8th Grade Washington, DC Wiki Instructions
In preparation for the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring, you will research 22 sites in the nation’s capitol and surrounding area. This project will help you appreciate the many memorials and government facilities that you will see on your trip. You will use both English and social studies classes for your in-class research time. Each section will use a specific teacher’s wiki:
8 Red - Ms. Inbusch;
8 White - Mr. Mills;
8 Blue - Mr. Pearson.
Phase I (December)
You may use books, pamphlets, and the internet to research your fact for each site. You are strongly encouraged to use legitimate websites in your research. For example, many of the monuments are under the National Parks Service jurisdiction, so use its website to find information. Also, be sure you have the right site. For example, don’t confuse the Holocaust museum in Houston, TX, with the one in DC. All the listed sites are located in and around Washington, DC.
You are expected to research
one (1) interesting and important fact for each of the 22 historic sites. In total, each student will add 22 different facts to the wikis listed below! Research requires reading and thinking, so you’ll have take time to determine how interesting and important your fact is.
Do NOT give the following kinds of facts:
- how many steps lead to the entrance or how many floors it has
- the price of admission, the hours of operation, or how many people visit it a year
- obvious facts, like the Washington Monument was built in honor of George Washington.
- where it’s located in DC, or it’s height, width, mass, or weight
- how many restaurants or gift shops it has, or what’s sold in the gift shops/restaurants
Suggestions of details to tell
- symbolism of the architecture
- what major exhibits/pieces of art/items of historical importance it holds
ExamplesBad fact #1: The doors of the Supreme Court building are made of metal.
Good fact #1: The pictures on the bronze doors of the Supreme Court show the history of law.
Bad fact #2: The books in the Library of Congress come from many different sources.
Good fact #2: After the Library of Congress burned down in 1814 by the British, Thomas Jefferson replaced the lost library with his own personal library.
Bad fact #3: There are nine chairs for the nine justices.
Good fact #3: The nine justices sit by seniority; the Chief Justice sits in the center, the senior justices on the right, and the junior justices on the left.
Once you’ve found a fact, refresh its related wiki page and reread all of the facts listed by your classmates before typing yours. Facts may not be repeated, so be prepared to research a new fact if yours has already been used by a classmate.
Use the comment button to add your fact to its wiki page, making sure to write in complete sentences that follow the rules of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Do not use IM speak (ur sooo rite!). Citations for the facts are not necessary.
Teachers will review facts and have the freedom to ask students to remove/edit their facts. When you have finished contributing your 23 different facts, please inform your teachers.
Phase II (April)
Now it’s time to finish up our work from December. Each student will be assigned one of the historic sites we will be visiting in Washington. You will be asked to take the facts already posted to the wiki and make a finished product for all to use.
- Each student will be assigned one of the historic sites we will be visiting in DC.
- Go back to your class DC wiki. Find your assigned historic site (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc.). There, you’ll see all the facts posted by you and your class back in December.
- Your job involves two parts:
- You need to select the 6 best facts from those posted. Again, we’re looking for meaningful, important, and memorable facts. When you find a fact you like, copy it and paste it into a word processing document (this will help later). Once you have 6, check them for spelling and grammar. Put them in some sort of logical order while still working in the word processing document.
- Now, copy and paste your 6 facts into the BODY of the wiki page for your historic site. Yes, you’re being asked to actually EDIT the body of the wiki page. We’ll show you and example of what we mean by this. You are NOT posting a new comment to the wiki.
- Next, you need to find at least 3 pictures of your historic site. Of these, 2 must be exterior pictures. The 3rd can be interior or exterior. Save these pictures to your desktop, then insert them into the body of the wiki page. Again, we’ll demonstrate how this works.
- Once you’ve completed #3, you are done. Save your work on the wiki page. Mr. Shannon will remove all the comments later, leaving only the body of the page you have created!
- If you have time, work on one of the remaining pages not assigned to an individual student. Those will need to be completed by your class.
- Your work will be used in preparation for your DC test in May, prior to your trip. Keep this in mind as you work.
- Your work should be completed within this class period. If not, you must have your assigned page completed by the deadline provided by your teacher!
Phase III (May)
Ms. Inbusch's Classes
Comments