Early America Research

During November 2019, the students in Mr. Smerka's seventh grade Social Studies classes spent over a week in the library for a research project.  During this project, groups of 3-4 students researched Early American topics and presented their findings to their classmates.

Student groups chose from topics such as: Northern Colonies, Middle Colonies, Southern Colonies, Sons/Daughters of Liberty, Salem Witch Trials, and The Lost Colony of Roanoke. These topics were very broad and open-ended, meaning that the groups had the flexibility to take their research in many directions.  This made for a challenging task for the groups.  Not only did they have to comb through sources to find relevant and interesting facts, but they also needed to present their information in a way that was organized and engaging.

The first few days of the project were devoted to introducing students to the various resources available for research.  Students spent time using nonfiction and reference books available in the library.  There were close to 150 library books on these topics, so every group found interesting information when browsing the books.  They recorded their research on MLA note sheets, which helped them to stay organized and avoid plagiarism.  Later this year, students will learn how to make MLA formatted works cited pages during an ELA research project.

Note Sheets help students to stay organized during the research process.

Once students exhausted the information found in the books, we moved on to using web resources to gather more facts.  Credible websites were displayed in a Symbaloo organizer found on the middle school library website.  Students were also encouraged to find their own sources through internet searching, but were instructed to evaluate sources for credibility prior to use.  As with the book sources, students filled out MLA note sheets for all of their web resources.

The Symbaloo organizer displayed helpful websites for the project.

MLA note sheets kept the students' research organized.

At the end of the third day of research, the students completed an online "Research Check In" form that was posted on the library website.  This check in allowed Mr. Smerka and I to see if students understood the importance of using reliable sources and if anyone was experiencing issues with the research process.  The data gathered from this was extremely helpful.  Students that might not have been comfortable telling us that they were having problems researching felt comfortable letting us know on the form.  Over the next few days, we were able to provide targeted assistance to those students.

A check in page via Microsoft Forms was distributed to all students.

The groups then worked on PowerPoint slides in order to provide a visual for their presentation.  The majority of these projects were well organized and utilized advanced features such as hyperlinks and transitions.

Students worked on research and PowerPoint presentations while in the library.

Student groups prepared to present to their classmates.

The flexible seating in the library allows students to work in comfort.

The last few days in the library were devoted to presenting the group projects.  Students received a grading rubric prior to presenting, so they had a clear idea of the assessment criteria.  The presentations were wonderful!  Many student groups displayed tremendous creativity (and the groups that brought snacks were much appreciated!).

Mr. Smerka instructs students on effective presentation techniques.

One group made Johnnycakes (a colonial recipe), and even brought in a sub tray!

The sub tray was a wonderful treat the day before the long weekend!

Having Mr. Smerka's students in the library made for a very enjoyable week and a half.  Most importantly, students were able to practice their research, teamwork, and presentation skills.  The seventh grade teams will return to the library for an ELA project in January where they will continue to hone their skills.

February/March 2018 Highlights

With the February break followed by a quick spring break, the months of February and March seemed to both blend together and fly by!  It was a busy time with a variety of projects across subjects and grade levels.

February began with a seventh grade Spanish Flipgrid project with Ms. Marcinkowski, a sixth grade Greek mythology project with Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Whalen, and an attorney visit as part of The Outsiders unit with Ms. Beauchamp and Mrs. Gembka.  Click on the links in this paragraph to learn more about the students' work during these units!

There were a number of visits to the library during February 2018.

World War II/Holocaust Research Project
The largest event in the library, spanning both February and March, was the combined eighth grade ELA/Social Studies project with Mr. Baumgartner and Mrs. Maulucci.  A solid two weeks was booked in the library for the completion of this project.  Students were required to use reliable sources for research in order to develop a thesis statement about a topic pertaining to either World War II or the Holocaust.  Once a thesis was developed, students then crafted a 3-5 page paper, complete with an MLA-formatted Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Planning and preparation helped to make the project run as smoothly as possible.  Mr. Baumgartner, Mrs. Maulucci, myself, and sometimes Mrs. Mule were available during both ELA and Social Studies classes to help all students.  This ensured that students always had access to adults that could help with the history content, writing skills, and research techniques.  This also meant that students would have two full class periods a day devoted to the project, since they visited the library for both ELA and Social Studies.

