Saints & Masters Research Project

Mr. Khan

Guidelines & Timeline | Resources | List of Saints & Masters | Research Questions & Prompts | Grading Rubric

1. Project Guidelines & Timeline
For this project you will choose a person from the list below (#3) whose c character and life's work embodies the qualities you most respect. Take some time to familiarize yourself with a few before making your decision.

A) You will research your Saint or Master using an authoritative website, and a book from the San Domenico or Public Library, B) you will need to cite all the sources using the MLA format, write an Annotated Bibliographic entry for each citation and turn in a properly formatted Works Cited page with your project, C) you will use the list of questions and prompts below (#4) to help guide your research and note- taking. Keep in mind that you will need to turn in your notes for a partial grade, D) you will also need to fill in a graphic organizer for your report which describes the information you will include and the order in which you will include it, and E) you will type both a rough draft of your report and a final draft. This final draft must be organized in a 6 paragraph format, on double-spaced, typed pages. There is a link to an example of a draft report below (#5). The grading rubric is detailed under #6.

Timeline
Week of April 9 – Choose Saint
Week of April 16– Research
Week of March 1 – Outline
Week of April 30 – Rough Draft
Week of May 7 – Final Draft
Week of May 14 – Annotated Bibliography

2. Resources
You should be able to find a book by using the Online Catalog or the MARINEet Catalog
of the public library system. Both can be found on the San Domenico Library webpage.
You will have to decide which part of your subject's name to search. Some have alternative
spellings. Book: You will search for a book to research one facet of your saint or master.
For example, if I am studying the Dalai Lama, I might be interested in his reincarnation.
I would look to find a book, or chapter of a book, about that aspect of his lfe, and not try
to read a general biography of his entire life. You may not find a book entirely devoted to
your subject but you should be able to find a book with some information about him or her.
You can use the Index in the back of a book or the Table of Contents to locate the relevant
information. If our library does not have a relevant book for you to use, there is a link to the
Marin County Public Library catalog on the library web page as well. If you do not have a
Marin County library card ask the Librarian for help in having a book transferred to the
San Anslemo library for pickup. Website: Researching the world wide web for current,
authoritative websites can be time-consuming and frustrating. We will spend some
time learning search strategies that will help in your online research. There is also
a Web Searching Strategies link on the library homepage to help you with your online searches.

3. List of Saints & Masters

St Joan of Arc

Raoul Wallenberg

Lanzo Del Vasto

Moses and Ruth

Mev Puleo

Pierre Tielhard de Chardin

Mahalia Jackson

Cesar Chavez

Mohandas Gandhi

St Catherine Of Siena

George Rouault

Takashi Nagai

Harriet Tubman

Henry David Thoreau

Baal Shem Tov

Fr. Thomas Berry

Chief Seattle

St Rose of Lima

St Dominic

Black Elk

St Theresa of Calcutta

St Martin de Porres

St Paul

St Francis

Martin Luther

Jelal al-Din Rumi

The Maharal

Krishna

Bhodhidharma

Martin Luther King

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Irena Sendler

4. Research Questions & Prompts (These questions will help lead you into the saint’s life. But you do not need to answer every question. The big question that you do need to answer is: How did this saint embody his or her saintly quality?)

When and where was this person born?
Describe the political, cultural, and religious context that this person was born into? How did this context effect who they became? Who were this person’s ancestors? Who were this person’s parents? Are there any interesting stories regarding their birth? What does their name mean?

 

Describe this person’s childhood.
How was this person influenced by their parents? Was this person raised in a religious tradition? Did anything significant happen to them when they were young? How did their childhood effect who they became?

 

Describe their family and community.
Who did this person spend their time with? Were they part of a group or community? Did they marry? What was this person’s spouse like? How were they influenced by their spouse? Did they have children? Who were their close companions? How did they influence them? Who were their enemies? How did they influence them?

 

Describe this person’s life.
Did they have a profession? Did they travel in their life? Did they ever fight in a war? Did they start a church or movement? Did they do things to help others? What other significant things did they do in their life?

 

Describe this person’s character.
What were this person’s strengths? What were this person’s weaknesses?
Did this person’s character change over time? How did this person’s character affect their success or failure in life?

 

Describe this person’s teaching.
Was this person a spiritual teacher? What were the main points of their teaching? How were these teachings different from the religion they were born into?

 

Describe this person’s death.
How and where did they die? How did their death affect those around them?

 

Describe this person’s legacy
Does this person have followers? Did this person change their religious tradition?

 

How is this person remembered? Why is this person considered saintly?
Why do you think this person is important and interesting?

5. Example of Draft Report

6. Grading Rubric (Total Points 50 points)

Research (20 possible points)

Book Notes (5 possible points) – You have selected a specific aspect of your subject’s life. You have found a book that contains information on that aspect. You have used the table of contents and index to locate that information within the book. You have taken complete notes on that information.

Website Notes (5 possible points) – You have located a reliable website about your subject or something related to their life. You have taken thorough notes.

Annotated Bibliography - (10 possible points) – You have recorded all your sources’ information in proper MLA format and written an annotation of each source, 1) summarizing the information in the source, 2) assessing it's authority, reliability and organization, and 3) reflecting on it's usefulness to your project. .

Writing: (30 possible points)
Graphic Organizer (5 possible points) – You have filled in a graphic organizer with complete information about the different parts of your paper.

Rough Draft and Editing (10 possible points) – You present a draft of your paper to peers, get feedback, and make changes.

Final Draft Basics (5 possible points) – Your final draft should be 500-1000 words long and in 6 paragraphs. It is typed in 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, printed on paper, and turned in on time.

Final Draft Accuracy (5 possible points) – Your final draft has correct information about your subject and includes correct sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.

Final Draft Theme (5 possible points) – Your final draft demonstrates how your saint represented their saintly quality with relevant examples and arguments.