Worksheets
Click on the link below to open the Topic Research worksheet. Print this, follow the instructions, and answer the questions as you go.
Sample books
The Life We Bury by Call Number: Northwest-Course ReserveISBN: 9781616149987Publication Date: 2014-10-14College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it's too late to escape the fallout?
Burro Genius: A Memoir by ISBN: 0060526130Growing up in the 1940s on his family's gracious Southern California ranch, young Villaseñor envisions a cowboy's life, just like he's seen in western movies and learned from his loving but occasionally abrasive Mexican-born papá. Reality, however, finds him in the unwelcome company of an American school system where he doesn't fit in and is ostracized thanks to his undiagnosed dyslexia and limited English. Throughout this spirited memoir, Villaseñor's retelling is sometimes humorous, sometimes chilling, at once painful and gratifying.
Dear John by ISBN: 0446567337The story of Army-enlistee John Tyree, and University of North Carolina special education major Savannah Lynn Curtis. John, who narrates, has been raised by a socially backward single postal-worker dad (who has Asperger's syndrome). When they meet, he's on leave, and she's working with Habitat for Humanity. On the brink of John and Savannah's finally getting together, 9/11 happens, and John re-ups. Savannah's letters come less and less frequently, and before you know it, he receives a "Dear John" letter.
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by ISBN: 1401908977Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived and discovered the power of prayer.
Son of Hamas by ISBN: 1414333072Mosab Hassan Yousef is the oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader. Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader.
Under a War-Torn Sky by ISBN: 0786817534In 1944, 19-year-old Hank is an American pilot flying his 15th bombing mission when his plane is shot down over Alsace, near the Swiss border. Locals assist him in getting to neutral territory. There, a Red Cross doctor advises him to attempt an escape from Europe across France with the help of the French Resistance. Hank's many adventures as he makes his way toward home and freedom comprise the rest of the story.
Annotated Bibliography
About Your Assignment
Before reading your novel, you will complete a research project.Through this project you will acquire some background information about the major topics that will be included in your paperback novel. When you read your novel, you may be unfamiliar with the location, culture, time period, and/or sets of beliefs and values represented. Developing some prior knowledge about topics covered in your book will create a more meaningful reading experience for you.
Task #1: Use an Encyclopedia
The Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) is an electronic library of specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries of the arts, business, education, environment, history, law, medicine, science and social science
Oxford Reference Online brings together language and subject reference works from one of the world's biggest and most trusted reference publishers into a single cross-searchable resource.
Student Research Center: Easy search for articles and reference. Also includes newspapers.
Task #2: Use MEGASearch to Find a Magazine Article
Find magazine articles (and more) on your topic: 
Open MegaSearch (it opens in Advanced Search mode).
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Enter your main topic in the top box. Example: Autism
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Limit your search to the last five years using the Publication Date slider
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Limit your search to magazines: In the left column, click Magazines
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Look through the list and select the BEST article on your topic
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Email the article to yourself.
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Open the full record
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Click the Email icon, at right (looks like an envelope)
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For an MLA citation, choose MLA from Citation format.
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Task #3: Use MEGASearch to find a Newspaper Article
Find newspaper articles on your topic: 
Open MegaSearch (it opens in Advanced Search mode).
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Enter your main topic in the top box. Example: PTSD
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Limit your search to the last five years using the Publication Date slider
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Limit your search to newspaper articles: In the left column, click News
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Look through the list and select the BEST article on your topic.
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Your article must be at least 500 words long.
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Fill out your worksheet questions on Newspaper articles
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Email the article to yourself.
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Open the full record
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Click the Email icon, at right (looks like an envelope)
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For an MLA citation, choose MLA from Citation format.
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