When students entered the library for the first time, they received a mini lesson regarding the goals for the day.  This would include information on finding sources, citing sources, developing research questions, identifying strong thesis statements, paraphasing/summarizing, outlining, drafting, and using transitions.  After receiving the mini lesson, students were then able to work independently.

Incorporating technology in meaningful ways contributed to the success of the project.  Mrs. Maulucci is very familiar with the use of Microsoft OneNote and Class Notebook.  She was able to put all of the project requirements and resources into OneNote.  This meant that students were always able to access the project resources on their laptops and keep all of their notes in one place.  OneNote also allows teachers to look into individual student notebooks, which helped monitor student progress and areas of concern.  Throughout the project, we disseminated "Research Check Ins" to all students through the use of Google Forms.  This allowed us to collect data on where students needed extra help.  Students also submitted their thesis statements via Google Forms, which helped in setting up individual conferences before students began their draft.  Lastly, students used Microsoft Word to compose their essays.  The references features within Word are great!  They allowed students to easily add their Works Cited information, and the program also formatted in-text citations to use within the paper.  Becoming familiar with the Microsoft features will serve students well as they will continue to use these resources into high school and beyond.

A glimpse into the OneNote notebook where all project materials were housed.

Research Check Ins via Google Forms allowed teachers to
assist students with their specific project needs.

This project was a huge undertaking for the students and required the use of numerous high-level skills.  Students definitely rose to the challenge, and most made good use of their time in the library.  Due to the complexity of this project, mastery of the skills introduced does not happen overnight.  However, this project laid the foundation for the critical thinking, communication, and research skills that will be needed to succeed in high school and beyond.  Our students really rose to the occasion!  We are all proud of the way students dove into the process.

Music Class Visits
Another highlight from February and March was having multiple visits from the Iroquois Middle School music department.  Since music teachers see their general music students for a ten week period, music teachers are frequent visitors in the library for research projects.  Ms. Louttit, Mrs. Kloc, and Mrs. Fox visited with their seventh grade students to perform research on classical composers.  Mrs. Fox also returned with her eighth graders for a project on Rock and Roll history.

Science Class Visits
Seventh and eighth grade science classes visited the library for both research assistance and a station activity.  Students in Ms. Pici and Mrs. Robinson's eighth grade science classes visited for research help for their "Creative Element" project.  Databases such as Britannica and World Book were perfect for learning about the elements.  After learning the history and properties of specific elements, students then made a creative project inspired by their element.  These projects are now on display in the library.

A creative display about Nitrogen.

Many of the creative element projects are displayed in the library.

A huge box of french fries represents Potassium.

Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Raczkowski brought their seventh grade science students into the library for a stations activity regarding genetics concepts.  Using QR codes and the QR reader app on the library iPads, students accessed a variety of videos and activities about genetics.  Students appreciated the ability to move around the library and work at their own pace.

Book Selection Visits
ELA and reading classes are all at different points with their free reading and reading challenges.  This resulted in many classroom visits to exchange books.  Mr. Marshall and Mrs. Maulucci's students are completing a genre tic tac toe board for their reading requirement.  Both teachers visited the library with their students in order to select new books.  Mrs. Gembka's seventh grade students also visited the library to select a book for their book report.  The sixth grade reading classes frequented the library for book selection.  Mrs. Nicosia's readers received an introduction on the 1990s prior to their all-class reading of Pay It Forward.

RtI Conspiracy Theory Project
Ms. Beauchamp's seventh grade RtI students visited the library in order to perform research on conspiracy theories.  This project was designed to build students' skills in tackling informational text, identifying the main idea and supporting details, citing sources, and writing.  Each student was assigned a specific theory.  After reading about the conspiracy theory, students then used credible sources to "debunk" the theory.  Students created a PowerPoint, then presented their findings to their classmates.  Each PowerPoint contained a slide with their Works Cited information.  It was clear that students really understood their material, as they were able to field difficult questions from their peers.

An example from the presentation about the moon landing.

