Using Sentence Strips to Organize and Outline Research
Teacher: Renee Bacon
Grade: 3-5
Time Allotment: One Hour
Source:
Fink, Lisa Storm. (n/d.). Research Building Blocks, “Organize This!” ReadWriteThink. July 30, 2007. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=179
Wisconsin’s Model for Academic Standards in Information and Technology Literacy:
B.4.1 Define the need for information
B.4.2 Develop information seeking strategies
B.4.5 Record and organize information
B.4.6 Interpret and use information to solve the problem or answer the question
C.4.4 Demonstrate self-motivation and increasing responsibility for their learning
Goals:
In this lesson, students will learn how to organize the data they collect when they research subjects. They will learn how to organize an outline and how to sequence their ideas so that their outline has a clear structure to it.
Student Objectives
Students will:
create and use graphic organizers.
work with students to brainstorm category labels.
generate categories and subheadings.
sort note cards into categories or subheadings.
practice outlining skills.
Instructional Plan
Resources
Colored paper (four different colors)
Background Information
Related Lessons
Research Building Blocks: Hints about Print
Research Building Blocks: Examining Electronic Sources
Research Building Blocks: Notes, Quotes, and Fact Fragments
Research Building Blocks: Skim, Scan, and Scroll
Research Building Blocks: “Cite Those Sources!”
Activities
The way in which the following example is used to “discover” outlines can be adapted to any research topic. Modeling a topic in which all the class is involved will demonstrate the step-by-step procedure that can then be applied later by small groups or individuals as they work on their own projects.
Research Topic: Beluga Whales
Big questions/Categories:
What do Beluga whales look like? (Appearance)
How do Beluga whales behave? (Behavior)
Where do Beluga whales live? (Habitat)
What do Beluga whales eat? (Food)
Procedure
Hand out the Example Outline Format and explain that students will be making sentence strips for their research topic.
Model the activity by making a sentence strip and placing it on the board using the Beluga whale topic or one of your own choosing.
Record each big question or category on a different colored sentence strip and place it on the board.
Give members of the group or class colored sentence strips.
Remind students to match the color of the sentence strip on which the fact is written to that of the big question (category) it is about, recording only ONE fact fragment (note) on each strip. These do not have to be complete sentences.
Students bring their fact strips to the board and place them under the appropriate big question/category (same color strip) indenting them as in outline form.
After all strips are placed on the board, the sequence of the notes under a big question/category may be changed to place similar facts together.
Have the class get into four groups and have one group take each question and organize the facts under it so that their sequence makes more sense. This will help the facts flow once the students start writing. After each group sequences their question answers, regroup as a class and evaluate the outline as a whole to see if any re-sequencing is needed.Add the appropriate Roman Numerals (categories) and letters (notes) to create an outline form. (See Sample Outline on the Beluga whale.)
Remind the students that an outline highlights the essential information they want to include in their final product and helps organize their information. Modeling for students how to use an outline enables them to determine the sequence of their report. It is important for students to learn that they decide which information is most important for their readers to know at the beginning of the report, and to think about ways to make the report flow from section to section.
Have students practice outlines for the research topics they are working on and encourage them to consult each other about the sequencing of their outlines so that they can have feedback from their classmates and learn from each other.
Mini-lessons can be repeated for different topics until students become comfortable with the skill of outlining.
If this method of outlining and organizing information is not appropriate for your students, other graphic organizers are available on the World Wide Web.
Web Resources
- Graphic Organizers
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm - A bank of graphic organizers that can be used to outline information for report writing and more.
Student Assessment/Reflections As this is only one step in teaching the research process, students need not be graded on the activity. Continued practice using outlines and other graphic organizers on different topics, with teacher and peer feedback on in-process and finished outlines, would best benefit the student researcher. Final outlines turned in with the research report could then be graded based on accurate information and logical organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment