8th Grade Research Topics

8th Grade Research Topics

This is a list of possible topics for you to research.  You can decide to research something different, but it must be related to the to the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  If you decide to come up with your own topic, you must get it approved by Ms. Watkins or Ms. Williams.

1. Harper Lee
2. Jim Crow Laws
3. Southern race relations in 1932
4. 13th and 14th Amendments
5. Robert E Lee
6. Great Depression and the New Deal
7. Stock Market Crash
8. Black Thursday
9. Truman Capote (relationship with Harper Lee)
10. Southern race relations in 1932 and 1961
11. Trial by jury in the South during the 1930's
12. Horton Foote and the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird
13. Emmet Till
14. Rosa Parks
15. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
16. Little Rock Nine
17. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
18. Malcom X
19. Affirmative Action
20. American Civil Rights movement

• Plessy v. Ferguson
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Voting Rights Act
• Civil Rights Act of 1964

William Shakespeare's Life - Credible Sources

Credible Sources about William Shakespeare's Life

So...Ms. Watkins sent you to this page because you needed sources for your research.  That means that you probably felt like the way the student in the picture looks when you were looking for sources on your own.  

Take 5 deep breaths....

Ready???

I've got your back.  Although you lost the homework points for the source selection step of your research, these sources will get you right back on track.

Your research topic is now: William Shakespeare's life.

You may not have selected your own topic, but don't worry, because there's still lots of different ways you can go depending on which of the sources you select from this page.  Remember, you need 4 sources.

19 Sources to Choose From!!!

1. "William Shakespeare" from Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
2. "William Shakespeare." Authors and Artists for Young Adults
3. Forster, Matt. "William Shakespeare." William Shakespeare (2005): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21
4. "Shakespeare's Biography" from Absolute Shakespeare
5. "Study shows Shakespeare as ruthless businessman" AP News Article
6. "The Shakespeare Paper Trail: The Early Years"
7. "Anne Hathaway." Gale Biography in Context
8. "To the defense of Ann Shakespeare"
9. The Shakespeare Paper Trail: The Later Years
10. The Shakespeare Paper Trail: The Early Years
11. Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era
12. Elizabethan Drama
13. Neil MacGregor interview: Shakespeare's Restless World: a history in objects
14. Shakespeare Facts 
15. Shakespeare's Last Will & Testament
16. Study: Shakespeare Was a ‘Ruthless’ Businessman, Hoarded Food
17. Was Shakespeare a Humble Schoolmaster During His ‘Lost Years’?
18. Was Shakespeare a tax dodger? Bard was 'ruthless businessman who exploited famine and faced jail for cheating revenue'
19. William Shakspere of Stratford

Don't Have a Library Card?!

Oh, no!  I don't have a Library card!  What should I do?

Don't worry!  Ms. Watkins has your back!

You can use the Berwyn Public Library website with her account number.  My account number is: 22957001663777.

1. Go to the  Berwyn Public Library website
2. Select elibrary
3. Choose databases
4. Select a database that you think will have information related to your topic.  Use the descriptions below the database titles to help you out.
5. Enter in my account number

7th Grade Research Topics

7th Grade Research Topics 

This is a list of possible topics for you to research.  You can decide to research something different, but it must be related to the 17th Century and to the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.  If you decide to come up with your own topic, you must get it approved by Ms. Watkins or Ms. Williams.

1. Role of women in the 17th Century
2. Music  in the 17th Century
3. Clothing of the 17th Century compared to today's clothing
4. Elizabethan views on suicide
5. The social class system of  the 17th Century
6. Family relationships
7. Role of the theater  in the 17th Century
8. Different theaters in Shakespeare's time (Globe and Rose Theaters)
9. Economic concerns of the 17th Century
10. Political concerns of the 17th Century
11. Rules of marriage in the 17th Century
12. Role of parents and children in the 17th Century
13. Jobs of the 17th Century
14. Feuds of the 17th Century
15. Key European events that may have influenced the play Romeo and Juliet
16. William Shakespeare's family and early life

Online MLA Citation Resources

On-line Tools and Resources for Writing Citations In MLA Format

EasyBib.Com 

EasyBib.Com is an automated bibliography creator. The user fills in the required information in the separate fields and, with the press of a button, EasyBib creates the citation! Easybib will export the list into Microsoft Word in correct MLA format as a “Works Cited” page. The user must create a free account to login.

Middle School MLA Citation Handout 

This PDF file is a printable version of two pages earlier in this handbook called “Examples of Common Forms of Sources for Citation.”

Essential Information Needed for Creating Bibliographic Citations 

This handout (PDF Format) is a tool that will help you collect the necessary information for citing each of the common sources.

MLA Citation Guide 

This PDF file is a condensed overview of MLA style.

Citation Data Form 

This is a single sheet for collecting citation data for each source. You may print it and use it while doing research.

MLA Citation Resources

MLA Style

All of your work needs to align with the MLA guidelines.  Ms. Williams distributed several handouts that explain exactly what we are looking for in your papers.  If you lost one of these handouts, you can view them online or print them out using the links below.

MLA GUIDE

MLA BIBLIOGRAPHY CARD GUIDE

Recommended Databases Available on the Chicago Public Library Website

Recommended Databases

Today in Ms. Watkins's class we began researching our topics.  She showed you several great resources on the Chicago Public Library website (http://www.chipublib.org/).  Below you will see a list of Ms. Watkins's favorite databases with links to use them through the Chicago Public Library.
Tip: Start with databases that say they are student or kid friendly in their descriptions.

Ms. Watkins's Favorite Databases

• Gale Virtual Reference Library for Kids
• Kids Search
• World Book for Kids 
• World Book for Students 
• Issues & Controversies 
• SIRS Researcher
• “…for Students” Literary Criticism Collection
• Literary Reference Center
• Biography in Context
• Gale Virtual Reference Library 
• Encyclopedia of Chicago
• History Database Search
• EBSCO Magazines & Journals
• JSTOR
• Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902–1933
• Chicago Tribune Historical Archive

Using Databases through Other Libraries

Ms. Watkins and Ms. Williams know that some of you may have library cards to other libraries like the Oak Park Public Library or the Berwyn Public Library.  If that is the case, go to your library's website and look for a heading labeled one of these things: 

• digital resources, 
• online resources, 
• elibrary, 
• research, 
• online tools.

On the Oak Park Public Library website, the databases are listed under the name Online Tools under the Research tab.  On the Berwyn Public Library website, the databases are listed under the name Databases under the Elibrary tab.