Thanks to all of those who responded to my request. Here's the hit:
We're currently doing a collaborative project using Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start
The Fire." The students are assigned years and they have to research the
people/events for their year. They cannot use the site that has links explaining
the lyrics. They are using both electronic and print resources. This is between
the Music, Social Studies, English, Computer teachers and myself.
I have participated in and assigned the Multigenre/Multitext Research Project. I
loved it and learned a ton and my students liked it as well. The purpose is to
read or watch multitext/multigenres about the subject of research and then write in
different genres to show what students have learned. Students still research, but
it is not the boring research paper. For example I researched Blackbeard. I
produced four multigenre documents - Blackbeard's flag, a newspaper front page, a
diary written from the point of view of his 13th wife and a wanted poster.
Everything I found out about Blackbeard was shown in my documents. A great
project, I thought!
Try the book Cruising Through Research my 8th grade LA teachers do the one about
taking a cruise. It is great for using information finding skills and the end
result is a letter that the students really enjoy doing.
Our English teacher does a wonderful project with her students. She has them read
a biography,
write a one page report about the person and then they dress up as the person and
speak to the class
as if they were that person.
A friend of mine uses a culminating research project for his 8th graders where
students do a
project about some aspect of the community. They incorporate interviewung, photos,
journaling,
peer-review drafting, and onne-on-one conferencing with the teacvher. They all
present their projects to
the class. the methodology used, I belileve, is Joyce and Tallman's 'I-Search'
model.
You can read about it at: http://eduscapes.com/info/isearch.html
Are you talking about different formats for final projects or topics for
research?
Our topics usually are based on Indiana state standards although for
language arts, of course, it can usually be almost any topic. We tie
many projects into cross-curricular activities so consider something
that will work with social studies or science topics the same students
are going to be studying.
For format, here is a brief list of things that we have used this year.
Some work especially well for biographies others work well for
places,data, etc.
Creative writing
Graph/chart
Essay
Editorial/editorial cartoon
Crossword puzzle
Obituary
Resume (for biographee)
Interview
PowerPoint
Poster/collage
Model/diorama
Mobile
Vocabulary list
Map
Display
Costume dress-up
Skit/re-enactment
Brochure
Poem
Song
Venn Diagram
Commercial
Timeline
Cartoon
Letter
Reading response
Report
Speech
How about a We-Search paper, instead of an I-Search one. Uses cooperative learning.
Here is a good link for one"
http://7-12educators.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edc.org%2FFSC%2FMIH%2Fi-search.html
I just did a google search for "I-search lesson plan" and came up with several
other ideas.
don't know how unique it is, but I am working with 8th grade L. A .students
presently. They have read Roll of thunder... Now they are doing research into the
1930's. They will construct a thesis statement about an event, fad, person, etc.,
and support it. Some of the kids are having fun with this. One of our brightest
prospects is a research paper on the purposes of candy. Others include, black
aviators, Betty Boop, crime; Hitchcock, FDR, Jim Crow Laws; the CCC, board games,
fashion and Jessie Owens, etc.
This is the third year we have done this unit so I do have some good books to help
the students. Web Feet is helpful; however, IMHO, our on-line databases of magazine
articles do not cover this period well. Sooner or later, most students make their
way to Google.
I work at a school that does a Word Project-
pick a good word - love, hate, obsession, anger, etc.
Find it in various sources, understand its use in the context, meanings,
origin, etc.
Great way to use/introduce library resources and language development.
Students can check - Bible, Quran, Shakespeare, (introduce concordances),
OED + other dictionary, thesaurus, poetry - print and online, etc.
Have them fill in basic worksheets, and then develop a powerpoint
presentation on the word.
Cite the sources used too - provide basic examples.
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