and should make writing it much easier!
5. Choose a second source, either one of the other distinct sources on Bio in Context, one of the other databases listed before, Biography.com, or a source you have carefully evaluated from a Google Search. If the person is alive and has a website with a biography on it, that might be a good choice.
6. Cite source two--use MyBib if it's a website rather than a database that provides citations--and gather at least three facts from it to paste and then paraphrase those pasted sentences.
7. Finally begin writing your speech. We will fill in specifics of what's required with Ms. Dolcimascolo.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Database SourceBrowse by category or search for specific names. Most topics will have multiple sources you can use for facts. Most also have a list of great website sources.
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Encyclopedia BritannicaProvides facts, images, and the Web's best sites for biographical information on people.
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for Pop Culture & HistoryCheck for your person here to pop up in Pop Culture Universe or various American or World History collections of articles with biographies available.
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