SOUL Projects: Information Resources

Below, please find a list of potential projects that you & your small group may explore together this semester. The brief descriptions next to each topic are there to give you an idea of what you can do with each project. You will not do ALL of the projects. You will turn in one project a month, for a total of sixprojects a semester:

§         You will have a say in choosing how you will demonstrate your learning AND how your projects will be assessed (graded)1.

§         You are encouraged to generate your own problems (e.g. “Which game system to buy?”) and then design a project to solve that problem2.

§         Be creative! Choose from Multiple-Intelligence-based assessment choices like PowerPoint, Video, Skit, Speech, Artsy Poster, Music mix w/ lyrical analysis, Poetry, Interview, Letter to ER, Chico News & Review, Red & Gold, etc.

Choose from the potential projects below or come up with your own topic. EVERY student will complete the "SSR Book Project" as one of the six projects3:

§         Absent Fathers (Investigate the causes and effects of absent fathers.)

§         Automobile Analysis (Evaluate different products, vehicles, etc. or Analyze the workings of various machinery.)

§         Careers(Exploration, Focus, or Pathways—depending on grade level)

§         Child Labor (Trace the history of the laws keeping you from getting a "real" job before age 15, The History of Unions, or Migrant Labor.)

§         Classics (Explore a work from Dickens, Steinbeck, Austin, Hawthorne, Shelley, etc.)

§         Combat/War(Investigate the circumstances leading up to a chosen war, Explore veterans' accounts of wars, or Trace the history of passive resistance.)

§         Controversial Topics (Take a stand on abortion, capital punishment, war, welfare, the environment, immigration, etc.) Use: Opposing Viewpoints CHS Username: chico    CHS Password: panthers .  Also use this page of Controversial Issues Web Sites

§         Current Events(Trace the origins of a current global issue: sex trafficking, etc.)

See also: Find Articles.Com

§         Film Analysis (Analyze a genre's characteristics or Do afilm comparison/analysis.)

§         Gangs (Explore the relationships between prison and street gangs, societal causes & effects, myths & facts.)

§         Hands On Project (Perform a task then write about it—see attached handout.)

§         Health Issues (Explore the Health/Wealth relationship, Causes/effects/cures for cancer, HIV/AIDS, sexual activity, eating disorders, etc.)

§         Historical Fiction (Investigate a specific historical event or era and write a short story based on actual events.)

§         Holocaust (Trace the origins, Analyze how hatred begins, forms of prejudice, etc)

§         Home Life Description (Investigate the social factors that affect your family life, finances, education level, etc.—see attached handout.)

§         Media Analysis (Analyze several advertisements with respect to target audience, purpose, and effectiveness of message. What do "they" want you to do?) Also, read The ABCs of TV Ads, and A Primer on Analyzing Television Commercials.   Here is more information on Media Literacy and Analysis.

§         Musical Exploration and Analysis (Explore the history of Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, etc.)CHS username: chslib@hotmail.com  CHS Password: panthers

§         Mythology (Explore Greek, Roman, Norse, or other cultures' “mythology”.)

§         Personal Interest (Investigate sports teams, artists, celebrities, hobbies, etc.)

§         Poetry Exploration and Analysis (Investigate different cultures' poetry, key historical periods, poetic forms, etc.)

§         Prisons (Investigate life behind bars, biographies, juvenile justice, etc.)

§         Reading Groups (Small group reads/discusses same book and designs their own project.)

§         Shakespeare (Explore a specific work of the famous poet and playwrite.)

§         Short Stories (Investigate a particular genre or author.)

§         Spirituality(Investigate the origins of various world religions.)

§         SSR Book Project (EVERYONE) (Choose from a list of prompts or design your own.)

§         SSR Research Question (Research an issue related to your chosen book.)

§         Suspense/Horror genre (Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, etc) See: Horror Writers page

§         Teen Issues (Research causes/effects/solutions.)

§         Terrorism (Examine the origins, the types, the mentality, compare to gangs, etc.)

§         Understanding Poverty (Investigate the causes and effects of poverty.)

§         Video Games & Technology (Investigate the history, read a more detailed history, and history/progress, “how-to”, evaluate/rate products, etc.)

§         What was it like to live in the __________ era? (Explore an historical period of your choosing. Use primary sources (diaries, journals, letters, newspapers, etc.) whenever possible.)

§         Witchcraft and the Puritans (Investigate the history of “witchcraft before Salem in witchcraft in America, including the early colonial period. See also: Salem Witch Trials collection of links.)

Remember, the whole point is to explore something that interests you!!!

To ensure your success, I strongly suggest you take the following steps:

1.         Agree on a topic with your small group.

2.         Decide what you want to explore or the problem you want to solve.

3.         Make a plan for action & assessment: what is each person doing?

4.         Run the plan by me: how will each person be graded?

5.         What materials do you need to complete your project?

6.         Get started. Don't focus on "your grade"; focus on putting "heart" into the project.

§                     Take the INITIATIVE: don't wait for me to tell you to "get to work" each day!