Language Arts Update (RESEARCH PAPER INFORMATION)

RESEARCH PAPER
Due: Friday, April 29th (or earlier if completed in advance)
Length: 5-7 pages, typed, double-spaced, not including bibliography
Supplies: 100 note cards, notebook for rough draft, clear plastic cover/binder for final draft
Scoring Rubric: Click here to view or download!

As you may be aware we started working on our research papers the week before spring break. This assignment is quite intensive and can be overwhelming for students who are absent, fall off task or procrastinate their efforts. This is especially true considering we will also be covering our regular language art curriculum (i.e. vocabulary, grammar, mechanics). To date, we have now spent over two weeks in the school's media center helping students get started by selecting manageable (but interesting) research topics, finding and citing sources, generating a bibliography and most recently reviewing proper outline format.

Click here to download a copy of the Brooks Media Center Research Schedule.
http://www.box.net/shared/foagsfp7ui

Students who were absent because of illness or holiday travels may need assistance getting up to speed. I am available before and after school and during most lunch periods to assist students - but they will have to find time on their own to go to the Oak Park Library or Brooks Media Center to locate source material and submit necessary benchmark materials.

I have reformatted much of the information presented/handed out by Ms. Nelson, who conducts the first portion of the research paper while we are in the media center. This is why this email has not arrived to you sooner. The documents included in this email will help you and your student understand the various steps they need to complete to stay up to speed and complete work in a timely fashion. Yesterday (4/4/2011) was our last day in the media center (during our regularly scheduled language arts class) - this means students will have to take their own initiative (with our help) to complete any portion of the research paper which should have been completed using our time in the media center and its resources.

It is important that students get up to speed as quickly as possible and stay on task, so that they can take advantage of time and opportunities presented to them in future classes. Obviously they will be unable to read, make note cards, or begin an outline if they don't obtain proper/pertinent source material (i.e. books, journals, articles, web content, ect.). Having this material is absolutely crucial for their success, and the more source material/information they have the easier it is to draft the paper. In addition, they are learning and must cite this information in a bibliography.

Following is an outline of benchmarks and resources to help you and your student:

Click here to download a copy of the 6th Grade Research Paper Scoring Rubric.
http://www.box.net/shared/j70ynsfurg

NOTES:

* The highest possible score for a research paper’s final draft is (20) twenty points – where a student receives a (4) four, the highest score, in each category.
* Students will receive additional points for staying on task and completing benchmark deadlines – for example: finding source materials, completing source cards on time, completing their Easybib.com bibliography on time, completing portions of their rough draft on time.
* Students who plagiarize work or submit work that is not their own will receive harsh penalties on their final grade for the research paper.


March 14th-18th - We started with a pre-quiz to see what students already knew about research papers. Then we discussed what a research paper is, why research papers are useful, and how they are used academically. We proceeded to read chapter 11 in our text books, which discusses the various steps and components of a research paper and even models an example of a good research paper. Students were directed to start thinking about topics that would be interesting to them. It was suggested that they pick a topic that is interesting to them, but that they know little about. The topic should not be too narrow or obscure (a'la painite), nor should it be too broad (World War II). A good topic will be interesting and accessible to the student and have multiple source materials that can be easily gathered and understood.

This is a link to download the pre-quiz we took on research papers.
http://www.box.net/shared/kl6usb6xqa

March 21-25 - Students have selected research topics and were introduced to the Brooks Media Center's resources. Ms. Nelson conducts these classes and explained what are considered quality/credible sources in both print and on the internet. Students were directed to find at least four sources on their research topics (2) two books/print sources,(1) one encyclopedia source, and (1) web/internet source. Obviously, it is strongly encouraged that students find additional source material outside of school - considering the limitation of the schools media center. Additionally, students who were unable to find sufficient source material were encouraged to change their research topic to something more manageable.

As students located source material they were taught how cite their sources using media source cards in the library. Filling out these cards was a benchmark requirement for the research paper. Citation cards can be acquired in the media center, however - I have also created a source card download that has an example of each type of source card as well as a website evaluation form.

If your student has missed either of these benchmarks they can download these forms from this email or my blog to complete and turn in. Students who were not absent or failed to take advantage of class time will be penalized for late work. Excused absences will be given extensions to complete benchmarks.

Download a copy of the blank source card examples here.
http://www.box.net/shared/7vcg3zcyrl

Download a copy of the website evaluation form here.
http://www.box.net/shared/o0oghy9stt

Students were encouraged to gather additional source material or review existing source material over the spring break so that they would be prepared to begin making note cards upon their return to school.

April 4th-8th - Students should have gathered all their source material and have it properly cited on citation cards. Students should have also completed website evaluation form and had any websites they are using as sources approved by a teacher. Ms. Nelson gave students a lesson on how to properly create and organize note cards. Students will be working on note cards in language arts this week, and will need to come to class prepared with all their source material, index cards or some other kind of note card and something to write with. The note cards will be key for students to effectively begin their research paper's rough draft.

NOTES:

* Note cards should contain facts from their source material and indicate which source it came from. Ms. Nelson modeled this process and students had to take notes on the process to before being allowed to use media center resources.
* Note card facts should not be complete sentences copied out of their sources material. This is because when it comes time to write the paper - short, incomplete blurbs will help student create sentences using their own words, rather then copying source material.
* Students should have roughly 20 note cards from each of their sources. 80 total cards is considered the minimum number of cards required to complete their outline and ultimately their research paper. This is a benchmark skill.
* Each note card should contain a different fact. There is no point for duplicate cards stating identical facts. The idea is to have a wealth of different information and facts to be organized into categories and eventually paragraphs.

Students were also taught how to create a bibliography using the website EasyBib.com. The process is very simple when students have their source cards filled out in advance. Students simply input the information on their source cards into the proper fields and the website saves and generates a printed bibliography. Completing a bibliography in the media center was also a benchmark task.

Directions to help you and your student complete these benchmarks outside of school can be downloaded here. This download includes step by step directions on how to use EasyBib.com, organizing note cards and how to use Webspiration (a program which helps organize facts/ideas into an outline).

I have put together a helpful guide on how to use EasyBib.com, Webspiration (for outlining), and how to organize note cards. This document should prove quite useful and address questions your student (or you) might have regarding organizing and formatting information for bibliographies and outlines.

Click here to view or download a copy of this helpful document.
http://www.box.net/shared/s671bah7l6

Please encourage your student to stay on task and use class time wisely. Additionally, I have encouraged students to begin writing as soon as they have completed their outline. Writing a paragraph or two each night is much more manageable then trying to type an entire paper in one or two evenings.

Thanks for all your help - please don't hesitate to contact me with further questions or comments. This email will also be posted on my blog.

Sincerely,


Mr. Madel

6.1 Language Arts
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
jmadel@op97.org