State Fact Finders
by Katherine Miller and Laura Baldwin
Introduction
It is important for us to know about the wonderful country that we live in. Learning the different characteristics and facts that each state has to offer is a valuable way to learn about the country and state that we live in. As a fact finder you will be detectives and learn about the state that your group has selected through the internet and present it to the class.
Task
In groups of three, you will select a state that your group
would like to research. Once your group has chosen the state that they would like to
research, one person from the group will inform the teacher of your chosen
state. If your state has already been selected by another team your teacher
will tell you to select another state.
After your group has completed the
internet research you will put together a
Each person in the group will find the required facts in one of the
following areas for you state:
- State Facts
- State History
- State Government
Your presentation to the class as Fact Finders will include the
following:
- You will use the classroom computer to present your
PowerPoint to the class.
- At that time you will also present the state flag that your
group created.
- You will turn in all the used during your research.
- All group members must present an equal amount of
information.
Resources
During this activity, you may use the following websites to gather information to complete the assigned tasks.
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Process
1. State Facts Assignment
Read about your state at
50states.com.
Fill in the required facts on the
Facts Worksheet.
2. State History Assignment
Read about your state's history at
InfoPlease.
Fill in the required history on the
History Worksheet.
3. State Government Assignment
Read about your state's government at
FactMonster.
Fill in the required government information on the
Government
Worksheet.
4. As a group find the state flag for your state, on FactMonster, and recreate the state flag using construction paper, glue, and scissors.
5. After you have collected all of the required information that you need, let your teacher know that your are ready to put your PowerPoint together.
Evaluation
| Beginning (1 points) | Developing (2 points) | Accomplished (3 points) | Exemplary (4 points) | |
| Project Appearance | The presentation is not appealing and does not catch the attention of the audience. It looks as though no thought was put into it. | The presentation is a little interesting but it does not keep the audience's attention. It looks as though little thought was put into it. | The presentation held the audience's attention somewhat. Looks as though some thought was put into it. | The overall appearance of the presentation is appealing and interesting. Looks as though a lot of thought was put into it. |
| Spelling | There are 5 or more words misspelled. | There are 3-4 words misspelled. | There is are 1-2 words misspelled. | There are no words misspelled. |
| Factual Content | There are 4 or more of the facts that are incorrect. | There are 2 or 3 of the facts that are incorrect. | There is 1 facts that is incorrect. | All the facts on the worksheet are correct. |
| State Flag | A flag is turned in the 3 or more mistakes. | A flag is turned in with 2 mistakes. | A flag is turned in with1 mistake. | A state flag is turned in and it is completely accurate |
| Group Participation | All of the group members did not equally contribute to the over all project. All of group members did not participate in the presentation. | All but 2 of the group members contributed equally to the over all project. All members of the group except for 2 participated fully during the presentation. | All but 1 of the group members contributed equally to the over all project. All members of the group except for 1 participated fully during the presentation. | All group members participated equally and contributed to the over all project. All group members spoke during the presentation. |
| Following Directions | More then 2 of the directions were not followed completely. | All of the directions except for 2 were followed completely. | All of the directions except for 1 were followed completely. | The directions were followed completely and accurately. |
Conclusion
Congratulations!!! Now that you have completed your task as fact finders for your state you might want to see what you can learn from the same websites about the states.
