BIG 6 Research Project:

5th Grade CLUE class research paper on the brain

Michelle Allen
ICL 7133 - School Library Administration
Fall 2016

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 The fifth grade CLUE class is doing a unit on the brain. The teacher and I are collaborating
on the lesson. The teacher is wants the students to write a 5 paragraph paper on a part of the
brain. The teacher would like a lesson from me on how to conduct research and take notes on
note cards. Prior to the lesson, I presented to the teacher a list of bibliographic list of resources
that the class had access to and would complement the project (see list below). I presented the
research session on Wednesday, October 26, 2016. At this time the teacher had not reveled to
the students their specific research question. I took the opportunity of them not knowing their
assignment, to teach them about forming their own topic. The theme was the brain, so I began
my presentation teaching the student how to narrow a topic. During this portion of the lesson
the CLUE teacher gave them the task of choosing a part of the brain from a list of my keywords
and assigned each student a part of the brain. They were to write about the functions of their
part of the brain.

Step 1:
I began by asking the students to reword and clarify their assignment. I explained that
sometimes research questions have multiple parts and are not often as easy to understand
what is being asked of them. I asked the students to define the word functions. I explained
that a dictionary might be needed to define unknown terms in a research assignment, especially
if they were unfamiliar with the topic. The students had already been learning about the brain in
CLUE class so we brainstormed possible subject terms to search for in books or online sources.
I showed the powerpoint slide where I had listed possible terms. I explained that too broad a
term would produce too much information both in a online search and be too much for a 5
paragraph paper. I showed a website that explained too broad and too narrow a topic.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.) Research Topic Triangle. Retrieved from http://
www.ibiblio.org/team/research/loc/restri.html

Step 2:
The students and I decided on the encyclopedia, databases, books and internet sources
when we brainstormed what we could use and what we had access to. In finding sources for
the students, I discovered that Macon-Hall Elementary Library had no books on the brain. In
order for the students to have books to work with, I had gotten several books from Memphis
Public Library that were on their tables for them. I explained that when choosing books,
especially for science related topics, the books had to be current. I showed them the list of
copyright dates on the resource list and explained that I tried not to get books that were older
than 5 or 10 years because there are always new developments in the studies of disease. I
gave an example related to the brain that the discoveries and theories on Alzheimers has
changed drastically over the years.

Step 3:
I presented the students with the resource list I created for them as a starting point in their
research (see below). The students began by using the encyclopedia and looking for their
specific part of the brain. The encyclopedia only had general information on the brain. The
students research topics were on very specific parts of the brain. We then turned to the books
from the public library and I instructed them to look in the index for their search terms. The
books had only one students topic, on the cerebellum. The students decided to use the books
and the encyclopedias for a general understanding of the brain. We decided to widen our
search and perhaps broaden our topics and look in online databases. I did a mini-lesson on
how to use the Tennessee Electronic Library and the students were able to grasp how to use

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the source and do the research quickly. We choose articles that seemed relevant and were in
their Lexile level or slightly above. I guided them to Gales Student Resources in Context,
because I like how the articles have a symbol on the side that denotes the difficulty of the
article. One student had the subject parietal lobe and the subject was too narrow for both the
books and the database articles. She and I did a breakout session in which we looked for
websites on her topic. I explained that when choosing to use a website to use she had to look
for accuracy in the facts presented in the website, to make sure the authors of the website
knew the subject they were writing about and that the information was current. She did the
search and chose about.com and we verified that the information was very current because it
said it was last updated February 17, 2016.

Parietal Lobes of the Brain. (2016). About.com Education website. Retrieved from http://
biology.about.com/od/ Brain/fl/Parietal-Lobes-of-the-Brain.htm

Step 4:
I passed out several blank index cards to each student. I used the links on the powerpoint to
show how to make a source card for each resource and how to take notes on the card and
number the card to refer back to the source card.

CRLS Research Guide. (n.d.). Making Source Cards. Retrieved from http://
www.crlsresearchguide.org/04_Making_Source_Cards.asp

CRLS Research Guide. (n.d.). Making Note Cards. Retrieved from http://
www.crlsresearchguide.org/12_Making_Note_Cards.asp

We talked about giving credit to ideas found inside the books and databases. I showed the
students examples of a citation in MLA format. I pointed out that in my graduate classes we use
a style called APA and that I created the class resource page in APA. I am sure some of this
was unclear to them. So, I also pointed out how the articles will often have a citation at the
bottom that could help guide them. I let them know that for 5th grade we are just learning how
to cite, but that in high school and college citation gets serious and can be complex when trying
to find out the correct format to cite resources. I stressed that the purpose was to give credit for
the authors ideas in the books they were using and correct formatting will come with time and
knowledge.

Step 5:
I gave the students and overview of how to use graphic organizers to organize their paper
into ideas that would form the paragraphs. I showed them a website that had several graphic
organizers.

Writing Design Online. (n.d.). Analyze Graphic Organizers. Retrieved from http://
www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/analyze.html

The students then took their information back to their classroom to work on continuing to
research. They will write their paper on their own at home.

Step 6:
The students will reflect on the process of their first research paper. They will give their
teacher feedback on what they learned about how to organize those thoughts into a research

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paper. They will state what they may do differently the next time they have a research
assignment. The teacher will share this information with the me. I will order current books on
the brain for Macon-Hall library for next years assignment. The teacher and I will met to
discuss what worked and what we could do differently when we collaborate on this project next
year.

Resources

Big6 website. (2014). Retrieved from http://big6.com/

CRLS Research Guide. (n.d.). Making Source Cards. Retrieved from http://
www.crlsresearchguide.org/04_Making_Source_Cards.asp

CRLS Research Guide. (n.d.). Making Note Cards. Retrieved from http://
www.crlsresearchguide.org/12_Making_Note_Cards.asp

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.) Research Topic Triangle. Retrieved from http://
www.ibiblio.org/team/research/loc/restri.html

Writing Design Online. (n.d.). Analyze Graphic Organizers. Retrieved from http://
www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/analyze.html

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 CLUE Brain Unit Resource List
Books

Furgang, K. (2001). My brain. New York: PowerKids Press.

Mason, P. (2016). Your mind-bending brain and networking nervous system: Find out how
your body works! New York, NY : Crabtree Publishing Company.

Newquist, H. P., Kasnot, K., & Brace, E. (2004). The great brain book: An inside look at the
inside of your head. New York: Scholastic Reference.

Gardner, J. P. (2014). Take a closer look at your brain. Mankato, MN : The Child's World.

Stewart, M. (2014). How is my brain like a supercomputer?: And other questions about ... the
human body. New York: Sterling Childrens Books.

Kuskowski, A. (2013). Cool thinking: Healthy & fun ways to train your brain. Minneapolis,
Minn: ABDO Pub.

LeVert, S. (2002). The brain. New York: Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish.

Hayhurst, C. (2002). The brain and spinal cord: Learning how we think, feel, and move. New
York: Rosen Pub. Group.

Farndon, J. (2000). The big book of the brain: All about the body's control center. New York:
Peter Bedrick Books.

Encyclopedia Articles

Brain. (2016) In World Book Kids. Retrieved from http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/

home#article/ar830304

Striedter, G. F. (2016). Brain. In World Book student. Retrieved from

http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar073880

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brain. (2015). In Britannica Student Encyclopedia: An A to Z Encyclopedia. Chicago:
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITKE&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CFMMDFF933905503&asid=010f61c139c6abd5129e6a263a90b017

Brain. (2015). In A. H. Blackwell & E. Manar (Eds.), UXL Encyclopedia of Science (3rd ed.).
Farmington Hills, MI: UXL. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/
ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Reference&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId
=SUIC&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-
query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE
%7CCV2644300188&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&sourc
e=Bookmark&u=tel_s_tsla&jsid=2a2f7973aa6b66d5dcba7e9b66821387

brain. (2016). In The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University
Press. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=MSIC&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA69021204&asid=af6c52ec6616f9372713a36f5d7b9ce9

Tesar, J., & Bunch, B. (2001). Brain. In The Blackbirch Encyclopedia of Science & Invention.
Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITKE&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CADIYFP342853262&asid=5af89e610a01f3aa74ff2ac5393188e0

Diagrams

Diagram of Human Brain. (2014). In Kids InfoBits. Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/
ps/i.do?p=ITKE&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CQVHCXM798050404&asid=a2716b900cef2c021b6b18e05383ccee

Unlabeled Diagram of Human Brain. (2014). In Kids InfoBits. Gale. Retrieved from http://
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITKE&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CETEWZF159848627&asid=daa3ab74e33d54c2cdc6c7363dd84645

Pictures

Tesar, J., & Bunch, B. (2001). Human Brain. In The Blackbirch Encyclopedia of Science &
Invention. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/
ps/i.do?p=ITKE&sw=w&u=tel_s_tsla&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CKPUBXH026701119&asid=0808f9571fdd74a97f85b41165a997b2

Scan of Brain Showing Tumor. (2009). In Kids InfoBits Presents. Diseases and Disorders.
Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

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