State Report Directions

1. Neat Cover (5) It must be decorated appropriately. Put the name of the state on it.

The pages must be fastened on the inside.

2. Title Page (5) Write the state name and nickname, your name and grade, Mrs. Timms,

and the date due. Follow the sample. Put the title page first.

3. Table of Contents (5) List each subject (including pictures, maps, & graphs) and thepage number. Number each page in the upper right hand corner. Do not number the Title Page or the Table of Contents. Follow the sample. Put this page right after the title page.

4. State Map (10) Trace a large map on plain paper. Label the state in CAPITALLETTERS. Label the capital and large cities in smaller printed letters. Show and label the main rivers, lakes, and mountains. Name the border states on the boundary lines. Do the map in color. NEATNESS counts!

5. State Symbols (5) Show the state flag, and list the flower, bird, tree, animal, fish, motto, and song. NO pictures are needed except for the state flag.

6. Topography (landforms) (5) Tell the state's size and location (including border states.) Tell about the land and mountains. Tell about the main rivers and lakes.

7. Climate (5) Tell the average temperatures in winter and summer and record highs and lows. Tell about the rainfall and snowfall (precipitation.) Tell about any unusual weather like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, or blizzards the state has had.

8. Agriculture (5) Tell about the crops grown and the animals/livestockraised (not wildlife).

9. Natural Resources & Industries (5) Tell about the natural resources (Don't just list them.) Tell about the jobs people have and the products that are made. Tell about companies there.

10. History (10) Tell about the early Indians who lived there. Tell about the explorers and settlers who came there. Tell about 3 important events that happened including the date the state became a state. Tell about any battles that happened in the state. Tell all events in the order they took place. Finish by telling about some (at least 5) famous people who lived in or came from the state.

11. Cities and Capital (5) Tell at least 3 facts about the city that is the state capital and 3 facts about 4 of the large cities in the state. Also tell the population of each city.

12. Graph (5) On graph paper, draw and label a bar graph showing the population of the 7 largest cities. Put the graph after the Cities and Capital section.

13. Map (5) Make one more map showing some part of your report information. Put the map with that information section (not at the end). Use unlined paper and print.

Examples: Population, Industries, Rainfall, Growing season, etc.

14.Pictures (5) Throughout the report show at least 5labeledscenic pictures (not maps) of the state.

15.Bibliography (5) List the books, magazines, encyclopedias, or Internet sources you used. Alphabetize by author's last name. Use at least 3 sources. Follow the samples. Put the bibliography at the end of the report before the direction sheet

16. PUT THESE DIRECTIONS IN YOUR REPORT FOLDER LAST (-2 if missing).

17. Organization (15) The written part of the report is to be from 7-10 pages long. Write in complete sentences and paragraphs, not just notes and lists. Spelling is important to your grade (including typing errors.) NEATNESS counts!

  • Use the same type of lined paper for all writing or unlined for typing. Do NOT cover the pages with plastic sleeves.
  • Use the same color ink (black or blue) for the whole report.
  • Start each subject on a new piece of paper. Write on only one side.Center the title on the top line. Put #1-12 in the order given on this direction sheet.
  • Leave a side margin of 1 to 1.25 inches on both sides. Remember to indent each paragraph about ½ inch.Leave one empty line between paragraphs. If using lined paper, leave the last line empty.
  • Use cursive handwriting or typing for the entire report. If you are typing, use a font of 16-18 (medium large). Printing is used for labeling maps, graphs, and pictures.
  • MISSTEAKS Correct all mistakes. Start over on another piece of paper when youmake a mistake in the title or in the first paragraph. White-out is usually messier than a simple line drawn through the mistake or a neat erasure. There should not be more than 3 corrections on a page. It's better to redo the page.

****PROOFREADING - Read each sentence and paragraph aloud todecide whether it sounds right and says what you meant to say. Do you needto rearrange some sentences or paragraphs? Did you leave any words out? Check sentences for proper punctuation and capitalization. Check each word for correctspelling. Ask someone to look over your first copy to be sure it makessense and that all mistakes were caught. Then you are ready to copy it inink or print the typed copy.

*** A Note to Parents: Home computer programs are so well developed today that a student could produce a spectacular report without any effort, and without learning through experience how to do a research project. Therefore, the following requirements have been added:

  • Computer graphics may be used for titles and pictures of interest, butthe computer may NOT be used for graphs, maps, or charts. These are to behand drawn and labeled.
  • The body of the report may be hand written in ink or typed, but typingmust be done by the student only. The handwritten rough drafts are to be handed to me when the report is turnedin so I can compare them to the final copy. Typing errors will be counted as spelling errors, so use Spell Check.
  • Please monitor what information is downloaded from the Internet. Encyclopedia articles still need to be read, notes taken from them, and a rough draft written. Do NOT cut and paste downloaded information directly into the report.