Main PageEnglish IJournalismContemporary Literature
|
Research ProjectThe beginning of the second semester will be devoted to the research unit. A number of different forms of the research paper have been done in this class in the past including the I-search and the traditional research paper. This year I intend to try another approach based on an idea a teacher shared with me when I attended the Dakota Writing Project. Students will be combining research of a historical event and writing a paper based on that research from the perspective of an eyewitness recalling the event. The character cannot be a major player in the event. For example, if you have received the topic of the Holocaust, students would write from the perspective of a survivor, a German soldier, an American soldier, or a German citizen. Students could not write as Hitler, Ann Frank, or any of the leaders of the concentration camps. Just like a traditional research paper, students will need to find valid sources, take notes, create a bibliography, and write a solid narrative incorporating the research. The goal is to involved students in the research process while engaging them in the written product. One major concern that rears its ugly head each year is the overwhelming amount of plagiarism that appears in a research paper. This form of research should eliminate copying and bump up the thinking skills students need to use to complete the work.
Assignment
sheet
Read Cindy Heckenlaible's article published by the National Writing Project related to this research project. Visiting teachers: Please not that what is here is not necessarily what I am using from year to year, as I tweak it to meet the needs of my students and/or to improve learning outcomes. Anyone who uses this information must do the following:
1. Inform me of its use
|