Episode 279: A Research Unit Your Students Will Actually Enjoy

So definitely come back to this one when you can take notes , write some ideas down , et cetera . So I'm really excited to see how these ideas apply for you in your classrooms . If you actually utilize them , which we hope that you do , go ahead and send us a message over on Instagram at EB academics . All right , let's go ahead and listen in .

Hi there , Caitlin here . Our mission at EB academics is simple Help middle school ELA teachers take back their time outside of the classroom by providing them with engaging lessons , planning frameworks and genuine support so that you can become the best version of yourself both inside and outside of the classroom .

So if you think you might be ready to try something new , because you know you simply cannot continue the way that you have been that I'd invite you to take a moment to check out the EB Teachers Club , the EB Writing Program or the EB Grammar Program by visiting the links in the description of the podcast .

We hope to continue to support you within one of our programs in the future and in the meantime , we look forward to serving you right here on the podcast each week . All right , you guys , let's dive into this topic . It is that time of year where research units are upon us .

I cannot even tell you , when I was in the classroom my first couple of years , we had a research paper that was doing I taught juniors , so it wasn't like just like a little bit of a research paper , it was like a legit , full blown research paper that I hadn't teach these students how to write and I had no idea what I was doing .

My mentor teacher tried to help me with like research paper cards and like we would go to the library and we weren't even researching stuff online . Really , at that time I feel like am I really that old that we didn't utilize the internet ?

Because , I will say , one of the things that we notice , and that I notice with myself too , is that we often seem to assign like the similar kinds of research paper projects year after year , or research projects . Perhaps you're a fifth grade teacher and you do like a research brochure or whatever . It might be right . I remember my mom doing those first .

Each state we had at the fifth grade .

But if you are in a research paper rut and you've assigned like the same Ellis Island research paper every single year for the last six years , consider switching it up . Consider this like your wake up call , like , hey , come try something different , let's shake it up a little bit , right ?

Because , when it comes down to it , students can truly do a research paper on any topic , quite frankly , and in any capacity and any deliverable that you want them to do it , as long as there are some essential components , and that's what Megan's going to talk to you about .

And then Jessica is going to describe a really fun research project that's coming out for our EB Teachers Club members . But you can still utilize these concepts and take them and apply them to your own research unit that you're going to use with your students and your classroom . All right . So , megan , can you talk to us about some of these essential components ?

We want to make sure that we include you bet .

The second essential component are sources . So think about where are students finding the information to support their position ? Probably online these days , right , but you can use . You can use encyclopedias and books in the library . They're still there . You might be providing articles or books for them , so really guide them in where they're finding their sources .

The third essential component is evidence and justification . Students need opportunities to really gather relevant evidence that supports what they're researching , and they might need a place to put that evidence as well . So think about that .

The fourth essential component , then , is a works cited page , so students will need to document where their evidence came from so that they're not plagiarizing , and then ensure it's also trustworthy and valid information .

This is actually an issue we have coming up in May for our EB teachers club members and I am so pumped about it , like I think it is so much fun , and actually I haven't announced this yet . I mean , caitlin knows this , but I'm going to be homeschooling my oldest son starting Monday , like today's his last day at school and I'm super excited .

We're doing just ELA , like he'll go somewhere else for math , but anyway , I'm using this issue with him , like I'm use it before it gets released to our teachers . So I'll do like a preview of it , but I'm like we have to do this .

He's going to love it and this , again , coming from a fifth grade boy , this is going to be something he's into and that's what I'm excited about . Love it . How this research unit works is you're going to hook your students with like a really fun activity . You're not going to say , today we're going to start research , take out your note cards .

No , you're going to actually invite them to camp explore . So , eb teachers , again , this is all done for you , but you can absolutely create this on your own . Use the same camp name who cares ? So invite your students to camp explore and tell them it's a fictional two week sleepaway camp and they need to bring some important supplies with them .

Right , they are going to need a sleeping bag or hiking boots or whatever it is and tell them that they've all received a $150 scholarship to pay for those items . But the challenge is they need to find items that fit within that budget and that still work well for their camping needs . So of course they're going to have to research , right ?

That's where the research component comes in . So to get it , I'm just going to interrupt .

They can tell the you know other teachers like oh my God , we get to go do research , this is fun stuff . So you're going to read them a letter . If you want to get really into it , have the principal come in and read the letter , or do it over the intercom anything to like up the excitement . So I'm going to read it to you .

You can use this exact one with your own students . So you're going to say dear campers , get set for an incredible adventure at our fantastic summer camp . We're thrilled to invite you to camp explore , where every day brings new excitement and unforgettable memories .

Our camp will kick off on July 1st and we can't wait to see all your smiling faces Get ready for two weeks packed with exciting activities , new friends and outdoor experiences . Like already , if you don't tell your students that it's a fictional camp , they're probably going to be like wait , really , seriously , we're going to go in the outdoor ad .

A sturdy backpack to carry your essentials , a pair of durable walking shoes . We can't wait to embark on this incredible journey with you . Get ready for the best summer ever . So then you explain to students that they have this fictional $150 and they need to go find these items .

Then what you do for your students is you're going to provide them with newspaper ads , amazon printouts , because I get it , you don't want to just send your students off to the internet .

to be on time . Or do I want the boots from the garage sale that you know , maybe aren't the fanciest , but they're only $10 and I can have them today . So you'll have to prepare that stuff in advance . But again , it's not that hard . You're just writing like a very brief blurb for each item , and chatGPT could totally do this for you .

