Bly - LA 7

Here is a video on taking notes for research to help with your work at home. Taking notes for Research

The next step of the research assignment will be to take research notes from the information the students have found. Here is the rubric the students can use to ensure they are taking strong notes.  This will be evaluated in the upcoming days.    Criteria  4 3  2  1 0 Quality and quantity of relevant   information to complete   assignment. Evidence of supporting examples Amount of relevant   information shows strong research skills. Research includes at least three specific examples/evidence per research question Appropriate   amount of relevant information. Research includes some specific examples/evidence Adequate amount of information All facts may not be relevant / connected. Few specific supporting examples Minimal and/ or irrelevant information. Insufficient infor...

Sources for research and investigation: In class we discussed the difference between a good source and a bad one.    Here are some of the words the students came up with and examples to distinguish between the two. Good source:    reliable, informative, unbiased (tells both sides and sticks to facts), official, not open to the public for editing, trusted and verified. All sources from Learn Alberta Online Reference Center are verified  Learn Alberta - Online reference center Ex: published books, textbooks, trusted newspapers (Globe and Mail), government broadcasts (CBC), journal articles, encyclopedias, trusted magazines (National Geographic) and official website (NASA). Bad source: not trustworthy, biased, inappropriate, open to the public for editing, fake, unverified and personal. Ex: personal blogs and websites, social media (twitter, instagram), unofficial websites, opinion articles, very dated material (depending on the topic)...

Thank you to everyone who came to interviews.  It was nice to discuss everyone's progress!  I had a few requests for recommended book lists. Here are a few links to websites that provide strong recommended lists for middle school students: Good Reads for Middle School Students Top 100 Middle School Reads Scholastic Top Picks for Middle Schoolers

Here are a few ideas for students to organize their brainstorming around their investigation

Investigation questions 4 3 2 1 A variety of questions are posed on topic and categorized appropriately. This includes knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation questions A variety of questions are posed on topic. This includes knowledge, application and analysis questions Some questions are posed with supporting prompts.   or questions are all yes or no/knowledge based Questions are not on topic or connected Examples of questions: Knowledge: How much snowfall did we have in November? Application: What happens to the city when we have a huge snowfall? Analysis: How can we support the citizens of Calgary to remain safe and keep the city running effective? Evaluation:   What is the best method of planning for the city when there is a huge snowfall? *This is the first part of our inquiry topic.  All students have a good head start...

The students are looking at different levels of questioning to begin an investigative piece of writing.  Here a link of that addresses the different levels we discussed.  Questioning