UPDATE
I used this with my kindergarten classes this week as part of a research project I completed to model the Super 3 for them. It was extraordinarily simple and equally effective, I think. I plan to post the complete lesson plan in the future, but, in a nutshell, it went like this...
Lesson 1: "Plan"
I told them I wanted to learn what bats were like. We discussed what they already "knew" and why none of that information could be included because my facts needed to come from other sources. WE talked about the different formats in which sources come, and I told them that I'd only use books for this project. Then we looked at four bat books and discussed the characteristics of each (facts, fantasy, photographs, illustrations, etc.). We then categorized them into "fact books" and "imagination books," concluding that for my needs, I'd use the fact books.
Lesson 2: "Do"
I posted a poster of this chart and then completed the name and date. For the topic, I asked them what question I was trying to answer, and wrote "What are bats like?" We went ahead and wrote "books" in the source box - simple, but we're going to complete three of these this year, and I plan to ease into writing titles. I them read selected sentences from the bat books and asked them what facts I could write. After writing three (in our "own words"), I drew an illustration in the illustration box.
Lesson 3: "Review"
This is what we'll be doing next week. I plan to ask them, "How can I tell if I did a good job?" This will lead into a review of my research question, the sources I used, and the way I presented my information.
Super simple, but I think it is the beginning of my students being able to independently and effectively research topics in the future. Enjoy!
Yours happily ever after,