It is like every type of butter and he will stand there and stare at the butters for five minutes to picking which one is like the best one that has this , and then he's got to like , okay , well , I'm going to look at the protein and I'm also going to look at , like the sodium in it and is it worth the price .

It is a whole , everything , oh , whole situation with him and , bless his heart , I love him , but I'm like , bro , just pick a butter and like , let's move on , okay , but I love that you're saying this , though , because it just proves how practical this research unit is 100% using it , like basically you know when he goes to the store .

love it .

What I think is important to differentiate is you want to make it a little challenging , like have three or four different hiking boots they need to pick from , or four different options for a flashlight . So now they really are looking and analyzing like okay , does this arrive in time ? Is there a good review ?

Are batteries included with the flashlight or do I need a budget more for that ? Like all those different things . So they're really using critical thinking skills to analyze the ads and consider all the descriptions .

So what they do , though , is they're doing all this research . You want to have them organize it right . This goes back to what Megan was talking about . We've got our essential question of like what do I need to purchase for this camp , but now we're doing our evidence and we're figuring out our sources .

Is the Amazon review accurate , or should I buy from the store that's having the sale whatever it is ? And students can organize all their thinking in a comparison shark , and , again , you can have chat GPT create this for you .

In fact , when we were designing this issue for our EB teachers , I was working with Pat , our curriculum creator , and she was like I'm just not envisioning what this comparison chart can look like . Can you give me like a mockup ?

And so I went on chat GPT and I did a very basic mockup to show her , and I was like oh , actually , I'm really impressed with this .

And when you think about it , all of that information on the comparison page is kind of becoming your work cited page , because students are documenting where they are finding their evidence . It's just again done in a different way . And then students there's even a column where they , you know , mark which item did they purchase .

And then what you can have students do is share with the whole class and , like I was saying earlier , like it's okay if they have different answers , as long as they stayed within budget and there's logical reasoning . You know their items arrived in time or whatever . That's valid research right there , and they get to support their evidence with justification .

You can have them write it down , so it's more traditional , like a research paper , or you can have them just explain it orally and I just I think it's so much fun for students to do all this but then to like tie the whole unit together is you don't want them to be like well , but wait , we never went to camp , right , like you can tell .

You know there's going to be some kids who complain . So then what you can do is actually play a camp game with them . You can say you guys did such a great job , you all stayed within budget , you researched well , like all those good things , and then play something with them . So in our issue for our teachers , we have two like no prep games .

So I just want to share one with you . One is called Wa . Have either of you guys ever played this ? I've never heard of this either , but in my extensive research on camp games , this one was fun . So apparently it's like done a lot in youth ministry groups , like on YouTube . That's all the videos for it , gotcha . So it's super fun .

You stand in a circle and , like I might start with the Wa energy , and so I put my arms in the air like this and I pointed another person in the circle and I go Wa , and then that person does a certain movement and the two people next to them have to do the movement . It's very easy , just Google this game .

I'm not doing a great job explaining it , but there is absolutely zero prep involved and it's all about like paying attention and making sure you say Wa at the right time . I played this like I literally made Daryl and my three kids play with me the other day . And it was so funny because I wanted to see like , is this going to work for our teachers ?

And so we all played in the living room and Jameson and Davey caught on right away . Harper , right , she's five . She was having a little trouble and her Wa was always off and she would have been out every time . So we were like , Harper , you go be the judge . And she's like no , I don't have the Wa energy then .

And like so we just let her keep playing . But I'm like , okay , this is a fun activity . Your students will love it as kind of like a celebration to wrap up their research , because truly it is a rigorous unit and they're doing all the components they would in a typical research paper , just in a much more engaging way . So I hope you guys liked that .

We utilize it a ton at EV to start brainstorming ideas and things like that . It is such a great brainstorming partner for anything like literally anything . If you're not using chat GPT every single day , you're missing out . You could say , hey , what should I eat for dinner ? I'll give you ideas for dinner . I mean really anything that you can be using it for .

So , again , if you're an AB teachers club member , this episode airs at the beginning of April , so this research paper , or this research unit rather , is going to be available available for you on May 1st . So it's coming out soon . So mark your calendars .

And it includes even more fun than what Jessica explained , like there's a lot more obviously as a part of it . And if you're not a part of the AB teachers club , we hope we at least inspired you to come up with your own spin on this . You know , instead of your typical research project , that maybe you are used to using with your students .

So thank you guys so much for joining us for this episode and we hope that it was helpful for you . If it was , come let us know over on Instagram at ebacademics .

And the next episode next week we are talking about actually something really interesting and a little bit different , but we are looking at five different countries around the world and we're looking at what they are doing to support their teachers in the classrooms as a part of , like , mentorship and , you know , getting into the profession , all that stuff , so the

induction programs and things along those lines .

So we'll be walking you through that next week and it might be one of those episodes that you want to consider sharing with your principal or with your admin , because there are a lot of great takeaways that , even though we don't do them here as a whole , right across all of our states in the US , a lot of these things could be applied within your own

classroom , at your own district , at your own school site . So we will see you guys next week on the podcast . Thanks so much for joining us , everybody , and we'll see you later .