DAVID W. BUTLER JROTC
LET 3&4 HONORS MANUAL
SY 2014-15
BULLDOG BATTALION
Table of Contents
Honors Project Overview 1
Deadline Overview 3
Step One: Honors Project Parent/Guardian Consent Form 5
Step Two: Topic Selection ……..6
Step Three: Honors Project Proposal 8
Step Four: Researching the Paper or Project 12
Step Five (A): Writing the Research Paper 19
MLA Citation Formats .23
Honors Research Paper Description and Evaluation……………………….…..25
Step Five (B): The Physical Project .…..26
Honors Physical Project Description and Evaluation…………………………..27
Step Six: The Portfolio………………………………………………………….28
Step Seven: The Presentation……………………………………………….…..32
The BUTLER JROTC Honors Project
The research project is a requirement of the honors option in Butler JROTC. The purpose of the project is to provide cadets with the opportunity to do interesting and meaningful work using the skills and maturity gained through the high school experience. The research project may be the same as the Senior Exit Project provided it meets the following criteria.
Each participant will select a topic of personal or professional interest connected in some way to the military or JROTC and be approved by the Senior Service Instructor (SSI). It will be the basis for the three components of the project:
1) Research Paper – a documented paper on the topic. The research must include a variety of primary sources (personal interviews with experts, surveys) and secondary sources (articles/books/Internet/CD).
Or
Physical Project - a product or a learning experience that relates to the topic. The physical project can take many forms such as:
· The production of a project connected in some way to the JROTC curriculum (example: design, conduct, and document a science experiment)
· A work of art or memorial connected in some way to the JROTC curriculum.
Students must document his or her activities in some way. Students will include a brief 2-4-page paper on the project, the steps taken to complete the project, and what they learned from the project. Students should plan a minimum of fifteen hours to complete the physical project. Many students spend significantly more time.
2) Portfolio – a notebook that contains documentation of the project process throughout the semester/year.
3) Presentation – an eight to ten minute Power Point presentation to the cadet’s committee.
We intend the Butler JROTC Honors Project to be a challenge that requires each student’s very best effort. Fortunately, students have the support of several key people: an English teacher who will guide the student; librarians who will assist students in gathering the necessary sources for the research paper; and finally, the school committee who will provide a receptive audience for the project and give an evaluation that will count toward the student’s final grade.
Students who do not complete every phase of the honors project will fail Honors JROTC. The Senior Service Instructor may disenroll a cadet from the Honors Course at anytime for failure to meet an established deadline/milestone.
Deadline Overview
The student’s overall performance on the Honors project will be evaluated at the end of the second and third quarters. A final performance evaluation will be given after the Honors Project Committee presentation.
Due Date (Second Semester in parentheses) Assignment
· ____12 Sep 14__ (______)- Parental consent forms due
· ___26 Sep 14__ (______)- Topic and committee forms due to SSI.
· ____10 Oct14__ (______)- Project proposal due to SSI. (With additional copies distributed to committee members)
· ____4 Nov 14__ (______)- Formal outline and bibliography due to SSI (With additional copies distributed to committee members)
· ___5 Dec 14___ (______)- Copies of six to eight page rough draft of research paper or two to four page physical project progress report due to SSI and committee members for comments and grade. Paper or physical project progress report must include proper documentation (MLA research paper format) and bibliography.
· ___18 Dec 14__ (______)- Six to eight page final edition of research paper or two to four page final physical project report plus completed project due to SSI and committee.
· ___5-9 Jan 15 (______)- Power Point presentation to SSI and committee.
Two-Semester Single Project
Cadets enrolled in both fall and spring semesters of Honors JROTC have the option of working on a single yearlong project. Their research should be in greater depth. Research papers must be at least 12 to14 pages in length. Physical projects should also be of greater complexity. Consequently, the project reports will be of greater length and detail (6 to 8 pages). The same deadlines apply to this option as above with the following exceptions:
· _____5 Dec 14____- Research paper rough draft is for first half of paper.
· ____18 Dec 14____- Final version of first half of research paper.
· ____5-9 Jan 15__- Power point presentation to SSI and committee covering project to this point. Final presentation will be _20_ May 2008.
Project Deadline Policy
One key responsibility for completing the Honors Project is meeting deadlines. Deadlines for major components of the Honors Project will be 3:00 p.m. on days indicated by the Deadline Overview or the instructor. Students who fail to meet deadlines will face the following consequences:
First Strike: Student will lose one letter grade from component’s original grade.
Second Strike: Student will earn no better than a 70 for the component.
Third Strike: Student will receive a “0” for component; instructor will not be responsible for
providing feedback for that component.
**No item will be accepted if it is more than one day late (without permission of SSI). **
Students who meet all deadlines will receive a bonus of five points added to their final
Honors Project grade.
Failure to complete one or more of the parts of the Honors project will result in removal from the Honors JROTC course.
Step One: Honors Project Parent/Guardian Consent Form
Dear Parent or Guardian:
Please read all of the following statements and sign your name on the line below indicating that you understand that your child will be held accountable for all assignments.
ü I am aware that my son/daughter/ward must complete all three parts of the Honors Project in order to pass CMS Honors JROTC.
ü I understand that there are three major components of the Honors Project: (1) the research paper OR the physical project, (2) the portfolio, and (3) the Power Point presentation.
ü I realize that the time to complete some components of the project will be fulfilled after school and that there will be no school-related absences allowed for completing Honors Project work.
ü I understand that all due dates must be met. Not meeting the due dates will result in a zero and may result in removal from the Honors Course. In order to fulfill the requirements of the project, all work must be submitted, even if it has received a zero for being late.
