Why don't you help them brainstorm their own topics? Have
them start listing broad topics that they like to learn about,
then work with them to narrow the list down to more specific
topics. They'll be much more engaged if they produce their own
topics, rather than choosing from an existing list. I would
also make sure they write their own thesis statements - they
are old enough to do that with some guidance from you and its
an important skill to know for high school.
You probably already know this, but you'll need to support MS
students in a major way for this assignment. Every part of
the research process is foreign to them, so you'll need to teach:
- Establishing a timeline/setting goals
- Citing sources in MLA format
- Finding citation information in a book/on a
website
- Evaluating websites for credibility
- Recognizing important and unimportant details
- Skimming and scanning for information
- Conducting a search using a search engine
- Writing a thesis statement
- Making an outline
- Organizing a research paper
- Writing introductions and conclusions
...and the list goes on! Very frustrating process!
On 4/01/08, Susan wrote:
> My eighth graders are embarking on a final project to write
> a full-blown research paper, start to finish. I want to give
> them a list of topics and topic statements from which to
> choose for their research. Does anyone have an
> age-appropriate list of topics for MS students that I can
> "borrow"? This is my first year in MS so I am looking for
> some guidance to keep this assignment appropriate and
> interesting for them..
>
> thanks in advance!