Sophomore Research Projects

Photo+by+Alyssa+Buchanan

Photo by Alyssa Buchanan

All Sophomores at Papillion LaVista High School are now undertaking a very large project in their English classes: their task is to research something from the 1800s – an event, person, treaty, etc. – and how it has impacted the world since then. 

This is a very long project spanning over several weeks and going over a month, complete with a full essay and speech at the end of the unit. As such, it can be very intimidating with how big of an impact it has on the student’s final grade. 

My research topic is on the space organization NASA, and its effects on earth,” sophomore Jaina Eveland said. “I chose NASA because it’s an interesting topic to me, one I can easily talk about for hours on end, so it’s a good topic to write about.”

Since the prompt for the research paper is so broad, topics can vary widely.

My research topic is about women’s suffrage,” sophomore Abigail Carpenter said. “I chose this topic because I believe that it is crucial for women and everyone to know about the 19th amendment and what it means for women in the US.”

The project is just starting, so students aren’t very far ahead yet. 

“I have been gathering a lot of information on the topic, and am just beginning to write it out,” Eveland said.

However, many students haven’t written a paper as large as this one yet and the process can be very extensive, as well as their thoughts on the matter. 

“I am enjoying the project because the research part is easy,” Carpenter said. “I really dislike how they haven’t taught us how to actually write a research paper, and that it has to be 5-8 pages. But overall, I feel nervous about the deadlines and the quality of my work and quotes, that is all.”

It sounds like students are starting to get the hang of the project and learning more about their topics.

“I enjoy the freedom the project gives us, but not the amount of notes done on it,” Eveland said. “I feel like we know what to do.”

Although the unit is just beginning and slow right now, there will undoubtedly be a lot of informational and well-researched speeches come spring in sophomore English classes.