Introduction

We live in the wonderful state known as Illinois. I bet you didn't know how much there is to learn about Illinois.  Well, let me tell ya, there is a LOT!!!  Today I am sending you on a mission.  If you choose to accept this mission, you will learn everything you have ever wanted to learn about Illinois, plus you will be able to tell your parents and maybe even your teacher a thing or two they didn't know either. 
 

So, do you want to know what this mission is?  Okay, you have to go to the following websites that are set-up to transport you to everything and anything Illinois related.  At these sites, you will find the answers to the questions that are being asked of you.  If you find all the answers, you will be known as an "Illinois Whiz," and will be able to present a report to your class for an awesome grade and maybe even some extra credit. 
Are you ready to go?  I know you can do it.  Oh yeah, have fun too.  Illinois is a fun state as well as a great place to live. 
 

• 1 ~ The first step for you to follow in order to achieve your goal as the "Illinois Whiz," is to write down the following questions in your social studies notebooks (I know we all have one): 
• What area/region of the world is Illinois a part of?
• Who is the current governor for Illinois?
• What is the capitol of Illinois?
• What five states border Illinois (the neighbor states)?
• Explain the climate of Illinois (yes, all year round).
• Name four important products (agriculturally) that Illinois has and uses?
• Name one important citizen from Illinois (dead people count) and explain why this person was important for Illinois.
• Name, draw, and explain about two important landmarks found in Illinois.
• Name and Describe a sport, an animal, and a food dish, that is popular in Illinois (this question is asking you to name and describe three things).
• 2 ~ Since we wrote all those questions down in our notebooks, I guess we should answer them huh??? Use the following websites to help you find your answers.  Don't think of this as an assignment, think of it as a scavenger hunt.  Doesn't that sound fun?
•  http://www.state.il.us/kids/learn/ 
•  http://www100.state.il.us/facts/ 
•  http://www.ci.chi.il.us/ 
•  http://www.ci.peoria.il.us/local/local/default.php?sectiondetailed=1 
•  http://www.aocn.aurora.edu/ 
•  http://www.agr.state.il.us/kidspage/index.html 
•  http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/welcome.htm 
•  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/illionis/ 
• 3 ~ I am assuming you found all the informaton you needed since you are reading me.  Wasn't that easy to find?  Now that you have all the answers, it is up to you to put it all together in a nice way. Here is the part where you get to choose what to do.  You can either make a travel brochure, write up a report, or make a giant poster.  Remember though, you have to use all the information you found (that means all the answers to the questions from step 1 need to be included).  Of course you can add some more information to your report for extra credit (hint, hint, hint).
• 4 ~ Pictures are always lovely.  Here are some good websites that have pictures of things from Illinois that you can print and paste on your report.  That will make the report look outstanding.
•  http://www.rr1.net/html/pictures_of_illinois.html 
•  http://www.historic66.com/illinois/photo.html 
• 5 ~ You are now completed.  Make sure you turn in your final project to your teacher so you can receive your reward.  Maybe even present it to the class.  Show off what you learned!

This is how you will be graded.  It makes sense to read what you need in order to get a good grade, right??? Try your best. This isn't all that hard to do.  You will be graded individually (that means on your own).  Don't ask if you can work in groups because individually means NO groups.  I am sure you knew that though. 

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
The students will rewrite the questions that need to be researched for this project in their social studies notebooks.	The student did not rewrite the questions that needed to be answered	The student rewrote the questions but not in his/her social studies notebook	The student rewrote most of the questions in his/her social studies notebook	The student rewrote all of the questions in his/her social studies notebook
The students will research and find the correct answers to the questions that they copied into their notebooks on Illinois.	The student did not do any research to find the correct answers	The student did a little research but didn't find at least half of the answers	The student did a lot of research but is missing the answers to a few of the questions	The student did a lot of research and answered all the questions correctly
The students will create a report, a travel brochure, or a poster on the information they found on Illinois	The student did not chose one of the three project ideas to represent the work done on Illinois	The student created a project on Illinois but it wasn't one of the three options available	The student chose one of the three project ideas but it is not done correctly	The student chose one of the three project ideas and it was done correctly
The students will add pictures to their projects on Illinois	The student didn't add any pictures to the project	The student only added one picture to the project	The student included two pictures in the project but did not provided a caption for the pictures	The student included two or more pictures in the project and provided a caption for each picture
The students will present their project to the class	The student does not present his/her project to the teacher or the class	The student presents his/her report to the teacher only	The student presents his/her project to the teacher and the class but leaves out some of the information	The student presents his/her report to the class and the teacher, and includes all the information in the presentation

You are now finished.  Can you believe you learned that much about Illinois?  I am sure your teacher is very proud of you.  The project wasn't that hard to do was it?  I hope you included some interesting facts that weren't asked of you.  That will surely give you some extra credit.  Lets face it, we can all use some extra credit sometime. 
Remember, Illinois is a fun place to learn about and a fun place to live in.  Aren't you glad you live in Illinois?

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CCSD-146