This document provides information and instructions for students completing a 6th grade country report assignment. It includes details on the required parts of the report such as a title page, outline, body, map, flag, and works cited page. It provides examples and formatting guidelines for each section. Homework assignments related to preparing for the country report are also listed, including note taking from sources and completing note cards. Deadlines for different stages of the project are stated.

1. December 2, 2011
+Country Report
-TURN IN: Works Cited/Outline/Source Cards
+Spelling Test 7
+SSR OR Country Report Note-taking
Spelling/Vocabulary: Unit 7
+Vocabulary Pre-Test on Monday
Homework:
For Wednesday, December 7th: Note Card Check
For Monday, December 12th: ALL RESEARCH AND NOTE
CARDS DUE!
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2. Parts of the 6th Grade Country Report
These are the parts of your country report.
1. A title page includes your country, name, and date in proper form. No other cover is needed. A sample title page is on page 6.
2. An outline tells how your country report is organized. A sample is on page 7.
3. The report itself (between 4‐6 pages) includes the following:
A. Introduction
B. Body
C. Summary.
4. A map of your country. For more details see the Map Section on page 9.
5. A flag of your country showing the colors and symbols. For more details see the Flag Section on page 9.
6. A works cited page is a formal listing of all the sources (books, websites, encyclopedia, magazines, etc.) you used. A sample is on page 10.
You must use at least three sources: You must use one of each of the following; the third source is your choice: one source must be a reliable
website, and one source must be a book.
7. Extra credit information is optional. You may use pictures, diagrams, or charts IF they serve to enhance the quality of your report. These
will come at the end and will NOT take the place of the body of your report.
If any of the required parts are not included, a score of 0 in both content and mechanics will be given for that section.
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3. Grading Scale for the Country Report
Each section in the completed country report is worth the following points of the total grade. Points will be deducted for both content and
mechanical errors.
Content
Title page 2
Outline 6
Body 26
Map 7
Flag 3
Works Cited 6
Total 50
Mechanics
Title page 2
Outline 6
Body 26
Map 7
Flag 3
Works Cited 6
Total 50
The final grade will be worth 100 points, plus the individual note card checks will count at homework grades. Much of the preparation work
will be in quarter 2, while the remainder will be in quarter 3. Since this is such a major project, please try to do the best you can by:
• Having your work in by each deadline
• Doing the neatest job you can
• Asking for help when needed
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4. How to Make Source Cards
Use the sample outline to help you know what kind of information you could be looking for. When you find your sources (the
books, etc. that contain the information you will need for your report), make a source card for each one.
Follow the sample below, and make sure that all the information is complete and in the right place. You will be graded on your
source cards.
Sample Source Card
Source #
Print citations from the site www.bibme.org, and tape them onto your source cards.
http://www.bibme.org/
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5. Taking Notes
All of your notes should be on note cards. Follow the sample below. You will be graded on your note cards.
Sample Note Card
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6. Sample Title Page
Country’s Name
By: Student’s Name
Date
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7. Sample Outline: Your outline may look very similar, but is tailored to fit your country. Preview your sources to make sure you can find the information that you want
to put in your outline. You may need to make substitutions or adjustments.
Name of the Country
I. Introduction
II. Land and Climate
A. Land regions
B. Bodies of water
C. Plants and animals
D. Climate
III. History
A. When
B. Important events in history
IV. Economy
A. Natural resources
B. Industries
C. Agriculture
V. Government
A. Current leaders
B. Kind of government
VI. People and Places
A. Population
B. Famous people
C. Important cities
VII. Religion
A. Dominant religion
B. Beliefs
C. Other religions
VIII. Summary
Important Notes: Remember your outline and your report should match. If it’s here, it needs to be in the report. If it’s not here, it shouldn’t
be in your report. Watch the spacing and capitalization of the outline. Also, no Roman numeral can have just one letter section under it.
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8. Guidelines for Writing the Rough Draft of the Sixth Grade Report
Steps in writing your rough draft:
1. Arrange your note cards according to the topics on your note cards, and in order of your
outline.
2. Write your introduction. Remember, this is formal writing. It should NOT include you and
me. (Don’t include statements such as, “I will tell you about…” or “I found out lots of interesting
things about…”) Also, it should NOT refer to your paper. (Don’t include statements such as, “This
paper will talk about…” or “In these paragraphs it will tell you about…”) Introduce your country,
and briefly describe what will be included in your paper.
3. Write each part according to your outline.
4. Write the conclusion. No new information should be included in the conclusion. Again, keep
you and me out of the paper.
Reminders:
1. Skip lines on your rough draft.
2. When you’re writing the rough draft, don’t worry about details such as exact wording,
spelling, etc. Just keep writing.
3. Whatever is in your outline must be in your paper. If ideas aren’t in the outline, they
shouldn’t be in the paper.
Your handwritten rough draft is due on Tuesday, December 20 or earlier. This only includes the
handwritten rough draft, it does not include the cover, outline page, flag, map, or Works Cited
page.
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9. Directions for Map Page
The only part of the map that may be computer‐generated or traced is the outline itself. The rest is
to be hand‐drawn, hand‐labeled, and hand‐colored.
The map should take up most of a page.
The following items need to be on your map:
• Show and label several major countries around your country.
• Show the capital of your country with a star and label it in pen.
• Show at least 3 additional major cities with dots and label them in pen.
• Show major bodies of water, colored in blue and labeled in pen.
• Show major rivers, labeled in pen.
