1/30: Chodkiewicz, Famous Black Americans

Hi Mrs. Chodkiewicz's classes! Here are some links to help you with your research. These have been approved my Ms. Emili/Mrs. Chodkiewicz, so please start here before going to Google. Good luck!

Gale Black History Month biographies
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/index.htm


Fact Monster biographies
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/bhmbios1.html

Encyclopedia Britanica Guide to Black History
http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory?browseId=252286

CNN Black History Month biographies
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/black_history/29days.html

Biography.com
http://www.biography.com/

Achievement.org
http://achievement.org/

1/27: Sobieski, Citing your sources

This post goes out to you, Miss Sobieski's classes. You know how we made  you keep track of your sources all this week on a graphic organizer? Now it's finally time to put them into order! You will be required to hand in a Works Cited list with your final paper.

 Creating your Works Cited list is so easy nowadays- as long as you have all of the information (title, author, publication year, etc) online citation generators do all the formatting for you!

The citation site that we'll be using is http://easybib.com/. Once there, select what type of resource you're citing (website, book, journal article, etc). I would use the manual entry button to put in your info (when you Autocite, it sometimes doesn't gather all the info you need). Then click "Create Citation."

Once you have all of your sources in a list, click on Save as Word Doc. Then open it and save to your documents folder. And you're done!

1/25: Sobieski, Searching Tips

Hi Ms. Sobieski's classes,

Today we reviewed where to find quality information for your research. Please use the Ebsco databases, especially Points of View and Student Research center for finding periodicals. To get to Ebsco, go to Favorites and then Research Links.

Please use the following guidelines for websites:

* no Wikipedia or "answers" sites

*Check out who the author is. If you cannot find the author or they have poor "credentials" (i.e. no qualifications) you cannnot use that source. Check with Ms. Emili or Ms. Sobieski if you are unsure of the author.

*You can ALWAYS use: .gov
*You can USUALLY use: .org, .edu (CHECK THE AUTHOR)
*You can SOMETIMES use: .com (If it is a well-known site, like New York Times, National Geographic, etc.)
*You should AVOID: .net, any personal blogs or websites unless the person is an expert.

1/24: Sobieski, Research Links

Hi Ms. Sobieski's classes! Below are links for you to begin your research. Remember, you need AT LEAST 3 websites. Please start with the websites below, as these have been picked for you. REMEMBER: WIKIPEDIA WILL NOT COUNT AS A SOURCE.

Middle School Debate topics: Research resources

http://www.middleschooldebate.com/topics/topicresearch.htm

Social Issues:

http://www.multcolib.org/homework/sochc.htm

Controversial Issue Starter links:

http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/persuasion/issues.html

Headliners: Student news stories:

http://www.headliners.org/storylibrary

Kids.gov (look under grades 6-8)

http://www.kids.gov/

Hot Topics:

http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm

Searchable newspaper articles:

http://headlinespot.com/cool/newssearch/#newspapers

Debatepedia:

http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Welcome_to_Debatepedia%21

Teen Health and the Media:

http://depts.washington.edu/thmedia/

Food Insight: hot topics in food and nutrition

http://www.foodinsight.org/healthy-eating.aspx

Are you on GoodReads?

I am! If you're looking for something new to read, you can friend me on GoodReads to see what I've read (username: Ms. Emili). This site is AWESOME- it's kind of like Facebook for books. Share what you're reading, see what your friends are reading, get personalized recommendations, keep track of your virtual book shelves and more. All you need is an email address to get started.

http://www.goodreads.com/

Happy reading!

Ms. Emili

1/13 Pape: GoodReads

This post goes out to you, Mrs. Pape's classes. Today we reviewed how to use the Good Reads website. Your class will be using this site throughout the year in order to create a community of readers. Below is the checklist I gave out and went over during class, in case you misplaced it.

___ Sign up for Goodreads.com


___ Join Mrs. Pape's group on GoodReads and add at least 3 friends. To find her group, search "Pape Language Arts."

___ Add what you are currently reading to your own "Currently Reading" shelf AND the group's shelf.

___ Add the last book you read to your Read shelf and post a short review.


___ Update your profile (add a picture, About me, etc.)- optional

1/11 DiNoia: Public Library Access

Today we'll be learning how to use resources available to you OUTSIDE of our media center. If you have a public library card (and you really should!), we'll teach you how to search their catalog and put something on hold.


If you don't have your own library card, you can still use the library's electronic resources. For this project, you might want to check out Bloom's Literary Reference or Contemporary Authors. Some databases do not require a library card, but some do. We have a set of temporary library cards in our media center that you can use while doing work at school. Just ask Ms. Emili for one! :)


Since there are TONS of resources here that you can use for FREE, make sure you bookmark the MAPL site as a Favorite.

1/9: DiNoia, Author Study Research

Hi Mrs. DiNoia's classes!

Here are the resources you will use for your Author study.

1. Infocentre: This is where you can search for books available in our library. To access, log in to MS Desktop. Then click on InfoCentre. Searching by Author will give you books BY your author. To find books ABOUT your author or books that may contain a short story or poem by your author, try Keyword.

2. School databases: Open Internet Explorer. Then click on Favorites at the top of the page and then Research Links. Use the following:

*EbscoHost: Literary Reference Center
*EbscoHost: Kids' Search
*Facts on File: Bloom's Literary Reference
*Britannica Online (hint delete the "learningzone" part of the address to access Middle School)
*Kids Search

On Wednesday we'll go over how to search the public library's catalog and use a temporary library card for research. If you have your own card, bring it to school on Wed!