San Diego Jewish Academy 9th Grade Humanities "California by Rail" Article Assignment Sheet

In a group of two or fewer students, you will research a stop located on our rail route. You will be teaching the rest of the class about the contributions made by this individual or group to the larger community and state. You must consult a variety of sources and construct a 1-2 page article with a title, byline, pull-out quotations and a bibliography. The article should analyze the contribution of the individual or group to the state of California.

Concept Development (research, notes, brainstorming, sketching, pre-writing, graphic organizers)

April 12 - Friday - Draft Phase (organize research and create coherent product) Ready for Response

Revision and Editing Phase (further develop and refine, get more response, proofread)

April 15 - Monday - Final (tight and as perfect as possible within timeline and parameters) Ready for Assessment

• Amtrak Coast Starlight - http://www.amtrak.com - links to the offical Amtrak site with information on reservations, trip planning, promotions, and more.
• Jack London Square, Oakland
• Bay Area Rapid Transport (B.A.R.T.)
• University of California at Berkeley -
• Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley
• Oakland A's Baseball Franchise - http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/oak/history/oak_history_timeline.jsp - shows a timeline on the history of the Oakland Athletics.
• San Francisco Exploratorium - http://www.exploratorium.edu/general/synopsis.html - provides information on its history, science education programs, and much more.
• Golden Gate Bridge - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/golden_gate.html - facts, diagrams, and images from the PBS show.
  http://gocalifornia.about.com/library/weekly/aa030899.htm - offers a visitor's guide, as well as a history, links, and advice on exploring and photographing the bridge.
• San Francisco's Chinatown -
• University of California at Los Angeles - http://www.ucla.com/about/history.html - provides a brief overview of UCLA, how it got started and where it is now. It has changed in many ways whether in campus size or population, it is still one of the best universities in country and strives to be the best.
  http://www.ucla.com/about/tours/time/index.html - shows pictures of UCLA when it first started and how it looks today. It also includes a brief historical timeline.
  http://www.ucla.com/welcome/achievements.html - lists the school's achievements over the years.
  http://www.ucla.com/about/factbook/index.html - gives an overview of UCLA. It has links to others sites that tell you about their athletics, academics, community, people, campus, etc.
• Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
• Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Foundation, Los Angeles - http://www.vhf.org - provided information about the foundation and how it was created.

In our humanities study this year, we've explored elements of being human including: belief systems, love, hate, triumph, and creative expression. The questions below encourage you to examine these human traits in your subject.

1. Identify the location on our rail route in which your person or community is located.
2. Identify the individual or community you'll be researching and analyzing for their contributions to the state.
3. When did the subject of your article come to California?
4. Where did the subject come from?
5. Why did the subject come to California (belief systems, love, hate, or…)?
6. What contributions did the subject make to the establishment of a Californian community or state? Did the contributions reach beyond the community or state? Determine the longevity of the contribution. Does the contribution affect you today (belief systems, love, hate, triumph, creative expression)?
7. How did the subject keep traditions/religion/culture alive in California?
8. What barriers did the subject find and overcome in California (triumph, creative expression)?

For the draft, you should:

• Use 12-point type.
• Double-space to leave room for suggestions, questions, and changes.
• Include complete bibliography in the correct format.
• Address the essential questions with insight, thoughtfulness, and evidence (citing* direct quotes are great!).
• Write in your own personal VOICE.

Please use the following format. Note the punctuation and spacing in the format and bibliography sample.

Film Format
Author. Title. Director. Distributor, Year.

Book Format
Author. Title. City: Publisher, Year.

Website Format
Author. Title. Date of Access. <URL>.

*If citing from a source directly, complete the sentence in which the quote appears. After the end punctuation mark place the author's last name and page number where the quote appeared in parentheses. This citation in the text leads the reader back to the bibliography to find the source. For example:

Many critics believe that Spielberg's creativity "was nurtured by his high school teachers." (Smith, 26) Even after his first film, he attributed his imaginative ideas to his "fill-the-well-book from ninth grade." (Kipperman, 13)

Works Cited and Writing Style Guides - shows an example of a Works Cited listing and provides links to several writing style guides such as MLA and APA. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/workcited.html

Brainstorm - shows how different tools facilitate the brainstorming process. http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/brainstorm.html

Sense Web - starts the brainstorming process for creating show, not tell senses. http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/senseweb.html

Design Expectations - standards of design for all projects. http://www.writedesignonline.com/human/design

How to Use Quotes - humm, what you do think, it's about using quotes in text. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/usingquotes.html

Re-vision - another check list, this time intended to correct your vision. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/re-vision.html

• Address the essential questions below with insight, thoughtfulness, and evidence.
• Use your own VOICE showing your personality and involvement with the topic.
• Apply Microsoft software or other publication program.
• Include article format items with rationale for choices: Byline,
• Pull-out quotes,
• Columns,
• Pictures with captions.
• Demonstrate understanding of correct bibliography format using multiple, credible sources more than one type of media and a variety of copyright dates.
• Directly and correctly cite evidence to SHOW not tell.
• Revise and edit the text for clarity and correctness.