A Survival Guide for Teaching Students How to Write Research Papers

Daily Lesson Plans

30 total teaching days Supplies: One 3-ring notebook or small steno notebook 100 notecards Box or pencil bag to keep notecards in Five resources (minimum) Lessons: Day 1: Each student finds his/her burning interest Give personal examples of a passion (I tell students that if I didnt have to do anything else in my life not even eat or sleep I would love to study English castles or ghost towns of Colorado! That is how I know these are passionate interests.) Interview a partner: talk about your interests Process the interview, i.e., How did you know this was a burning interest or passion? (Did the person talk more excitedly? etc.) Write in your journal how you decided that you have chosen a truly interesting topic to study.

Day 2: In journal write what you already know about your topic and what you would like to know. Begin searching for resources Use librarian to teach library research skills at your school Handout the Topic Commitment Form, pages one and two (found at the end of this document)

Day 3: Continue teaching library research skills Begin collecting resources

Day 4: Go to the public library and instruct students how to research there Continue collecting resources Five resources are due by Day 5 (At this time some students my need to modify their original topic if they are unable to find enough resources.) Share with the class or in small groups the most interesting or exciting resources they found.

Day 5: Teach two-column note taking by having students fold a piece of paper and on one side write a quote or some interesting fact from a book and on the other side a personal response (i.e., Why is this interesting to you? Do you agree, disagree? etc.) Begin researching the information in the books and recording interesting information in their journals. Share this information with their partners Begin setting up an interview or a visitation for each student so that they have the opportunity to interview an expert in their field of study or get a first hand look at what they are studying

Day 6: Continue reading for information Teach how to read for information Teach how to write a bibliography (check with your school for the approved bibliography format). Day 7: With partners choose 3 5 categories into which students can divide their papers. Label notecards with the title of each category and choose a symbol or picture to represent that category and draw it on the card. Teach how to write research notes on notecards. Each notecard should be labeled in the upper right hand corner with the symbol that represents which category the card belongs to. The middle of the card should contain a quote or the main idea from their research text. On the bottom of the card write the name of the book and the page number this information came from. Students should have 15 to 20 notecards per category.

Day 8: Work on notecards Share your progress with your partner

Day 9: Teach interviewing techniques (perhaps a speech teacher in your school can help with this) Work on notecards

Day 10: Work on notecards On a large sheet of poster paper draw pictures and use phrases to describe what you have learned so far.

Day 11: All notecards due Teach how to write good paragraphs with strong topic sentences and good supporting sentences.

Day 12: Have students arrange notecards in order within their category, then turn them over and talk out (explain verbally) their topics. This method helps students see the big picture and to organize information within each category. Write rough draft of first topic Practice and share good topic sentences and supporting details Put examples on the chalkboard for all to see Partners should check each others progress

Day 13: Continue writing rough drafts and checking topic sentences and supporting sentences. Teach how to create visuals to enhance their report. Require at least one visual per category.

Day 14: Continue working on rough draft and sharing with their partner

Day 15: Write rough draft of second topic (talk out the topic first) Teach transitional words and sentences to use so that the paper flows smoothly from one category

to the next.

Day 16: Share rough drafts and begin third topic (talk out third topic) Teach how to quote when using information from their interviews in their drafts

Day 17: Continue working on rough draft

Day 18: Share rough drafts and work on fourth topic, if needed

Day 19: Teach how to write an introduction and conclusion

Day 20: Share introductions and conclusions Remind students that their rough drafts, including visuals, cover page and bibliography, are due the next day.

Day 21: Entire rough draft due Peer edit Final due on Day 25

Day 22: Teach oral presentation skills Hand out Speech Preparation Sheet (also found at the end of this document) - Write presentation on notecards - Provide a large visual (a poster, video, overhead, slides, etc.) - Teach an activity to the class (for example students have studied lawyers and set up a mock trial, sports demos and games, cooking activity, drawing techniques, etc.)

Day 23: Work on presentation and final paper

Day 24: Work on presentation and final paper Day 25: In class do Research Paper Self-Evaluation (also found at the end of this document) Turn in self - evaluation and final paper Day 26: Begin presentations (schedule 4 5 presentations a day)

Project Overview Appropriate for grades 5 -7

Cover page with picture and title Introduction o catches the readers attention o uses images o general statement about the topic o power statement (A power statement is a type of topic sentence that involves numbers or a number word: There are three national monuments in Washington, D.C., that I will describe. There are several reasons to vote against this amendment.) o explains your interest o definition Paper divided into 3 or 4 subtopics or categories Topic sentences o each paragraph needs a topic sentence Supporting Sentences o all sentences within the paragraph support the topic sentence Flow o each category contains enough information o categories placed in such a way that the information flows well and makes sense Conclusion o sums up the most important or exciting aspect learned o contains a final image Resources o must have at least one primary resource (an interview) and five secondary resources (books) Quotes
o

at least one direct quote from an interview

Notecards o 15 to 20 per category (one idea per notecard)

Bibliography Visuals o at least one per category (pictures, graphs, maps, etc)

Presentation o present to class, include a large display and a teaching activity

Self and Peer Editing

RESEARCH PAPER SELF-EVALUATION

Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 for each area. Describe your justification for each rating on the lines that follow.

_____ Introduction Does your introduction catch the readers attention? What kind of introduction did you use? Did you use images? Give examples.

_____ Conclusion Does your conclusion include a final image for the reader? Explain

_____ Title Page How did you decide on a title for your piece? Is the title page creative and attractive?

_____ Note Taking Did you have at least 15 20 notecards per category? Explain how using notecards was helpful to you.

_____ Bibliography Is the bibliography in alphabetical order? Are the page numbers included? Have you followed all the punctuation rules?

_____ References Have you given credit to all your sources? Did you put quotation marks around direct quotes? How does using quotes add to your paper?

_____ Resources Have you used at least 1 primary and 5 secondary resources? Explain how you used your resources.

_____ Deadlines Did you meet each deadline throughout the project? Explain.

_____ Flow Does each category include enough information? Is each category placed in your paper so that the information flows well from one thought to another? Explain.

_____ Topic Sentences Does each paragraph have a strong topic sentence? Give examples and explain how topic sentences help the reader.

_____ Supporting Sentences Do all sentences within a paragraph support the topic sentence? Give examples and explain.

Comments: Reflect on your effort. What went well? What was difficult? What would you do differently? What other instruction would have been helpful as you completed this assignment?