Directions for the Flag Page
The flag is to be hand‐drawn. See me early if you feel the flag of your country is too
complicated to be hand‐drawn. Don’t wait until just before the project is due!
The flag should take up most of a page.
The flag is to be neatly colored, with symbols or words in black pen.
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10. Citing your Sources
In the body of your report, there will be times when you need to tell where you got your
information. This is known as citing your sources. Anytime you give statistics, opinions,
or material that is contrary to popular belief or is only found in one source, you MUST
tell where that information came from.
Here’s how: After the information, put parentheses. In the parentheses put the author’s
last name and the page number, like this. (Jones 14) This tells the reader you used the
book by someone named Jones and this information was on page 14 of that book. For an
internet source do it the same way. If there is no author listed, put the title of the
article/website and page number, if given.
You do not have to tell where all your information came from. For example, almost every
source would
say that George Washington was the first president. That is considered common
knowledge and it would not be necessary to tell where you got that material.
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11. Creating a Works Cited Page
Works Cited
“Colorado.” World Book Encyclopedia, 1992.
Evans, Amber. “Ohio.” <http://www.states/ohio/gov>.
Milton, James. Louisiana. [CD‐ROM]. Grolier’s Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2000
Sawyer, Ryan. Discovering the States, A History of Our Country. St. Louis: St. Louis
University Press, 1994.
Woolfolk, Kris. Investment Patterns in the World Petroleum Industry. New York: The
Chase Manhattan Bank, Dec., 1996.
Important Things to note:
1. Sources are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author.
2. Pay special attention to the punctuation, underlines, and order of information. Generally the
order is as follows: Last name, first name, middle initial, title of article, title of book, city of
publisher, publisher’s name, date, and page numbers. In some sources, you will not find all the
information. Use what you can find.
3. Notice the indenting. The first line is NOT indented, but the remainder of the lines are.
4. We are using the site www.bibme.org <http://www.bibme.org> to generate our Works Cited
page in MLA format.
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12. Country Report Typed Format
‐Typed draft will be typed on a Google document (Google Docs) to allow you to access
your work from home, school, or any other computer.
‐Use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri size 12 font using black ink. Do not use bold
or underlining.
‐This paper does not require a title or a heading (Except on your Title Page)
‐Use standard margins.
‐Please double space your work. Do not leave extra space between paragraphs.
‐To turn in your final draft on January 13th‐download your Google doc to a Word
document, and correct any formatting issues. Create your title page in Word as well.
Submit your final paper in the following order:
1. Title Page
2. Outline
3. Paper
4. Works Cited
5. Map
6. Flag
7. Extra Credit
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13. Plagiarism
The following information comes from a book entitled MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph
Gibaldi, Fifth Edition, published by the Modern Language Association of America, 1999.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using another person’s words or ideas in your writing without giving credit to the source.
• One type of plagiarism is using another s ideas without giving proper credit.
• A second type of plagiarism is using another s actual words without giving proper credit.
• Another type of plagiarism is turning in a paper that you turned in previously for another class.
Some hints to avoid plagiarism:
• When taking notes, put them into your own words. Do not take notes in sentence form. Use
bullets or lists. You will still need to tell where you got the ideas, but you will be less likely to plagiarize
the words of another writer.
• When reading from a source, close the book (or turn away from the computer) and put the
information in your own words.
Plagiarism is wrong, it’s cheating, it’s not God‐pleasing, and it will not be allowed. High schools and
colleges expel students for plagiarizing, or cause a student to fail a course. We at St. John take
plagiarizing very seriously.
If you have questions about what is and what isn’t plagiarizing, ask me.
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14. Important Dates for the Research Paper
*Students should have all research materials and sources in class everyday!
November 21 Country Report Introduction
November 22 How to find appropriate sources
November 23‐27 Find your sources (books/websites) for your country. You must have 3 sources with you in class on Monday, November 28th
November 28 ‐Parent Letter/Plagiarism Letter with parent signatures due
‐Folder/Organization system and note cards in class today
‐3 sources due
Nov. 28‐Dec. 2 Source Cards, Works Cited Page, Outlines & beginning Research
December 2 Source Cards, Works Cited Page, and (Typed) Outline due
December 5‐9 Research & Note‐taking
December 7 Note‐taking Check #1
December 12 Note Cards due‐Research Complete
December 12‐16 Rough Draft Writing
December 20 Rough Draft Due
January 3 Rough Drafts Returned
January 3‐7 During Technology‐Type Rough Draft
During LA‐Work on Map/Flag
January 6 Typed Copy of Rough Draft Due: Turn in one copy to Miss Pfund & Take one copy home for an adult to edit
January 9 Adult Edit due
January 9‐13 During Technology‐Make edits to Typed Rough Draft & During LA‐Work on Map or Flag
January 13 Final Paper due!
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15. Name of the Country
I. Introduction
II. Land and Climate
A. Land regions
B. Bodies of water
C. Plants and animals
D. Climate
III. History
A. When
B. Important events in history
IV. Economy
A. Natural resources
B. Industries
C. Agriculture
V. Government
A. Current leaders
B. Kind of government
VI. People and Places
A. Population
B. Famous people
C. Important cities
VII. Religion
A. Dominant religion
B. Beliefs
C. Other religions
VIII. Summary
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18. Note-taking Reminders
->You are SUMMARIZING information from your sources
->Bullet points ONLY on note cards
->One idea per notecard
->Completely fill out each notecard!
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19. Attachments
http://www.bibme.org