Grade: Senior

#4306. Yes! You have to Write a Research Paper.

Social Studies, level: Senior
Posted Wed Dec 10 16:03:27 PST 2008 by Kathleen Abair (Kathleen Abair).
Wayne State University, Detroit, USA
Materials Required: computer, 4x6 note cards, pen/pencil, printer
Activity Time: Students will be given a month to complete
Concepts Taught: Conducting research, formulating a question, developing a paper.

Student Teacher's Name: Kathleen Abair Date:

Grade Level 7-12 Topic/Unit: Social Studies School: District:

Content
Students will write a research paper that will: formulate a question and hypothesis, show gathering and organizing of facts from various resources, sound conclusion, and a speech to conclude.


Benchmarks
Social Studies Standard V.2 Conducting Investigations
All students will conduct investigations by formulating a clear
statement of a question, gathering and organizing information
from a variety of sources, analyzing and interpreting
information, formulating and testing hypotheses, reporting
results both orally and in writing, and making use of
appropriate technology.


TECHNOLOGY METS 5.6. develop a plan to gather information using various research strategies
(e.g., interviews, questionnaires, experiments, online surveys)


Learning Resources and Materials
Media Center
Computer use
4x6 note cards
pen, pencil, paper



Development of Lesson
Introduction
We will begin with a class discussion about what exactly a research paper is; to ensure a clear focus. Students will be given a list of topics to choose from; to once again ensure a clear focus.
Students will have time to do research in the media center.
4x6 notecards will be used for taking notes on their topic.
-title each card with research subject, take notes, website
address, and date retrieved.
An outline of the research paper will be required.
Students will follow the assignment up with a speech.


Methods/Procedures
This will be an independent project. They will receive direct instruction and individualized when needed. Students will discuss their research topics, and the steps they are on, daily so that they may be held accountable.
Students will be asked: What topic are you researching? What question are you hoping to answer? How are you going to proceed with this topic? Does your outline have sufficient information included? What specifically are you hoping to prove? Are you accomplishing this? Finally, does the content of your speech include the paper's information?



Accommodations/Adaptations
Although this is an independent research paper, students who need extra help will receive it. Time will be set aside throughout the day, when student is available, to visit the media center and receive additional help. The instructor will also monitor progress closely. If extra time is needed to finish that will be possible.

Assessment/Evaluation
Rubric for what is expected will be handed out. As well as a checklist of the time schedule. These will be turned in with the final paper.
Students will be evaluated on how well they have met the benchmarks by clearly stating their topic, the question they want to answer, and whether they answered that question. The technological benchmark is various research strategies, their checklist and paper will determine success.

Closure
The class will go over the evaluation rubric and discuss the strengths/weaknesses of their speech. Each student will be asked why they chose this topic and how it relates to their own life.
There will also be a discussion on what items could be changed/added/deleted for the next lesson. What were the strengths/weaknesses of the assignment?