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Middle School students love to explore the unknown and share what they have discovered. Take advantage of this natural curiosity about the unknown to develop research and presentation skills. Even reluctant learners get involved when you allow them to research and write about real life unsolved mysteries.

Pre-teaching: Before beginning this hands on project, students must understand the concepts of theories and evidence. It would be wise to choose a topic of your own and complete the project to share with students prior to assigning the project.

Skills Needed: To complete this project, students must be familiar with PowerPoint or any other slideshow presentation tool you choose to use. If they are not already skilled in this area, provide opportunities for students to work with the program.

Search Engines: This project relies heavily on Internet Research. Time must be devoted Internet search techniques.

Assessing web sites: Teach students how to determine if a website is reliable. Use this template or create your own.

Note Taking: Require Middle School students to take notes of their research. Spend time teaching students to paraphrase and summarize what they have read. Use this template or create one of your own for students to use.

Crediting sources: Middle School students don't really understand the importance of crediting their sources. Take the time to teach the basics of citing sources.

Plagiarism: This is a good time to teach about plagiarism. Many middle school students still think that if they change around a few words they are not plagiarizing. Take the time to teach them how to use information without plagiarizing. Make sure you emphasize that using photos created by others must be credited too.

Unsolved Mysteries Project

Provide students with a list of unsolved mysteries to choose from. (See suggested topics at the end of this article). Most students will find a suitable topic on the list. For those who wish to choose their own topic, insist that the topic be approved by you prior to beginning.

Minimum Requirements:
Slide 1: Title slide containing the "unsolved mystery", student name, and date.
Slide 2: Introductory slide: The mystery must be introduced with an explanation of why it is a mystery. This should include a statement of opposing views or beliefs.
Slide 3: Supporting theories
Slide 4: Opposing theories
Slide 5: Evidence (photos, news reports, witnesses, police reports)
Slide 6: Conclusions, which includes the student's belief based on the information provided in their project.
Slide 7: Credits

Special thanks to Ruth Sundra who designed a similar group projects for 4th and 5th grade. The project outline shared here has been designed for middle school students to complete individually to demonstrate mastery of core skills while researching topics of interest to them.

Suggested Topics

Big Foot/Yeti
Loch Ness Monster
Ghosts
Life-after-Death Experiences
Psychic abilities
UFOs/aliens
Alien Abduction
Shadow People
How the Pyramids Were Built
Stonehenge
Bermuda Triangle
Angels
Auras
Out-of-Body Experiences
Mayan Calendar (end of the world)
Time Travel/Time Slips
Spontaneous Human Combustion
Miracles
Psychic Healing
Crop Circles

Add topics that fit the interests of the particular group you are working with. For 8th graders, the more bizarre, the better. Allow plenty of class time for research and for creating the slide show. Setting specific due dates for each portion will curtail misuse of time.

Your middle school students just may astound you with their final project. Not only do they get involved in their individual project, they are eager to learn what their classmates have discovered, too.




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Webboard Discussion

Ever get a research assignment and not know how to do the research portion?  Well here are some tips for your problem from someone whose written countless papers.

First and foremost I recommend for any paper is get your hands on a good grammer handbook.  The one I used was the Longman Handbook, it was required for some courses.  Any paper is only as good as the grammer within.  You could write an outstanding paper, but if your grammar is poor, the your paper will reflect that.  Also get your hands on a handbook for both formats MLA and APA it will be useful when citing your information.

Second thing you should do is to find out everything ou need to know about the assignment.  Such as what's needed, allowed, and not allowed.  Some professors will allow charts, graphs, and even pictures.  I had a professor who loved that I added pictures of the novels I wrote about.

Next thing I suggest is DO NOT WAIT until the last moment to do the research.  You will only cause yourself to go insane.  It will cause so many problems, the books you may need may not be available, because everyone else is writing the same paper and need the same resources.  Also magazines in your field that have useful information may be tossed out because of age.

Make use of all the resources in the library, that includes talking to the librarians.  Librarians know alot more than  you think.  They could lead you to useful books and articles for your topic.  Do not rely solely on internet resources.  One you never know if the information is accurate, and 2 if all your information is from the internet you come off as lazy to the point that the internet looked for information, not yourself.  Make  use of journals relating to your field, you may have to do some reading, but they contain useful articles.

