Researching Chicago Project

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Researching Chicago For this project we have two goals: 1. Develop our research skills. 2. Teach the class about a facet of Chicago history or culture. You have two choices for this project: 1. Work with a partner to create a PowerPoint and presentation (lasting between 2-4 minutes) which answers one of the questions on the reverse. 2. Work alone and write a 5-paragraph persuasive essay answering one of the questions on the reverse. Due Dates: Tuesday, November 3 – Project Selection, Completion of this Worksheet (10 points). ***Please note: Tuesday – Friday, November 3-6 – Student research/workdays. Please bring your own information or use the resources in our classroom/IMC.*** Wednesday, November 4 – Students must sign up for presentation day/time by end of class today (10 points). Sign-up is posted in Mr. Little’s room. Friday, November 6 – 30 Research Notecards with one fact per notecard (30 points). Notecards must have information from at total of (at least) 5 different resources. Please see “This is How to Do a Notecard” for more information. Monday, November 9 – “Rough Draft” of Project (20 points). A research project must show at least a hand-written rough draft – not an outline. A PP presentation must show at least 10 slides complete. Tuesday, November 10 – 10 potential Quiz questions must be submitted. Please submit all questions with answers, level of difficulty (Homer-Simpson-easy, regular easy, medium, hard, brain-buster), and typed/headed. Wednesday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day means no school. Please honor all soldiers who have fought/are fighting for our country today. Thursday and Friday, November 13 & 14 – Project presentations. (Final Project is worth 50 points.) Thursday and Friday, November 13 & 14 – Student note-taking on student presentations. Friday, November 14 – Open-note quiz using student-generated research material and questions. (Quiz is 25 questions worth a total of 50 points).

For this project, I am working:

Alone

With a Partner

So I am doing a (circle one):

Research Paper

PowerPoint

Our Research Statement (see below):

Below are the Research Statements along with brief descriptions of them. Sure, you may not agree 100% with the statement you choose, but it is the basis for your research and you should build your work around it. Please rank each statement so you know which one you’d like to select. Place a 1 next to the one you’d most like to do and a 12 next to the one you’d least like to do. The inventions, ideas, and exhibits of the 1893 and 1933 World’s Fairs were the most important of all time. These fairs first showed remarkable inventions of scientists from all over the world – like AC/DC electricity and air conditioning. Explain how important these things are and how Chicago brought them to the world. Daniel Burnham’s “Plan of 1909” is the best blueprint to design a city. The “City Beautiful” and urban planning movement helped design what has become a beautiful city that we all still try to follow. Chicago’s railroads, interstates, and highways are the reason why the suburbs – us! – exist. Some towns were around before or right as Chicago was born (like Naperville), but Chicago’s explosive growth the last 180 years has brought more people than imagined to the region. Explain how these modes of transportation literally did that. The greatest musicians, artists, and writers call Chicago(land) home. Creativity and expressive art is just as important to a city’s culture and greatness as industry. Tell us what makes Chicago special. The best and most important buildings are in Chicago. Chicago is home to the first skyscraper in the world, has shown designs that the world has copied, and has some of the tallest modern buildings in the world. Don’t just show what has been built, but show how they have been built, and why they are important. Michigan Avenue is the most beautiful street in the world. North is the Magnificent Mile, and South has Grant/Millennium Park and the Art Institute. This 3-mile stretch is Chicago’s “front yard.” Why? All the little secrets and “things” make Chicago the best city in America. The “el,” all the parks, the Pedway, our grid system of streets, reversing the flow of the river, building downtown on garbage, the miles of lakefront, old Nike missile defense system and corrupt mayors chasing out the bums with fire in the middle of the night are part of Chicago’s “colorful” and unique history. Explain how they make Chicago unique and interesting while providing a valuable part of its’ existence. Chicago is the most dangerous, awful, and disgusting city in America. All the crime, homelessness, industry, vacant buildings, and pollution make the entire area disgusting and awful to live in. Chicago is the most corrupt city in the world. Three of the last 4 governors have gone to jail. The last one was just impeached. The 2 Mayor Daley’s have been accused of running a “political machine” of corruption for 40 of the last 60 years. Will it ever stop if we don’t realize how bad it is? Not only does it taste good, but Chicago’s food is the best indicator of it’s’ greatness. The food of Chicago represents the diversity of its immigrants and people, not just the product of great industry and pigkilling. Explain how Chicago wouldn’t be quite the same without it, and also how it represents different cultures living in Chicago. The greatest people in the world come from Chicago. The President comes from here. The best basketball player of all time does, too. So does the greatest rapper – no, not Taylor Swift. And don’t forget Mr. Little is from Chicago, too. Despite having the Cubs, Chicago is the greatest sports city in the world. Walter Payton is the greatest running back of all time. The Bears have 9 NFL Championships. Mike doesn’t need any explanation, and his Bulls won 6 titles in 8 years. The White Sox won in 2005 – and the greatest “clean” hitter of the “steroid era” is from Chicago – Frank Thomas. And don’t forget the Chicago Cardinals, Loyola Ramblers, DePaul Blue Demons, and the Wolves’ run of championships.