7th Grade Research Presentation Twelve Easy Steps 7th Grade Research Presentation

Your three tasks Gather information about a specific subject that you did not know before Organize that information into a well- written oral presentation Provide a visual aid for your presentation

Gather Information (Steps 1-5) 1. Narrow the topic 2. Make an “Outline Guide” 3. Select sources by skimming 5. Make Notecards 4. Make Source cards

Step 1: Narrow the topic Complete the “Brainstorm Funnels” Activity. Brainstorm things that interest you, but which you don’t know a lot about. Your topic must be either a person, place, or an event. You MUST be able to discuss how your topic affected society either positively or negatively. General Topic Narrow Topic

Step 2: Make an “Outline Guide” Complete an “Outline Guide” Worksheet. An outline guide identifies categories to guide your research. It will help you later to organize your “topic outline” and “presentation”. You will be considering topics of animals or people for your report. Look at the next page and choose two possible subtopics from the topic you chose; “Effects on Society” is a mandatory topic.

Step 2 (cont. ): Possible Subtopics. Location/Habitat Step 2 (cont.): Possible Subtopics *Location/Habitat *Physical Characteristics *Behavior *Diet *Reproduction/Raising their Young

Step 2 (cont.): Possible Subtopics for People *Childhood *Adult life *People/events that influence him/her *Accomplishments *Characteristics *Unusual or interesting facts

Step 3: Select sources by skimming Skim a possible source to see if it includes information about the three subtopics from your outline guide. Use these OPACs (online public access catalogs) to see if a PRINT source is available at either library destiny.gcjhs.k12.in.us (GCJHS library) hcplibrary.org (Hancock County Public Library) Required Sources You must have 4 sources minimum. Two of your sources must be a print source (book, encyclopedia, credible magazine, etc.). Two of your sources must be a web source. “Wikipedia” is NEVER an acceptable source.

Examples of Web Sources a-z-animals.com animals.nationalgeographic.com animalcorner.co.uk http://bioexpedition.com/animals/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/01/ (You can use other reputable websites, but this is a good start.)

People websites Biography.com Brittanica.com Encyclopedia.com http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia

Step 4: Make Source cards Complete a “Sources Worksheet.” Complete one bibliography card for each source. You should have 4 source cards minimum because you are required to have at least 4 sources. Use the information from your “Sources Worksheet” and format the citation correctly on a notecard. Pay close attention to the order of information and the punctuation used in your citation.

Source Cards (cont.)… The example in the box is what the citation on each card should look like... Book Name, Author’s. Title of Book. City Published: Publisher Name, Year of publication. Encyclopedia Name, Author’s. “Title of the Article.” Title of the Encyclopedia. Edition date. Page Numbers used. Brown, Sara. North American Plants. New York: Sunset Publishing, 1993. Wells, Jason T. “Poison Ivy.” Coffman Encyclopedia. 1994 ed. 985-987.

Source Cards (cont.)… The example in the box is what the citation on each card should look like... Magazine Name, Author’s. “Title of the Article.” Name of the Magazine. Date and volume number: pages of article. Website Name, Author’s. “Title of the Webpage.” Publication date: Site owner. Date of visit. <Web address.> Mason, Jim. “Poison Ivy.” Date unknown. Great Plains Nature Center. July 24, 2008. <www.gpnc.org/poinson.htm> Juarez, Ricardo. “The Basics About Poison Ivy.” America’s Favorite Campsites. May 1994: 68-69

Step 5: Make Notecards Complete minimum 20 notecards FRONT of notecard Write the title and author of the SOURCE. Also, write the subtopic and number the card (#1-20). BACK of notecard Write ONE USEFUL FACT from that source that would fit under one of your three subtopics.

Organize Information (Steps 6-12) #6. Organize and Number Notecards #9. Complete a Topic Outline Final Draft #10. Create a VISUAL AID #12. Present your presentation! #7. Write a Topic Outline Rough Draft #11. Practice your presentation #8. Peer Edit Topic Outlines

Step 6: Organize Notecards Sort the completed notecards into 3 piles (one for each of your three subtopics). Organize each pile according to the order that you want to present the information in for each subtopic. Stack the piles in order (subtopics #1-3). Beginning with the top card, number each to keep them in order. Store all note cards in a plastic zip-lock bag (please bring these from home).

Step 7: Write a Topic Outline Rough Draft The purpose of this outline is to transfer the information that you gathered from your notecards to a correct outline form. Read the handout titled “Tips for Writing a Topic Outline.” You may only use complete sentences on your Topic Outline for the Thesis Statement, Topic Sentences, and any direct quotations you use for your supporting details. All facts and details must be short phrases. Check your outline for spelling and grammar errors.

Order of the Presentation (same as an essay except you aren’t writing it all down word-for-word) Attention-getter, Smooth transition and brief introduction of animal THESIS STATEMENT Introduction Subtopics #1-3 Transition and Topic Sentence. Key Fact./Supporting Details Body Reworded Thesis Statement Why you chose this animal Summarize what you learned about the animal Why we should care about your animal Conclusion

Step 8: Peer Edit the Topic Outlines Complete an Editing Checklist. First, fill out the “Self-Edit” column of your Editing Checklist. Then, ask someone to peer edit your Topic Outline for you. You can ask a classmate, friend, parent, neighbor… whoever… as long as you think they will edit your outline properly and thoroughly. If you are peer editing for a classmate, please mark changes that need to be made on the rough draft and write comments when necessary.

Step 9: Complete a Topic Outline Final Draft Review the editing marks made on your Topic Outline. Make any necessary changes to your Topic Outline.

Step 10: Create a Visual Aid Choose one of the following options to create for your visual aid: PowerPoint Poster Chart/Graph Other (If you have a different, more creative idea for a visual aid, get it approved by me first and way ahead of time.) Your visual aid should be organized, appealing, and should demonstrate effort.

Step 10 (cont.): If you choose to do a PowerPoint, here are some guidelines: Your PP should be only 1-4 slides Your slides could include a title slide and one slide for each subtopic Your PP should NOT be in complete sentences. ***Do NOT read directly from your slides. Make the slides like you would make notecards, but speak like you are reading a formally written essay.***

Step 11: Practice your Presentation Your presentation should be 3 to 5 minutes long. Using your topic outline or your notecards, practice giving your speech just to yourself or with someone else. Practice talking in complete sentences.

Step 12: Present your work!!! Congratulations, you did it!!! You Are Here!

Assignment Checklist ____Brainstorm Funnels Activity Here is a list of all the items that you will turn in throughout this project for a grade. Use this as a checklist to make sure you follow the steps IN ORDER and ON TIME. ____Brainstorm Funnels Activity ____ Outline-Guide Worksheet ____ Sources Worksheet ____ Source Cards (3) ____ Notecard Cards (20) ____ Topic Outline Rough Draft ____ Editing Checklist ____ Topic Outline Final Draft ____ Presentation