Library statistics for March 2018.

It's amazing to think that we are already in the last three months of school!  April's schedule will be packed with more book visits, RtI projects, and research.

Sixth Grade Mythology Project

During January and February 2018, many class periods were devoted to visits from Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Whalen, and their fantastic sixth grade ELA students.  The purpose of the library visits was to perform research on a variety of figures from Greek Mythology.   An in-class reading of The Lightning Thief, a fictional story rooted in mythology, led to many students having a keen interest in the subject matter.  I have even overheard sixth grade students debate about the gods' powers during their library study hall periods!  This degree of personal interest made the research process all the more fascinating for the sixth grade students.

Upon entering the library, students were assigned a specific god or goddess from Greek Mythology that would serve as the focus of their research.  Some students did not receive their first choice for research, but this provided an opportunity for students to learn about figures they may not have knowledge about.  Mrs. Whalen and Mrs. Webb provided their students with a project overview, deadlines for specific portions of the project, and a folder in which to organize their resources.

Each student needed to find information about their god or goddess, including family structure, symbols, and specific myths where their figure was mentioned.  When in the library, the classes would begin with a mini-lesson on research resources and strategies.  For the first three days, we focused on using a single type of resource.  Day 1 was devoted to books, day 2 was devoted to online databases, and day 3 was reserved for website research.  By breaking the research process down by type of resource, it helped the students to understand the benefits and challenges of each specific type of resource.

Research sources helped students to complete their graphic organizer.

As students moved through the research process, they were required to use MLA-formatted Note Sheets in order to keep track of the sources used.  These Note Sheets helped students to organize their research and avoid plagiarism.

Completed Note Sheets for research sources used.

Once students had completed their research in the library, they spent their ELA classes working on writing their essays.  The graphic organizer also served as the outline for their essay!  Students were able to directly apply their research into the essay, since their organizer served as the overall structure for the essay.

When the essays were completed, the students returned to the library for two final activities: a mythology gallery walk and presentation.  For the gallery walk, students brought in their finished essay (complete with beautifully illustrated cover) and an object with symbolized their god or goddess.  Students were exceptionally creative when it came to choosing a symbolic object.  One student even used a 3D printer to make a model of his god's helmet.

Essay covers and objects from sixth grade mythology projects.

A 3D-printed helmet was especially awesome!

More artifacts and covers from the mythology gallery walk.

Students were able to walk through the area containing the artifacts and covers.  This allowed the students to see their peers' hard work and the creativity used when finding a symbolic object for their god or goddess.

After the gallery walk, students then gave a brief presentation about their god or goddess.  They explained the basics of their figure, retold an associated myth, and explained why they brought in the object they chose.  These presentations made it clear that students had learned from their research!

A homemade sword and shield to represent Ares!

Hades' homemade helmet.

A homemade, winged cap.

Homemade ax (don't worry, it wasn't sharp).

Zeus costume!

Bow and arrow.

Testing a bow and arrow in the library!

Overall, the goals of this project were met.  Students were introduced to the different research offerings available through the library.  This will help students as they move up through the grade levels, as books, databases, and websites will continually be used for research.  The MLA Note Sheets also introduced students to the fundamentals of note taking, citing sources, and avoiding plagiarism.  The structured outline provided by Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Whalen helped guide students' note taking and set them up for success when they began writing their essays.

The best part of the project by far was the gallery walk with accompanying presentations!  It was such a treat to witness the students' creativity and hard work. 

November 2017 in Review

November 2017 was another busy month in the Iroquois Middle School library!  We welcomed some new classes into the library and also received visits from some familiar faces.  Here are a few of the highlights from the month.

Early American Project
Probably the largest undertaking for the month of November was the Early American Research project with Mr. Smerka's seventh grade social studies students.  All of the research for the project and the actual group presentations took place in the library.  To read more about the project, visit this link.

Student groups presented their Early American research findings in the library.

