Research Outline
The NC Department of Public Instruction,
English Language Arts, suggests the following outline for research on any project
for students. This is because when content is new, students must be guided in
relating the new knowledge to what they already know, organizing, and then practicing
that new knowledge. Knowledge can be of two types: declarative (i.e., attributes
and rules) or proocedural (i.e., skills and processes). Items of this type are
factual, content-specific, and focus on recall of critical information, concepts
and procedures. Please look over the following outline and try to use it in conjunction
with AG's COOL Activities.
Any activity within AG's COOL will
have all the necessary information within the website written by the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. If additional research is done
to expand knowledge and research skills, please use the following READING outline.
Before Reading
- What is the title? Look at the
title an/or cover. What do you think the article/ book/webpage is about?
- Read the book jacket or cover
summary. Talk about what you think the article/book/webpage is about.
- Based on what you see, do you
want to read the article/book/webpage?
- Read the first two or three pages
(paragraphs with an article) of the article/book/website. Then discuss your
feelings about the book/website, your desire to continue or not continue reading
the book/website. Discuss your initial predictions and if you were surprised
with what happened. What do you think will happen next?
During Reading
Stop after the first chapter, first
few pages or paragraphs for an article. Discuss the following:
- Where your predictions correct?
- What has happened so far?
- Are you still interested in the
book/webpage?
- What has kept your interest so
far?
- What do you think will happen
next?
- What do you want to know now?
- If you were to summarize the book,
what two or three things would you tell a friend?
- Were there any difficult parts?
How did you handle them? What else could you do?
- Has the book surprised you? If
so, how?
- Rate the book/webpage/article
on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being low and a 10 high. Give reasons for your
rating.
- Would you recommend the book to
a parent, friend, or anyone else? If so, what about the book/webpage/article
captured and maintained your interest?
- If you were to tell a friend about
the book/webpage/article what would you say?
- What would you change about the
book/webpage/article?
- Do you know if something similar
in real life has happened to you or to someone you know. Tell about it.
- Have you learned anything? If
so, what have you learned?
- Is this book/webpage/article like
any other book that you have read?
- Would you read the book/webpage/article
again? Why or why not?
Some other tips on what to look
for when researching.
Accuracy
- Who is the author?
- Is the author well qualified to
write about this topic?
- Does the book/website/article
provide up-to-date information? (Check publishing date)
- Does the author let you know when
he/she is stating a fact or expressing an opinion?
Style
- Is the author's style clear and
direct?
- Was information well organized?
- Is the information told straight
to you or is it given in story form?
- Does the book/webpage/article
make you want to learn more about your topic?
Illustrations
- Were illustrations used?
- Did the author use diagrams, photographs,
maps, charts, graphs, tables?
- If so, did these help you to understand
the text better? If labels and captions were used, did they help?
Organization
- Did you use the Table of Contents
or the Index if available?
- Did they help you find information
quickly?
- Did headings and sub-headings
help you to "see" what was in the book/webpage/article?
Other Links
AG's
COOL NCDPI Approved Teacher Tips Page
To
Teacher's Home Page
To Ag's Cool
Home Page