The very first assignment for Night of the Notables is the character selection page. While it seems so simple, it is truly the most important step, as it sets you up for success. Let's take a closer look at each section.
The top section shows you when your designated time period is and when your character selection page is due. Character selection is done on a first come first served based, so you'll want to make sure you know your due date. Also, choosing someone from the right time period will prevent delays. Our time period is post World War II. That means the highlight of the person's career was after World War II.
This is the brainstorm section. Yes, it must be filled out completely. Often 8th graders come in to NON season with an idea of who they want to be, but we are asking you to take a wider look. There may be someone else out there that you will fall even more in love with. A simple Google search of "notable scientists of the 20th century" will give you a list of people to start looking at. The idea is not to put the first name you see down. The idea is to read through a summary of a 4 or 5 and write down one that seems interesting. While we do not use Wikipedia as a reference on a research paper, it is perfect for this initial step. Fill in ALL the boxes.
Section 3 is by far the most important, and the one most often skipped. Choose your top 3 people. Fill them in in the first column. Now, do the work to find out the answers to the rest. The second column asks if there are at least 3 books in the library about your person. To find out, go to https://catalog.multcolib.org/ and search using the person's name as the keyword. If you're in Clackamas County, go to https://lincc.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/lincc/? and do the same. If there isn't three books between the two library systems, you need to choose a different person. You will not have enough information to write a quality paper and meet the requirements of NON. Next it asks you who you could interview. Don't just give a general answer "a history professor", actually look up the name of the person you're going to call. If you say "their manager", I'd better see the name of their manager. The magazine search is a simple Google search "magazine articles about XYZ". You want to put the name of the magazine in the box. Seriously, this is the section you can't shortcut. Having all of these resources available to you will make NON a simple yet meaningful project.
Also in this section you will find the parent signature. Parents, this is your chance to say "I'm uncomfortable with this person" and have your child choose someone else. I highly recommend a quick read of the wikipedia page about the two notable figures your child has chosen. As teachers, we do not know what your family beliefs are, so we rely on you to say no if you are uncomfortable with them.