Corps of Discovery Research Procedures

Corps of Discovery Research Procedures

Lesson I Gathering information

• What do I Know? Brainstorm what is already known

• What do I Want to Know? Brainstorm what you would like to know and read through the animal criteria sheet to see what you have to know by the end of the report

• What did I Learn? When answers are found, write in Learn column. This can be done after the report is done and you begin to prepare for the Power Point™ presentation.

**Go to Word and create a three column sheet, labeling K, W, L at the top.

Lesson II Note taking techniques

Keeping notes on note cards

How to keep bibliography information using Citation Machine

Create using this tool (found on Research Links, then to Study Helpers), then cut and paste to note cards.

**Keep a listing of these citations SAVED on a word document for later use when you do your bibliography for the Power Point presentation.

Keeping notes on note cards

Label card in upper right hand corner with the letters A, B, C, etc. Each letter of the alphabet will stand for the first, second, third resource used.

First card from a resource will look like this:

Weaver, Dorothy Hines. Arizona A to Z. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing Co., 1992.

Second card from that same resource will look like this:

How can I use an alphabet book?

(question on one side of the card)

(Answer then is written on the other side of the note card)

**All note cards should have only one main fact per card. We read for information, then turn that information into a question (to avoid simply copying from a book), then answer is written in short sentence fragment, or list on the other side of the card. Answers do not need to be in complete sentences.

Next card with second resource would look like this:

B

Johnson, Richard E.. Elk in Arkansas. Little Rock: Arkansas Press, 1998.

Bibliography information

At least 3 different kinds of resources should be used. The following bibliographic information will be needed:

A book with one author: (called a "trade book")

Weaver, Dorothy Hines. Arizona A to Z. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing Co., 1992.

A book with more than one author (called a "trade book")

Weaver, Dorothy Hines, and Kay Wacker. Using an Alphabet Book. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing Co., 1994.

An article from an magazine, brochure, or atlas

Roadrunner, Rod. "How to Catch Wiley Coyote." The Bird Watcher Journal 12.4 (1994): 6.

Encyclopedia or other reference (This includes CD encyclopedias or encyclopedias on-line).5

"Arizona." Encarta. 1995 ed. 1995.

Internet sites of information (date at the end refers to date you visited the site)

Bruckman, Amy. "Approaches to Management in Arizona." Arizona Conservation April 1994. 5 Feb 2001 <http://www.arizona_state_archives.gov/pub/u/Imp/muddes/essay>.

Web page

Wassner, Sarah. "Bear Mail." 26 October 2004. National Geographic Kids News. National Geographic for Kids. 15 Dec. 2004 <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/10/bear.html>.

Lesson III Organizing information

• making an outline of notes

Lesson IV Preparing the written report

• using outline of notes

• preparing PP planning worksheet

Lesson V Preparing the Power Point Planning sheet
deciding on content per slide

Lesson VI Preparing the Power Point

• deciding background design, font

• typing slides, transitions

• rehearsal

• bibliography