Sixth Grade Reading Classes
Numerous reading classes came to the library to exchange books and learn about new titles of interest.  Mr. Frommann's students work diligently on their own book talks and are always eager to share those in the library.  The students in Mrs. Nicosia's and Mrs. Loveland's classes participated in a gallery walk where they viewed "comic strip book hooks" created by the cartoonists of the Unshelved comic strip.  These book hooks alerted students to some book titles they may be interested in reading.  Mrs. Reid's students worked on a genre graphic organizer and played a book genre game on Kahoot to test their knowledge.  All of these promotional efforts will help students to reach their 40 book challenge reading goals.

Seventh Grade RtI Project
Ms. Beauchamp was looking for creative ways for her seventh grade RtI students to use library resources in order to build skills.  We decided to use the webquests available on the World Book Student database with her RtI group.  The webquest used focused on the American Revolution, which students were just beginning to learn about in their Social Studies classes.  While working through the webquest, students identified the strategies they used in order to find the answers on the webquest.  We kept a running list of the strategies used so that students could reference available strategies in case they were stuck on a particular question.  Students were eager to complete the webquest and were excited to have some background knowledge they could bring to their Social Studies classes!

Eighth Grade Library Orientation
Mr. Marshall's eighth grade ELA classes visited the library in late November to participate in a library orientation utilizing a QR code scavenger hunt.  They also shared their ideas for future library purchases and special library events.  They were the last class in the middle school to visit for library orientation.  Now that all students have had a chance to weigh in on library purchases, new books will be ordered soon!

Iroquois MS Library Report for November 2017

Early American Research

During November 2017, the students in Mr. Smerka's seventh grade Social Studies classes spent multiple days in the library for a research project.  During this project, groups of 3-4 students researched Early American topics and presented their findings to their classmates.

Student groups chose from topics such as: Haudenosaunee, Moundbuilders, Mesoamerican Civilizations, Southwestern Civilizations, Spanish Conquistadors, and Early English Colonies.  These topics were very broad and open-ended, meaning that the groups had the flexibility to take their research in many directions.

The first few days of the project were devoted to introducing students to the various resources available for research.  Students spent time using nonfiction and reference books available in the library.  They recorded their research on MLA note sheets, which helped them to stay organized and avoid plagiarism.

Note Sheets help students to stay organized during the research process.

Enjoying the flexible seating in the library while completing some research.

Students used nonfiction books to learn more about their topic.

Once students exhausted the information found in the books, we moved on to using online databases to gather more facts.  Online databases are helpful choices for research because they provided reliable information written by experts.  The World Book Student and Britannica databases proved to be very useful for the project.  Students again used the Note Sheets to collect their facts and citation information.

The Note Sheets gave students practice with finding citation information.

Britannica and World Book were particularly helpful databases.

At the end of the third day of research, the students completed an online "Research Check In" form that was posted on the library website.  This check in allowed Mr. Smerka and I to see if students understood the importance of using reliable sources and if anyone was experiencing issues with the research process.  The data gathered from this was extremely helpful.  Students that might not have been comfortable telling us that they were having problems researching felt comfortable letting us know on the form.  Over the next few days, we were able to provide targeted assistance to those students.

A Google Form was utilized to create the check in document.

As students neared the end of the research process, only a few groups utilized Internet sources found using a search engine.  These students were directed to again cite these sources, and looked into evaluating the validity of the source prior to its use.

The groups then worked on PowerPoint slides in order to provide a visual for their presentation.  The majority of these projects were well organized and utilized advanced features such as hyperlinks and transitions.

The last few days in the library were devoted to presenting the group projects.  Students received a grading rubric prior to presenting, so they had a clear idea of the assessment for criteria.  The presentations were wonderful!  Many student groups displayed tremendous creativity (and the groups that brought snacks were much appreciated!).

Some groups used the "PERSIA" acronym to focus on different cultural aspects.

Students explaining the governmental structure of the Haudenosaunee.

A group chose to display a learning goal at the beginning of the presentation.

A group researched jewelry making of Mesoamerican groups, then created their own pieces!

An informative presentation on the Moundbuilder societies.

Having Mr. Smerka's students in the library made for a very enjoyable week and a half.  Additionally, students were able to practice their research, teamwork, and presentation skills.  The seventh grade teams will return to the library for an ELA project in January where they will continue to hone their skills.