February 3, 2004

Dear Yud English Speakers,

This semester, you will be doing a project related in some way to the theme of CHILDHOOD. This project will be done in pairs. Here’s what your project will consist of:

A.A working file (15% of the final grade) consisting of:

  1. A KWL Chart
  2. Checklists at the start of Project Work
  3. Checklists during Project Work
  4. Checklists at the end of Project Work
  5. Weekly working schedule
  6. Printouts of all sources
  7. Diskette with drafts and final version of all written work
  1. The research paper:(65% of the final grade)
  2. A cover page
  3. A table of contents
  4. An introduction of about 130-150 words which will include the following:

a. A brief explanation of what your topic is about. This explanation should answer (at least most of) the basic WH- questions: WHO/ WHAT/ WHERE/ WHEN/ HOW/WHY

b. Why you chose this topic

c. What THREE questions you are going to research

For example, let’s assume your topic is WINNIE THE POOH, one of the most famous and best-loved of children’s books. Your introduction might include a paragraph like this: (remember, this is only an example!)

In 1927, A.A. Milne wrote a series of books for children about a bear named Winnie the Pooh, inspired by his son Christopher Robin’s favorite stuffed animal, a bear called Winnie. The author had no idea how popular his books would eventually become. Since then, Winnie the Pooh and his friends have become famous the world over, translated into almost every known language, and loved by children everywhere.

We have chosen Winnie the Pooh as the topic for our research paper because ……………..

In this paper, we are going to answer the following three questions:

  1. Who are the main characters in the Winnie the Pooh books and what inspired them?
  2. What accounts for the popularity of Winnie the Pooh among children all over the world?

c. How has the figure of Winnie the Pooh become commercialized?

  1. The body of your work (no more than five typewritten double-spaced pages)

in which you answer the three questions you have specified in your introduction.

  1. A summary or conclusion, including your REFLECTIONS (what you have learned from this work, what you thought about the project itself, how you might have improved upon it, and recommendations for us teachers if we were to do this project in the future with another class)
  2. A bibliography – an alphabetical list of all the sources used in your research

C.The Presentation (20% of the final grade)

Your oral presentation is your opportunity to:

  • Demonstrate your knowledge and in-depth understanding of your topic
  • Use visual, audio, computer-generated and/or other aids to make your presentation interesting and relevant to your audience
  • Practice and demonstrate your ability to express yourself in English
  • Present your information in an informative and creative way that will stimulate your audience to ask questions
  • Show what you know and what are able to do.

Some possible ideas for your presentation could be:

  • Making a video
  • Making a poster
  • Writing and acting out a short play
  • Doing a musical or dance performance
  • Doing a Power-Point presentation
  • Making some sort of game (trivia contest, board game, etc.)