Assignment 2.2 – Generative Topic Statement

September 15, 2007

1. What is the topic of your curriculum unit?
The Research Process – Can You Dig It?

2. Please explain why you think your topic is "Generative".
In learning the research process, one of the elements that is most important for students to understand is how to “dig up” the important information from the countless sources of information that are available to them. While learning the research process, students will apply the writing process that they have learned in Language Arts, and they will research a topic that connects with their Social Studies curriculum. As an extension of the research process, they will also have the opportunity to examine real world problems and possible solutions. The majority (although, not all) of the research the students will do will be online, which is what initially will make this topic highly interesting to them. It seems that at this age (6th grade), anything that involves the internet is highly interesting.

3. Why do you believe the curriculum topic you have chosen is appropriate for your students?
The research process is something that students will use not only throughout their school years, but throughout their lives. The ability to utilize traditional reference tools (encyclopedias, reference books) and more importantly in this day and age, the internet, for investigative purposes is invaluable. It is important for young adults to learn how to evaluate the validity of websites, and pull from them information that will be organized in a formal research paper.

4. Describe the ways in which the topic you have chosen is interesting to you as the teacher.
I love to teach students to write. So the fact that the research process will culminate in a written composition is one thing that excites me about the topic. I thoroughly enjoy teaching students how to organize the research in the best possible way (which I never learned growing up). The method that I will use is different than the traditional index cards for each source which most adults used in school. Knowing that this is a skill that students will use for the rest of their lives also brings a rewarding feeling to this unit. When I was a student, I was one who often asked, “Why do I need to know this?” With this topic, there are countless real world applications and reasons for students to need a solid understanding of the research process.

5. What do you believe are the "Enduring Understandings" for this topic?
Enduring understandings in the research process:
Students will think critically to evaluate the validity of a source before taking important information from that source.
Students will understand that ownership applies to creative thought as well as tangible items.
Students will understand the importance of following a process to achieve a desired result.In addition to these understandings, students will have individual enduring understandings about their individual research topic. They will understand the culture, economics, geography, and sociology of the country that they research. The students have had an introduction to the writing process in Language Arts so we will be reinforcing their prior knowledge, and the subjects that they will research will come directly from their Social Studies curriculum. So it will provide them with a preview or review depending on the country that they choose to research. One more thing I love about this topic is the interdisciplinary aspect.