Over the past few weeks, my sixth graders have been reading about wolves and engaging in collaborative discussions. My co-teachers and I focused on questioning as a reading and discussion strategy–using questions to probe for more information, to continue conversation, and to explore the content further.
Since the students already had a strong base of knowledge about wolves, the project was an easy match.
For the Wolves Research Project, students were asked to gather AT LEAST one book and one web source for their project. They had to write those resources on their Sources Sheet and determine if they were reliable.
From there, they started taking notes in their own words on a scaffolded notes sheet, and when they were finished, they would begin drafting their projects.
The final projects were creative, giving the students options to choose from to create ownership. They could organize their research into…
- Newspaper Article
- Press Release
- Photo Album
- Mini-Scrapbook
- Brochure
- Poster
- Facebook Page / Fakebook
- Mini-Textbook
- Breaking News Article
- Google Presentation
- Prezi
But before jumping into their actual project, they had to write out their notes in their own words–paragraph form–to make sure they were focusing more on what they were being assessed on, their informative writing, rather than just pictures and project designs.
This week is focused on the research and planning for the project.
Next week the students will shift from writing about their project to actually putting it together. Our hope is to have students revise and submit their final projects before Thanksgiving!
*To view/download the project assignment sheet and scaffolded notes sheet click here. Sources sheet, here.
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