6th graders are spending lots of time in the Maverick Library this February. Both ELA and social studies classes are completing research projects in preparation for presentations. Simultaneous assignments afford the opportunity for students to get more practice with their new skills across multiple disciplines. These particular projects touch on objectives for reading, writing, listening, speaking, evaluating sources, organizing information, and citing sources, to name just a few.

During the week of student-led conferences, library media specialist Mrs. Cheek spent a day introducing students to the Kansas State Library databases with tips and tricks for navigating and searching, as well as another day on website evaluation basics. This week, she is teaching students how to create citations for books and websites.

Language Arts research is focused on historical figures. Students will compile their research with an end goal of staging a wax museum in the library for middle schoolers and administrators to tour after Spring Break. In social studies, students will spend this week taking notes and then create posters of the god, goddess, hero, or leader from Ancient Greece that they researched. Students will present their information to the class via a gallery walk set up in the Maverick Library next week. 

6th grade teacher Ms. Rambo stated, “My students are really enjoying the research project! Many students are learning interesting facts about their historical figures that they didn't know before and are being challenged to find credible websites using the FART test they learned about from Mrs. Cheek. This is the first time students have been working with creating citations and understanding why it's important to cite their sources. They are very eager to finish the research and get started writing so they can present their findings in the wax museum!”

Stay tuned to our social media pages over the next few weeks for images of their final projects.