December is a Flurry of Reading, Research and Writing Good Questions

NCHS Reads

There is a general perception that teenagers do not read. Our data collection tells a different story. We've circulated nearly 1,700 books this year. Clicking through the slides below tells us that students prefer print reading for fiction and digital reading for research. Our students read more books on social sciences and history than any other Dewey classification. The database chart suggests that students carefully align their database use with their inquiry research tasks. While Gale (comprehensive one-stop-shop for K-12 research) usage was high in September, it dropped off in October. On the other hand, JSTOR (scholarly research) and EBSCO (primarily eBooks and academic research) usage surged in October. Overall database usage increased in October. Once we get the statistics, November will likely show a surge in ProQuest usage. This is our National Newspapers database, which is a core resource for the Junior Research Paper.

Freshman Reading

Ms. Magilnick and Ms. Fitzpatrick's students selected books for literature circles. Their books will prime students for research on a theme explored in their chosen narrative. They will deliver a speech on their inquiry findings as a culminating experience to conclude the unit. Students were presented with a selection of 25 or so possible titles. What follows is a list of the books students chose. 

Ms. Hamill launched a graphic novel reading unit. Her students will read one of the following two books. 

Research Begins with Inquiry

Teacher-Librarians are co-teaching with English teachers to give juniors feedback on research questions, thesis statements, and works cited. Juniors analyze their research notes to develop original thesis statements and create properly formatted works cited that reflect the in-text citations used in the research paper.

Citing Sources MLA Style

Freshmen are learning how to cite sources using Modern Language Association formatting. Students watch video tutorials at their own pace and complete a short assessment to practice creating proper works cited.  

Makerspace Moves

World Language students creatively prepared for International Day.

AP Government and Politics students designed a Presidential Election Game that had a mix of strategy and luck. The game addressed ideas, such as assembling a campaign staff, Invisible Primary, and Electoral College.

AP Economics classes investigated market structures, specifically monopolistic competition, by creating hamburgers. The student's work demonstrated why fast food restaurants are excellent examples of this type of market. Very similar, but with important differences, students worked to create the "best" burger and then marketed their design to the class in the following period.