ü I indemnify and hold harmless Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and its employees for any accident or injury that may result from participation in the Honors Project.
Student’s Name: ______
Print your name:
Sign your name: Date:
You WILL BE contacted if your child misses deadlines. Please provide the following information.
Home telephone number: ______Work telephone number: ______
Email Address: ______.
Step Two: Topic Selection
Topic selection is the most important step toward a successful Honors Project. The topic should be one in which the student is interested, but not one on which the student is already an expert. Because of the amount of time required reading about that topic and undertaking a project related to the topic, it is critical that the student select a topic that interests him or her. A student’s lack of interest in the topic will reflect in the quality of the Honors Project he or she produces. At the same time, it is a requirement of the Honors Project that the topic represent a learning streTch for the student.
Research Paper:
A research paper can be on a wide variety of military or JROTC related topics. The paper can be on a current event, history, or scientific topic. The topic, whatever it is, should be one about which the cadet can find the appropriate amount of research. The paper should be between 6-8 pages long (excluding, title page, table of contents, works cited list, etc.).
A number of strategies can be used for topic selection:
ü Brainstorm ideas with friends, family, and teachers. Make a list of all ideas, no matter how silly, and then review the list later. A strategy of crossing out ideas that will not work or are not as interesting as others might help.
ü Use the list on the following page for topic ideas.
ü Try these Websites:
http://www.researchpaper.com/directory.html
http://internet.ggu.edu/university_library/pickatopic.html
http://www.gulfhigh.org/senior_project3.html
http://www.ipl.org/div/aplus/linkstopic.htm
http://www.lib.odu.edu/research/idea/index.htm
ü Read about potential topics. Once the student has narrowed the list to three or four potential topics, he or she should visit the library and Internet to do some preliminary research in the topic area. He or she should consider which of the topics is the most interesting reading. Is there enough information available? If not, can you broaden the topic? Is there too much information? If so, can you narrow the topic?
The Physical Project:
The effort can be oriented around the creation of a product, such as memorial or piece of art, or, it can be oriented around a scientific experiment. Whatever the project, the student will be required to document it in some way. Take photographs of the project at various stages of completion. When the student presents the written results of the project to the Honors Project Committee, they will review the documentation. Document all research. It should be included in the written report and written report and final Power Point presentation.
Examples of Topic Ideas for Brainstorming
Science Experiments:
· Do hydroponics produce better plants than regular soil gardening for use in space?
· How does centrifugal force affect the body of a living organism?
· Attempt to build a better computer.
· Design a wind tunnel to test several wings for the most aerodynamic design.
· Design a hovercraft (a miniature model), and explain how your model works.
Art and Memorial Projects:
· Design a memorial to the students who died in Iraq/Gulf War from Butler High School.
· Create a painting of a famous battle scene in which the Army/Air Force/Navy was involved and explain the significance of that battle to American history.
· Create a documentary video of the Butler High School JROTC activities.
· Make a documentary of the stories of veterans living in Mecklenburg County.
Research Papers:
· How has technology influenced overall US military strength in the twenty-first century?
· How does the UN affect the policy of the United States Armed Forces?
· What was the effect of airpower during World War 1?
· How does the United States military affect U.S. foreign policy?
· What changes in a military Service will occur in the next century?
List ideas below:
Step Three: Honors Project Proposal
Write the JROTC Honors project proposal in the form of a block business letter to the SSI and your committee members. The SSI must approve your proposal. He will return it to the student for inclusion in the Honors Project Portfolio. The letter must be word-processed in the following format:
Paragraph 1: Should describe the general area of the topic of the research paper or physical project. It should state why the student wishes to study this topic for the year or the semester. State whether your project will be a one or two semester project.
Paragraph 2: Should describe the specific aspects of the topic the student will explore in the research paper. If the cadet plans to do a physical project, he or she should discuss the resources necessary to complete the project and how the student will document progress through out the year or semester. This paragraph should also discuss the anticipated costs of the project in terms of time, money, people involved and resources needed. Now is the time to realistically assess the costs of the project.
Paragraph 3: List the names of your Honors Project Committee. The SSI or SI must be on the committee. You should also have a representative from the English Department to assist in preparing your draft and evaluating your final paper. The third committee member should be from the department most closely aligned with your particular project.
Paragraph 4: The closing paragraph should explain your understanding of plagiarism and why it is important to avoid plagiarizing. Identify the consequences of plagiarism and the impact it will have on the Honors Project.
Sample Honors Project Proposal (follow this format)
8 September 2004
Joey Brown
56 Croft Drive
Charlotte, NC 28202
LTC Richard Laughlin
JROTC Department
David W. Butler High School
Matthews, NC 28105
Dear LTC Laughlin:
I would like to investigate role the US military has played in the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East. This conflict has been in the media for so long that I would like to discover the origins of the conflict and the role the US military may have played in it. After 11 September 2001, many of the terrorists claimed that American involvement in this conflict led to that tragedy. I would like to determine whether this claim is fallacy or fact. As a consequence of the complexity of this issue, my project will be a two-semester project.
In my research paper, I will discuss the causes of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the US military’s involvement in it, and how that involvement may or may not have contributed to the tragedy of 11 September 2001. The research will come primarily from current periodicals, Internet sources, and some historical texts.
My Honors project committee will be composed of yourself (or the SI), Mr. Williams of the English Department, and Ms. Range of the Social Science Department (or, if a physical project, Mr. Tom Quark of the Science Department)
Plagiarism is the same as stealing someone else’s thoughts or ideas. If I do not give credit to my sources, I understand that I will fail the Honors Project. That would be a foolish decision. I plan on doing original work and citing all sources used.