Founding Brothers Project
Your summer reading book, Founding Brothers, discusses the men we Americans
commonly refer to as our “founding fathers”: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Alexander Hamilton, etc. These are the people who helped to found the United States
of America, taking it from a colony of England to an independent nation that would one
day be one of the most powerful in the world. He takes a different look at these
Americans, however, thinking of them not as fathers but as brothers, not as historical
figures but as real people with real lives.
Your project is to do your own study of a “founding” American and present it as a multigenre research project.
What is a multi-genre research project? A multigenre research project is like a research paper: you
research a topic and present the information.
However, instead of presenting all the information in
one essay, you can choose different genres to
present your research.
What is a genre? A genre is a type of text. For
example, a poem is a genre. A newspaper article is a
genre. An essay is a genre. A collage is a genre.
Student Learning Objectives:
 Students will research an important figure in early American history.
 Students will synthesize their research into a multi-genre research project.
Criteria:
 Project demonstrates research on an early American
 Project uses three genres to present research
 Project contains an introduction and conclusion
 Project addresses the three focus questions
 Project communicates relevant information clearly – information is organized
 Project is accurate
 Project is interesting and thoughtful
 Project is presented professionally, with few errors
 Project cites sources
Students who meet all these criteria will receive full credit (100%).
Reading Assignments:
 6/19: pages1-47
 7/10: pages 48-162 (about 5 pages a day)
 7/31: pages 163-248 (about 4 pages a day)
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Getting Started…
Who will I research? You will research an important early American. You may
choose
 one of the people discussed in the book, OR
 another important early American (before 1900)
Founding Brothers (and sister) from the book: Abigail
Adams, John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin,
Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and
George Washington.
Other early Americans:
 Some Early American Women: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy
Stone, Alice Stone Blackwell, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells,
Annie Wittenmyer, Frances Willard, Abigail Adams, Sarah Grimké, Elizabeth
Blackwell
 List of prominent Native Americans (make sure the one you choose is from early
America) http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmbioaz.html
 List of African American abolitionists:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmpeople16.html

Latinos in history: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/Hispanic/history1.htm
What will I write about?
You will have three focus questions, each one presented in a different
genre:
 Who was s/he? Research biographical information
 What did s/he accomplish? Research a political / historical
accomplishment
 What was going on? What important situations or events made their
accomplishments important? Research the time / place they lived
What genres will I use? You will choose three genres, one for each question.
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essay
interview
collage
Power Point
Descriptive paragraph
Painting
Diorama
News article
Poem
Short Story
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Dialogue between two people
Cartoon or comic strip
Diary entry
Encyclopedia entry
Letter
Obituary
Song
Wanted poster
Travel poster
Website
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Research Sources:
To find information about your early American, you will use the book, Founding
Brothers, and the internet. When you find a source that will be useful, record the
information below. This will make it easier for you to take notes.
You should have at least two sources.
SOURCE 1
AUTHOR: Joseph Ellis
TITLE OF BOOK: Founding Brothers
DATE PUBLISHED: 2000
PUBLISHING COMPANY: Random House
CITY PUBLISHED: New York
SOURCE 2
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
SOURCE 3
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
3
SOURCE 4
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
SOURCE 5
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
SOURCE 6
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
SOURCE 7
AUTHOR:
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
TITLE OF WEBSITE:
DATE PUBLISHED:
TODAY’S DATE:
URL:
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Research Notes:
While conducting research, it’s important to take notes so that we remember what we
learned and where we found it. For this project, we’ll organize our research around
three categories: Time and Place, Biographical Information, Accomplishment(s).
On the right-hand side, write notes on important information you found about the Time
and Place in which your leader lived. On the left-hand side, write the source number
(see pages 4 and 5) where you found the information.
TIME AND PLACE:
When did this person live? What issues or historical events were important? What was
the society like?
SOURCE #
NOTES:
5
BIOGRAPHICAL INFO:
Write notes on anything about this person’s life or personality that you think is important:
SOURCE #
NOTES:
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
What did this person accomplish that was important to America? How did this person
impact the society in which s/he lived?
SOURCE #
NOTES:
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Writing your Multi-Genre Research Project…
Now that you have collected the important information, you are ready to begin
presenting your research. Review the genres listed below, and determine the best
genre to present each topic.
Genres: You will choose three genres, one for each question.
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essay
interview
collage
Power Point
Descriptive paragraph
Painting
Diorama
News article
Poem
Short Story
Dialogue between two people
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


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Cartoon or comic strip
Diary entry
Encyclopedia entry
Letter
Obituary
Song
Wanted poster
Travel poster
A quiz
Website
For explanations and examples of these genres, see
http://www.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/cyberenglish9/multi_genre/multigenre.htm
If you have an idea for another genre, discuss your idea with Ms. Holbrook.
TOPIC
GENRE
Time / Place:
_______________________________________________
Biographical Information: _______________________________________________
Accomplishment(s):
_______________________________________________
Directions for putting together your research project:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Create a title page that includes your title, your name, and the date
Table of contents page
Write an introduction – why is this person important to read about?
Your three topics in three different genres come next – you may put these in the
order you see fit
5. Write a conclusion – what did you learn from doing this project? What made it
challenging? What made it satisfactory?
6. Sources Cited – write a bibliography of the sources you used
Example multi-genre research papers:
http://www.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/cyberenglish9/multi_genre/best.htm
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