Trip to the University of Iowa Library
I have to admit that before Friday, I never thought a trip to the library would elicit comments such as, "That was AWESOME!" or "One of the best field trips EVER!" But leave it to Willowwinders to take the opportunity to use the vast resources at the University of Iowa library, and make the absolute most out of it. The entire library staff was incredibly impressed with not only our students' knowledge of their respective subjects, but the maturity and determination with which they approached their time.
Our library work began the day before our trip with a visit from Jan Moss, our new favorite librarian! She spent over an hour talking with the students about history fair projects and how to make the most out of their day at the library.
The next day, we ran out of the building at 8:30am with laptops in hand to make sure we made the public bus. By 9am, students filed into a room filled with high school students to listen to a talk on how to use the resources at the library. Terms such as Special Collections, the Archives, e-resources, micro film, and historical newspaper databases were thrown at the students - I started to wonder if we had gotten in a little over our heads. But then, the instructor began asking a few questions and up went the hands of our students! We then headed up to the computer lab to begin the arduous process of searching for books, historical newspapers, and articles. The students began working right away. Within a half hour, several students were out in the vast stacks of the library, coming back with more resources than they could carry. Others spent hours scouring through historical newspapers, looking for articles that complimented their subjects. By noon, I began thinking they must be about to faint, we'll need to leave to get lunch. But when I brought it up, I was greeted with sighs and moans, "but we have sooooo much more to do!" With snacks in hand, they continued to work and even at 1pm, I had to force a few students out of the special collections sections. We ended our day with pizza and Whitey's, a perfect end to a "college" day!
We have all of this research… now what?
I've asked the students to begin combing through their resources this weekend - please check in with them to make sure that they have begun this process. By the end of the week, we'll begin organizing our research in an outline. The following week, students will start using their research to create either a website or performance. To keep up with this timeline, we will not have word study this week and will have a little less math homework than usual. Please make sure that your child is capitalizing on this time and spending at least 30 minutes to an hour on research each evening. Research is the most vital step of this project; National History Day projects often have well over 15 sources. This extra work will help ensure that they are ready to start using this research to create their final piece.
I have to admit that before Friday, I never thought a trip to the library would elicit comments such as, "That was AWESOME!" or "One of the best field trips EVER!" But leave it to Willowwinders to take the opportunity to use the vast resources at the University of Iowa library, and make the absolute most out of it. The entire library staff was incredibly impressed with not only our students' knowledge of their respective subjects, but the maturity and determination with which they approached their time.
Our library work began the day before our trip with a visit from Jan Moss, our new favorite librarian! She spent over an hour talking with the students about history fair projects and how to make the most out of their day at the library.
The next day, we ran out of the building at 8:30am with laptops in hand to make sure we made the public bus. By 9am, students filed into a room filled with high school students to listen to a talk on how to use the resources at the library. Terms such as Special Collections, the Archives, e-resources, micro film, and historical newspaper databases were thrown at the students - I started to wonder if we had gotten in a little over our heads. But then, the instructor began asking a few questions and up went the hands of our students! We then headed up to the computer lab to begin the arduous process of searching for books, historical newspapers, and articles. The students began working right away. Within a half hour, several students were out in the vast stacks of the library, coming back with more resources than they could carry. Others spent hours scouring through historical newspapers, looking for articles that complimented their subjects. By noon, I began thinking they must be about to faint, we'll need to leave to get lunch. But when I brought it up, I was greeted with sighs and moans, "but we have sooooo much more to do!" With snacks in hand, they continued to work and even at 1pm, I had to force a few students out of the special collections sections. We ended our day with pizza and Whitey's, a perfect end to a "college" day!
We have all of this research… now what?
I've asked the students to begin combing through their resources this weekend - please check in with them to make sure that they have begun this process. By the end of the week, we'll begin organizing our research in an outline. The following week, students will start using their research to create either a website or performance. To keep up with this timeline, we will not have word study this week and will have a little less math homework than usual. Please make sure that your child is capitalizing on this time and spending at least 30 minutes to an hour on research each evening. Research is the most vital step of this project; National History Day projects often have well over 15 sources. This extra work will help ensure that they are ready to start using this research to create their final piece.
