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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Asking Probing Questions and Choosing a Research Topic

For Teachers 6th Standards
Begin the writing journey of an evidence-based essay detailing a rule to live by with various activities to familiarize learners with the topic and jump-start brainstorming. First, pupils take part in an in-depth review and discussion of...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Worksheet for Choosing a Research Paper Topic & Developing a Thesis Statement

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
How do you choose a research topic? This helpful graphic organizer is provided to aid middle and high schoolers in organizing their initial thoughts and choosing a topic. They have to narrow their topic by culture, time frame, event,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tasty Topics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze a graphic from an article and predict what the article might be about. After reading an article, they discover a journalist's experience of traveling across the United States to compare fast food restaurants. They...
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Lesson Plan
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NPR

Teaching Podcasting: Choosing a Topic

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pick a topic, any topic! Working in small groups, scholars choose three topics they think would make interesting podcasts. Next, each group shares their ideas with the class to narrow down their choices.
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Researching and Narrowing Topics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Internet research is becoming more common, so why not conduct an online research project in your classroom? Use this resource to get you and your class started. The lesson includes basic instructions and a list of questions to help...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Engineering Brainstorming

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here is a lesson that offers a great hybrid of forming new skills and using current knowledge to come up with a plan. The class brainstorms information they would need to know or already know about hybrid vehicles. They then group the...
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PPT
Curated OER

Geography Project: Australia

For Students 3rd - 5th
A presentation packed with project ideas and research questions encourages viewers to use images to describe Australia's climate, leisure activities, location, interesting facts, culture, and landmarks.  Learners combine technology and...
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Activity
Tennessee Technical University

Carousel Brainstorm

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A variation of the Walkabout Review process, carousel brainstorming directs groups to rotate through a series of stations posting ideas on the topic or question posted at each stop. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Research Skills: Evaluating Information and Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th
While this focuses on Ancient Rome, the objectives are improved research and information evaluation skills. In one class period, class members narrow their topic, research it, select the best information, log useful sources, and discuss...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brainstorming Research Questions

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Students examine and participate in an inquiry process. They brainstorm recall, comprehension, and synthesis questions for a research topic, and write the questions on sentence strips.
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Presidential Candidate Research

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...
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Organizer
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Student Handouts

The Five W's and How

For Students 2nd - 7th Standards
Here is a great graphic organizer for ensuring that young researchers and writers cover all their bases when brainstorming a topic by considering the five W's (who, what, where, when, and why) and how.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Antonia: K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use the well-known KWHL chart as a tool for building up to a research project and oral presentation related to Willa Cather's My Antonia. Starting with a class brainstorm, pupils research and gradually narrow down topics relating to...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

The Keepers of the Gate Challenge

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Help your class make a connection between salt water and nanoscience. In the introductory lesson of a seven-part unit, the class explores why salt water helps a sore throat feel better. Pupils conduct preliminary research about the...
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Handout
ProCon

Is Homework Beneficial?

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Does homework improve student achievement, or does it increase stress? Scholars use the included debate topics website to prepare for a class discussion or debate about whether homework is advantageous. After reading a brief background...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graphic Organizer: Research Note Taking Made Easy

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
What do you wonder about bats? Use an open-ended question like this to engage your class and interest them in an upcoming research project. There's a list of example questions to offer or suggest regarding bats, but see what they can...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Reading Preparation

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students research the English Renaissance era. For this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research them. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crocodiles

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Work on research procedures in this lesson, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources. They compare the...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Zach’s Lie: The K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Research Question

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students begin the process of completing a research project. Working in groups, students brainstorm various topics for research. After selecting a research topic, students begin to narrow the topic down and create a research question to...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Developing a Research Strategy - Define Your Topic

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Your budding scholars spent the day in the library looking for a topic for their research essay, and now they are all in tears because there is too much information available on their topics. Wipe those tears away with the ideas and...
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Lesson Plan
University of Wisconsin

BEAM: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Thinking of assigning a research paper? Get writers off on the right foot with a lesson that introduces the BEAM research model. Writers brainstorm the background of their topic, explicate the aspects of their topic, consider the...
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Organizer
ReadWriteThink

Concept Map

For Students K - 12th
When you think of one topic, related ideas and details invariably follow. That's concept mapping! Jot down ideas with a straightforward graphic organizer that works both electronically and as a printed resource.