Reading: Quarter 3 Reading Log
Influential People from 1865 to Present
Created by K Crossley, 1/28/10
For your reading log you must find an appropriate online article, read it, and answer questions about influential people in several types of professions. The person you choose MUST have made an impact on society or have contributed to their community. DO NOT choose celebrities or athletes unless they have changed their professions or helped our society. For example, Jackie Robinson became the first black baseball player and Oprah Winfrey has built a school in Africa. You may choose: an environmental scientist; a politician or civil rights activist; a medical professional or inventor; someone in media, arts or entertainment. Remember, they must not be just celebrities but have contributed to society in some important way.
You need to find basic biographical information about your person, as well as finding information to help you answer this question: “How did this person inspire or change the life of others? Be sure to include the obstacle over which the person triumphed and the experiences that contributed to his/her success.”
You must also cite the article that you use for this project in NoodleTools. Use the hints in RED to help you cite your article.
Online Resources
You may use any of Hoover’s databases or e-books to find information about your chosen influential person. The resources we think will work best for you are below.
Encyclopedias
It is good to begin by using an encyclopedia because they give you clear information to start you on your research.
NoodleTools: Encyclopedias are considered a reference source – not duplicated from a printed work.
World Book Online: You can use the World Book Student or the World Book Kids if you need an article that is easier to read.
Encyclopedia Britannica - You can use “Search All Levels” or use the Elementary School version for an easier article to read.
Online Databases
SIRS Discoverer: Click on “SIRS Products.” Use the search box to search with your key words and look at the colored box to the left of the title to see the reading level for articles.
NoodleTools: Click on “Source and Summary.” Use that information to figure out where SIRS Discoverer found this article and cite that source (magazine, newspaper, encyclopedia, etc.) Retrieved from an online database. For an encyclopedia article: Yes, duplicated from a printed work.
Student Resource Center: Use the search box AND click on “KEYWORD” for the best results.
NoodleTools: Look at the top tab and the 2 lines at the top of your article to see what citation type you should use. For Reference (except for encyclopedias) follow this path: reference source” → online → other → Yes, I will provide publication details. The “title of reference source” is the book or encyclopedia listed on the second line at the top of the article. The database is “Student Resource Center.” Do NOT enter a URL for any database.
E-Library – Click on “My Products” to get to E-Library. Use the search box to find your person. Some articles will begin with “Why don’t you try” and they give different headings for your person. You might want to look at the article with a photograph that begins many people’s search results. Click on “Expand this document” to see the whole thing.
NoodleTools: Look at the icon next to your article title on the search page. That will tell you if the article is from a newspaper, book, magazine, etc. Then look at the top of your article to find the information you need to create your citation. To see the correct citation (and use it for creating your own), click on “Citation View” in the bar above the article title.
Websites
NetTrekker: This is a search engine for finding relevant websites instead of using Google. Search for websites about your person here.
NoodleTools: Cite pages you find here as websites. Do NOT cite NetTrekker.
