By now, you know how much I love making writing fun. Sometimes, it's with a video, a game, or an art connection. Making learning exciting is what keeps my students engaged! So, as I began introducing this research assignment, I started looking up ways to add an art connection, and I came across Pop Art! SO FUN!! We used oil pastels for this piece, but you could use markers or crayons, too. It really made the entire project complete, and everyone loved getting to stop in the hall and learn about some of the most famous role models and leaders in history.
Section 4 in your Informational/Opinion Guides is all about Research. What is great is that many of the skills that we used in our research essay we had already learned in informational writing. I spent most of my time teaching students how to take notes from the information that they were reading in their research and then teaching them how to put it into their own words for their essays. Once my students finished their research, I used the 7-day process timeline to put together the finished product. I LOVE using the process piece because it keeps ME on a timeline:) and we don't end up dragging an essay out for an entire month. Here are a few pics of the finished product and a student sample of the finished research paper.
So, if you are looking for a fun and engaging project this February, look no further! This lesson can be used for anything your students are learning about in any class. I always try to tie in major holidays and topics that they are learning about in science and social studies.
