February-March 2011

I wonder…

 WHO is the greatest scientist of all time?  WHAT is the science behind those cool skateboarding tricks?  HOW has technology influenced music?  WHO was MC Escher?

What do YOU Wonder?  Your job is to choose a topic that interests you, research that topic, and share your research with the class.

Research Reports Project Overview

Goals  I can…  Write a word, five paragraph research report  Read grade level appropriate non-fiction books and articles  Use grade level grammar and conventions  Use technology to research a topic and present my work  Deliver an effective and engaging oral presentation about my topic

Assessment  Your research papers will be graded using a rubric that focuses on 6+1 Traits on Writing, STEM content, and 21 st Century Skills  Ideas & Organization  Sentence Fluency & Word Choice  Conventions & Presentation  Content  Productivity & Accountability

Research Reports Our Work Plan

Date & Trait FocusTask – outcome for the week Week of February 7: Ideas Choose your research topic (STEM individual) Conduct your research, Take notes Week of February 14: Organization Continue your research, Write your first draft Week of February 28: Conventions, Edit and Revise Edit and revise your first draft Week of March 7: Presentation, Technology (MS Word) Publish your final draft. Neatly handwritten final draft or typed final draft are both acceptable. Please turn in a hard copy. We have a printer at school and we will have access to the netbooks. Week of March 14: Presentation, Technology (MS Powerpoint) Prepare your powerpoint presentations Week of March 21: Oral Presentations Practice your speeches Week of March 28: Speaking and Listening In class powerpoint presentations Final project reflections and rubrics All papers and presentations need to be turned in in hard copy format no later than April 1.

Goal: Select a topic Week of February 7

An Introduction to Research Reports  school-research-paper-tips school-research-paper-tips It’s important to start with a specific topic that is interesting to YOU!

Writing your topic statement. I DO  Xvw

Writing your topic sentence. WE DO  mBs&feature=channel mBs&feature=channel  Using the information in this video as research how could we answer this question?  What are you writing about?  I am writing about ___________________.

Writing your topic sentence YOU DO  Zt3LfEhttp:// acX-Zt3LfE Zt3LfEhttp:// acX-Zt3LfE  What are you writing about?  I am writing about ___________?

Your Task Today, Monday, 2/7/11 MUST DO 1. Keep all notes in your yellow legal pad. 2. Start a list of possible topics that you might want to use for your research report. 3. Have three-five by the end of class. 4. Circle the one that you like the best. 4. For the topic you circled, start writing a list of questions that have. Try to get ten questions. 5. Please finish writing questions for homework tonight.

Starting with a good topic Tuesday, February

Selecting a topic: I DO  The best writing begins with a good topic. Make your topic as specific as possible.  The questions you generated yesterday will help you narrow your topic. Granville Woods African American Scientists Scientists

Selecting a topic: WE DO, YOU DO MUST DO  Create your own pyramid to develop a specific topic.  Write your notes in your yellow legal pad.  Be ready to share your idea at the end of class.

Selecting a topic – what if I’m stuck?  May I suggest…  STEM – great achievements by great men and women  I will share in class and post on the wiki a ppt that lists a number of influential STEM individuals.  This ppt also provides a list of selected resources that you can use.  This is the perfect option if you’re feeling overwhelmed by too many choices.

Researching your topic Wednesday, February 9

Conducting your research  You will need 5 references.  3 may be websites; 2 may be books, magazines, articles.  You can use the netbooks, your home computers, the public library and the Herman library.

Questions to ask about your source . Who is the AUTHOR of this book or web site? * What are the author's credentials? Do you know anything about the author's education, training or experience? * In the case of web sites, do you know whether they are commercial, educational, governmental, etc.? (.com,.edu,.gov)  2. Is the CONTENT of the book or site accurate and reliable? * Is there support for statistics and facts? * Could you verify the information in other sources? * How current is the information? If it is a web site, when was it last updated?  3. Do you know the PURPOSE of the information? Is it intended to inform, teach, sell, persuade, entertain? * Does the presentation of the information seem fair? * Can you distinguish between facts and opinion?

Taking Notes – in general iew/how-to-use-the-internet- to-find-sources-for-your-high- school-research-paper iew/how-to-use-the-internet- to-find-sources-for-your-high- school-research-paper

Taking notes using index cards  Your Name  Author’s Last Name  A list of summarized key points that you may want to use.  Anything not in your own words, must be in quotation marks

Let’s practice…  WE DO  First, we’ll practice looking at books and websites together.  Your MUST DO  Use the books in the room and the netbooks (perhaps the Herman library, we’ll see) to start gathering your own research.

Creating a bibliography Thursday, February 10

How to write a bibliography  bibliography-middle-school.html

Writing your bibliography  List all of your citations in alphabetical order in the bibliography. When alphabetizing, remember that "the" and "a" don't count. Indent (five spaces) any information that does not fit on the first line of the citation. Mix different kinds of sources (books, articles, websites) as long as they are alphabetized.  Keep track our your sources in your yellow notepad.

Sources from a book  Put the elements of bibliographic information in this order when citing a book:  Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. Title. (The title is underlined or italicized.) Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication.  Pay particular attention to the punctuation between the elements of the citation. Find most of this information on the title page of the book, and the date of publication on the reverse side of the title page. If more than one place is listed, use the first one. If more than one date is listed, use the most recent one.

Sources from a magazine  Create a magazine citation with this format:  Last Name of the Author, First Name of the Author. "Title of Article." Name of Magazine (The name of the magazine is underlined or italicized.) Date of Magazine: Pages.  Notice that there is no punctuation between the name of the magazine and the date.

Sources from a website  Cite a website like this:  Author (if available). Name of Site. Name of Institution, Organization or Publisher, Date site was created (if available). "Web" (or other medium of publication). Date the site was viewed.

Main idea and supporting details Friday, February 11

Main Idea and Supporting Details – Rule of 3  Today we begin using the research you’ve been collecting!  A good topic sentence clearly states the main idea of the paragraph and is supported by interesting details.  You should have 3 support statements for each paragraph.

Main Idea and Supporting Details - Rule of 3  I Do  I’ll show you a paragraph with a good topic sentence.  I’ll also point out the details that support it.  We’ll record them all in a graphic organizer.

Main Idea and Supporting Details - Rule of 3  We do  Now let’s try it using one of your topics.

You try it! MUST DO:  Complete the graphic organizer.  Have a specific topic sentence.  In the circles write at least three supporting details.  Turn in your folders with the graphic organizers at the end of class.

Due this week!  Your first paragraph, complete with topic sentence and three supporting details.  Next week, we’ll look at organization.  Keep those questions that you generated earlier this week – they will guide the rest of your paper.