BE AN EXPERT
Research Project
Note cards due Wednesday,
May 10th
Papers due Monday, May
22nd
The Be An Expert Project will be our capping, year-end project.
Students will use research skills to become experts on their chosen topics. Be An Expert is
similar to our other projects, but open to any approved topic and with extended
requirements. Students may choose any researchable project idea that interests
them and is approved by families and me. The project will involve research at
home, school, and the public library; writing and preparation at home; and
presentations to our class and students’ third grade classes as well. Each of
the three major parts (note cards, papers, and presentations) will count as two
major grades, one in science (regardless of topics) and one in language arts.
Please pay
close attention to the requirements. The main reason for losing points on other
projects was a lack attention to the rubric requirements.
Please
start early. Research and note cards take time. Papers require organization,
grammar and punctuation appropriate to students’ best work, and documentation
of sources. Presentations should be planned and practiced.
Research overview:
We will
have at least two hours of computer lab time for Internet research and an hour
of research time in the school library. I am currently working on walking field
trips to the public library. However, depending on your student’s work habits
and the depth of understanding his or her project may require, additional
research will likely be needed outside of school. I highly recommend visiting
the public library, located next to the old CMS. It’s free; indeed you already
pay your share through local taxes. Internet access is available along with a
great number of books, about a third of which are aimed at kids. Going now will
help increase your student’s interest for summer visits—a great alternative to
TV and video games!
Topic ideas:
Find
something that interests you enough that you want to learn more about it. Topics
should be broad enough that students are able to find enough information, but
specific enough that students can become an expert. For example, instead of
doing “space,” which is too broad of a topic to know everything about in a
short time or “solar flares,” which may be too specific to find much
information on, try “Pluto,” “stars,” or “History of Space Exploration.” If you
are already an expert on a topic such as “horses” or “race cars,” then focus on
a more specific facet such as “horse health” or “history of racing.”
When I was
in elementary school, we had a similar project. I did gemstones one year,
bringing in my small rock collection for my presentation; model rocketry another
year, taking a video of model rocket launches to show; and aquariums another
year with pictures of my fish to share.
Presentation ideas:
Presentations
could include a poster, but there are many other ideas that may be more
suitable to your topic. For example, if you did your project on