Ainsworth School

Explorer report Handouts:

Over the course of the next five weeks you will be researching information about a designated explorer and creating an Explorer Notebook.  You will have a variety of items to choose from to include in your notebook, though the primary item is a required informational research report based on the provided outline of prompts.  In addition, you will share your acquired knowledge with your classmates in a formal speech scheduled for Thursday, December 15 or Friday, December 16. 
The Process:
There are four main aspects to this project.
1.    Gaining background knowledge
2.    Collecting and organizing information
3.    Writing and putting together the Explorer’s Notebook
4.    Presentation of your information

Each aspect of this process will be modeled in class.  It is essential that you follow our class process and apply it in a timely manner to your own work. 

Gaining background knowledge: Studying European Exploration through our History Alive resources will provide us with background knowledge.

Collecting and organizing information: In class we will practice research and note-taking to allow each student to experience the process before applying it to individual reports.  Research will be done with both print (at least 2 books) and online resources both at school and at home.  The bibliography process will also be reviewed in class and applied.  Once research is completed we will create outlines in class for our practice topic then once again students will be expected to apply the skill. 

Writing and Assembling the Explorer’s Notebook: After an outline is created then rough drafts will be written and the remainder of the writing process completed.  Drafts reflecting revisions and edits will be expected before a final draft is produced.  The final draft should be either typed or written in cursive. 
  Advice:
You will be collecting a lot of information so it is very important that you stay organized.  Write down things like your main ideas, draw pictures, sketch maps or print pages from Internet sites that you visit.  Keep your material in a specific Explorers folder.  Use your time wisely throughout this project, especially on the computer.  It is essential that you keep up with the provided timeline and meet each due date. 
Evaluation:
Your Notebook will be graded upon the following items:
•    The completeness of the parts of your Explorer’s Notebook.
•    The correctness of the information.
•    The writing is in your own words and easy to read.
•    The completeness and creativity of your artwork.
•    The neatness of your work and the way in which your notebook is presented.
Criteria for your speech in Spanish will also be handed out at a later date.
*A scoring rubric will be coming later*
Reflection:
At the end of this project go back and think of the following:
•    What do you know now that you did not know before?
•    What was the biggest surprise about your explorer?
•    After listening to the presentations, which explorer do you think had the greatest achievement?
•    How would our world be different today without these explorers?
 

Handout #2:

Don’t lose this sheet!!!!!!

Name:_____________ EXPLORER NAME: __________________

The purpose of this paper is to study the process we will be taking to write a research paper, and how we will organize the process of assembling an explorer’s notebook.  It will also be a timeline for the due dates.

Your Notebooks are due on Thursday, December 15th, 2011

I.      Parts included in the EXPLORER’S NOTEBOOK:        
    A.    Fact Cards
    B.    Outline
    C.    Rough Draft
    D.    Visuals
    E.    Bibliography page- a list of books and resources used
    F.    Oral presentation to the class – Informative speech
    G.    Final Report (All writing must be in cursive or typed)

Here is a review of each of the above parts:

II.    FACT CARDS          DUE DATE: NOV. 29th
    A.    Read and gather information/facts about your explorer
    B.    Put the facts/information on 3x5 cards
    C.    Organize the fact cards by which sections they provide information about.  Color-code each section of your report.
    D.    Organize your fact cards as to how the information will be presented in each section.
    E.    Write down the resources used on a card for use on your bibliography page.


III.    OUTLINE                 DUE DATE: DEC. 2nd
    A.      Name of the explorer (centered on the page)
    B.    Using organized fact cards; take one section at a time  and double check the facts are in order of how you want to present that sections information.
    C.    Record a brief list of information to be included in each section.
    D.    Repeat for each section.
    
