Friday, December 18, 2009

Hyler • For 2010

Teacher:  Hyler                         Class:  Social Studies                   Hour:  2, 5, 6, 7, 8
Notes:   If you need help accessing your child's grades, please check with the guidance office.   Note:  I make every effort possible to update grades on Skyward daily.

Please make sure your child has a 3-ring notebook  that is just for social studies materials and pencils.

All grades for this quarter have been posted from all work turned in.

Assignment:
When we come back in January, we will be watching several videos revolving around Supreme Court decisions - especially as related to Brown v. Board.

Also students may want to think about research paper topics.  We will be starting this in mid-January through mid to late February.  The paper maybe written by an individual or up to three people in a group who are in the same class hour.  We'll talk about the pros and cons of both, but the choice will be yours.  Just this week two students from HS stopped by CJHS to tell me that the research paper experience (that some liken to having a tooth pulled) has been the one experience (from my class) that has helped them the most at FSHS or LHS.  Likewise, two weeks ago at the new noodle store on Mass. a student from last year came up while I was ordering and told me basically the same thing.  I hear this over and over from students.  So, get ready!  We'll be jumping into the task soon!

1)    Pick your topic.
v Consider writing your paper about your History Day topic.

Sample Topics for 9thGrade Research Paper 2007-2008
  • Benefits of stem cell research
  • Global warming
  • Immigration

Sample Topics for 9thGrade Research Paper 2006-2007
  • The number zero.
  • BIA & Native American rights.
  • Sleep and teenagers.
  • Treatment of animals (zoo, medical, cosmetics….) / animal testing
Sample Topics for 9thGrade Research Paper 2003-2004
§ Should a communitybe able to ban, dangerous animals (pit bulls, lions, etc.)?
§ Islamic women’srights
§ Bioengineering’scontroversy
§ U.S. Patriot Act - too invasive or not enough?
§ School uniforms

Topics for 9thGrade Research Paper 2002-2003
a.     Shouldgun ownership be more restricted? Less restricted?
b.    Shouldthe U.S. Congress pass a National Health Insurance Program?
c.     Tribalwarfare (Hutu/Tutsi, Tamil, etc.) and how it affects the participants and theirpeople.
d    Aboriginerights in Australia
e.     IllegalImmigration:  To what extent shouldillegal immigrants be given the same rights as U.S. citizens?
f.   Education:  Should schools today adopt dress codes?

Presidential Topics or Biography Type Topics
The responsibility of first ladies (Eleanor Roosevelt, etc)  Their changing roles.
  • Pick a President or First Lady and develop a thesis for research.  For example…..
  • ___________ was (was not) a great President because...
  • FDR’s monetary policies helped bring us out of the Great Depression by....
  •  ________, ______, and _______  accomplishments of President ____________.
  • Hoover’s policy created the Great Depression by.......
  • As First Lady, ________’s greatest accomplishment(s) included _________.
  • Our most important / effective First Lady was _______ because _________.
2)    Read, Read, Read about your topic!  Become an expert!

3)   Write your thesis sentence.
After picking a topic and reading, you will need to write a thesis statement that includes the three topics for your three body paragraphs.  Below are some sample thesis statements.
  • Before one decides their view on stem cellresearch, one should consider what stem cells do, how stem cells are harvested,and how stem cells can benefit society.
  • While many people play video games for fun, thesevideo games have been proven to cause aggression, addiction, and evencontribute to death.
  • Steroids can cause medical addiction,uncontrollable rage, and have physical consequences.
  • Communism is a philosophy about equality, a morecontrolling government, and a planned economic system.
  • Steroids are illegal drugs that have anegative effect on an athlete’s life causing mental aggression, unacceptablesocial behavior, and physical problems.