Narrow your search topic until you have a more concrete subject.  If the assignment is say trends in tourism, ask yourself  what kid of trends?  Trends in transportation, lodging, restaurants, activities and even locations could be some sub-topics for the paper which narrows your search based on the sub-topics.  Any topic could be divided into two or more subjects.  You also have a sort of organization for the paper.

When doing research use notecards.  Mark each one with a number.  The first note card is the book infor like author, publisher,  copyright date etc.  Anything found in the book would be 1.1, 1.2 and so one until you move to the second book. When writing the book notecards write the information according to citing them on the referance page, that way you can just copy the notecard. Hold on to all book notecards for future papers, it would be easy reference.  I would also write a few notes about what is in the book.

Lastly I would suggest keep talking to your professor about the paper.  They could easily give you advice and help direct you to useful books and articles that would would help yor search.  They could also give you ideas on how to proceed with the paper and if you're on the right track or not.

Following these tips could help make researching a paper all the more easier and less stressful.  You could improve your skills and wow your professors.




Reference research: beauty research and law research and travel research and my social page




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Shwachman-Diamond America awards grants up to $10,000 for Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Research. Some larger grants are also available through this 501 (c) 3 non-profit group. Shwachman-Diamond America not only supports Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome research, but it also supports Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Education.

Shwachman-Diamond America's Mission:

• Fund and promote research in all aspects of SDS.
• Disseminate current medical literature to families and physicians.
• Help fund the biennial International Congress on SDS.
• Facilitate the development of a medical management plan.
• Promote parent education through a family support network.

If you are a researcher and are interested in submitting a grant proposal for an Alex Turnquist Memorial Research Grant, the following are the guidelines:

Shwachman-Diamond America awards Alex Turnquist Memorial Research grants up to $10,000. Grant proposals are accepted throughout the year. SDA does not have a grant request form.

Shwachman-Diamond America requires that the grant proposal be in writing and include the following:

1. Name of Applicant, Principal investigator, project title and summary of proposed investigation (include specific aims, significance and background, any preliminary studies...)
2. A detailed description of your hypothesis/hypotheses and proposed methodologies
3. Relevance of the research to Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
4. Biographical information on the principal investigator and co-principal investigator, if relevant
5. A detailed budget sheet (grants are available up to $10,000)
6. Statement of facilities available
7. A starting date for the project

General Conditions for the Awarding of Alex Turnquist Memorial Research Grants:

1. The board wishes to receive periodic progress reports. They need not be lengthy. These reports will help Shwachman-Diamond America give updates to our donors, allow evaluation of progress by our medical advisor and assist SDA in future fundraising efforts.
2. Any publications distributed as a result of your research should give proper reference to Shwachman-Diamond America.

You can submit a grant proposal by emailing the Word or PDF file to: shwachmandiamondamerica@embarqmail.com or via regular mail:

Shwachman-Diamond America

931-B South Main Street #332

Kernersville, NC 27284

If you need more information, you can visit the Shwachman-Diamond America website or contact Pattie Curran at 336-423-8158.

What is Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome?

Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS), first described in 1964, is a rare, genetic (autosomal recessive), multi-systemic disorder affecting the pancreas, bone marrow, and skeleton. The most common symptoms are pancreatic dysfunction (malabsorption), low neutrophil count and short stature. Other organs may also be involved in some SDS patients. Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome affects people differently and not all people with SDS have all of these symptoms. In Infancy, the first symptoms are usually loose, foul smelling, greasy stools and failure to gain weight and grow normally. The pancreas fails to produce the enzymes essential to digest food properly. Because of the exocrine pancreatic dysfunction (malabsorption), the child does not absorb enough nutrients, most commonly the fat-soluble vitamins, to grow and develop normally. Oral enzyme replacement therapy helps these children to digest their food, but many still need to take special vitamin supplements. Improving nutritional status does not necessarily improve the growth of children with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome.

The bone marrow, where blood cells are produced, is also affected in Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. White blood cells, which fight infection, are most commonly affected. Neutropenia is the most common hematological abnormality in SDS, though all blood cell lines may be affected. Anemia and blood clotting problems are also common in SDS patients. Because of the bone marrow dysfunction, these children are at a greater risk of developing life-threatening infections. Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome is considered to be a bone marrow failure syndrome, because up to 30% of these children will develop leukemia or aplastic anemia.





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