IV.    DRAFT OF REPORT       DUE DATE DEC. 9TH
    A.      Use your fact cards and outline to follow when writing the draft.  The fact cards will help fill in the information.
    B.    Make sure your writing has a clear beginning, middle and ending.
    C.    Edit your writing, look for things like conventions  (punctuation, paragraphing, capitalization, etc.) word  choice, voice and sentence fluency.
    D.    Check rough draft with your teacher.    

V.    VISUALS to be included     DUE DATE DEC. 15th
    There are 6 choices to choose from for your notebook.  You must complete 4 of them.  Challenge component is to complete all 6.  All notebooks need to have a cover with the explorers name and the authors name and some type of illustration.

    A.    Draw and color a picture of the flag of the country your  explorer sailed under.
    B.    Draw and label a map showing the route(s) of your explorer’s travels.
    C.    Draw and color a picture of the type of ship your explorer sailed on.
    D.    Draw and color a picture of your explorer.
    E.    Write a public announcement that might have been written by your explorer announcing the exploration and looking             for people to join him in his journey.
    F.    Write 3 journal entries that might have been written by your explorer at 3 different times through out his travels.

VI.    ORAL PRESENTATION – 2 to 3 minutes maximum.              DUE DATE DEC. 15th and 16th

    A.     Review speaking scoring guide, as this will count as an informative speech.
    B.    Give a summary of your research report on your explorer and his exploration.
    C.    Use one 3x5 note card only during the presentation.
    D.    Use the presentation rubric to prepare.
    E.    Talk about your explorer notebook and share a few visuals.
    F.    Optional: Dress in character of your explorer. (wear a hat, tights, boots, etc.)

VII.  FINAL WRITTEN PROJECT        DUE DATE DEC. 15
    A.    Written in cursive or typed.
    B.    Include a title page in your notebook.
    C.    Include your bibliography page at the end.  
    D.    All of your work goes into the explore notebook, final copies and drafts, in an organizational style that you choose, but it must make sense to your audience.

Organizing your research information
Fact cards and report sections


I.    Introduction:  You need to introduce the time period and your  explorer
    
    A.    What is happening in the world during this time?
    B.    Who is your explorer?
    C.    Where and when were they born?
    D.    Is there additional personal information about him?

II.    Early Life of the Explorer:  Life before exploring

    A.    What was life like for your explorer as a young person?
    B.    How did they start exploring?
    C.    What information do you have about their education?
    D.    Who influenced your explorer?

III.    Before leaving for the exploration: Preparations and details

    A.    Who sponsored your explore?
        1.    Is there background information needed to understand and explain the sponsorship?
    B.    What was the name of the explorer’s ship(s)?
    C.    What was the goal and/or motivation of the exploration?

IV.    The voyage:  Details of the journey

    A.    Where did the explorer sail and explore?
        1.      What were the dates he sailed?
        2.    What were the names of the places he landed and/or explored?
        3.    What was the route his main exploration took?
        4.    Who were the people they encountered?

**If needed, additional voyages can be added here as additional sections.**

V.    Exploration Outcome:  The results of the exploration

    A.    Was the exploration a success?
    B.    What did your explorer find?
    C.     Did your explorer experience any rewards from the exploration?
    D.    Did the experience from the exploration result in any new knowledge or advancement for the sponsoring country or for the explorer?
    E.    Was the goal attained?

VI.    End of the explorer’s life

    A.    When did your explorer pass away?
    B.    How did he pass away?
    C.    What were the circumstances of his life at the time?     

      D.    What was his life like about the exploration?

VII.    Conclusion:  Summarize the goal and result of the exploration

    A.    In brief, what was your explorer’s experience?
    B.    What is your opinion about the explorer?
    C.    What is your opinion of the exploration and its results?




**Challenge Option**

Add a separate section of research about the area your explorer explored.  Include information about:
Where geographically is the area located?  You may use current day descriptions of the location and/or include the longitude and latitude of the area.  
What is the name of the place he explores? Include what they called it back then and today what it is called.  
What type of native animals were or can be found there?
What type of native plants is found there?
What is the climate like in this location?