The English Department in "cooperation" with the Social Studies department are teaching the same book. This will give you the chance to look at the book Hiroshima from both a literary point of view and from an historical point of view. In Social Studies, you will work on a book review, and in English you will create a research paper based on topics related to the book.
RESEARCH AHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Ok, let it all out! It will be okay, I promise. I know "research" is a scary word, but it is important. Why?
- It helps you to learn how to tell if what you are reading/seeing (whether it is a blog, website, newspaper or magazine) is reliable.
- The State (Ohio Department of Education--English Language Arts Benchmarks and Standards) says you have to learn how to do research papers! (this is the old "Mom says so" reason.)
- Believe it or not, you WILL USE THESE SKILLS--I know you are thinking, "yeah, right!" But you will. Some day you will need a job, you will want to figure out what kind of job you want, how much money you will make, and if your boss asks you questions like "do you have any children" is he/she breaking the law. When you go on to higher grades and college, your teachers and professors will assign you research papers until your eyes cross (I know--I have been there and my eyes are still slightly miss aligned ;)
Your life will be much easier if you take the time, listen to your teacher, and tackle your research paper project with fangs! To the Left you will find some excellent sites to help you as you learn the correct way to format your intext citations, MLA Works Cited page, and general research skills your teacher and future teachers and employers want you to have :)
