Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Getting Ready for Research, Part 1

Since the 2019-2020 school year marks the 10th Anniversary
of this blog, on Fridays, I’m resurrecting and updating old posts that sparked
a lot of conversation or that still have a lot to offer people teaching or
writing nonfiction. Today’s essay is the first in a six-part series that
originally appeared in spring 2016.


Here are some words I associate with the act of
researching:

–Treasure hunt

–Discovery

–Exploration

–Curiosity

–Fascinating facts

–Prospecting for rare nuggets of knowledge

–Developing unique perspectives 

–Books, databases, observations, interviews

–Travel


As you can tell from this list, I enjoy the
process. So when Ellen Brandt, the Teacher-Librarian at Westford Middle School
in Westford, MA, shared this word cloud based on words her sixth graders
associate with the act of researching: 


I was surprised and disappointed and confused.
Why did these students have such a negative attitude about what I consider a
fun adventure? 


Are these students alone? 


Unfortunately, they aren’t. The more I talked
to educators about my concern, the more I realized that Ellen’s students aren’t
an exception. They’re the rule. 


Why, I wondered, didn’t students enjoy the hunt
for rare nuggets of knowledge? As I searched for an answer, I started looking
closely at the kinds of research experiences elementary students are having. 


At many schools, early elementary students are
handed fact sheets. For them “research” consists of picking facts off that
sheet and incorporating them into a report. Older elementary students are often
given a list of acceptable websites and told to use only them. 


Suddenly, the word cloud started to make sense. Students were bored because they weren’t doing
authentic research. 


Real research is active and self driven. It
requires creative, out-of-the box thinking. That’s what makes it engaging.


But in the same burst of understanding, I
recognized the heart of the problem. It’s difficult to create authentic
research experiences for early elementary students.


And so, I asked myself a question: Is there a
fun way to teach research skills—visual literacy, information literacy, digital
literacy, critical thinking—to early elementary students without actually doing
research? 


I think the answer is “yes!” and for the next
few weeks, I’m going to share some ideas with you.

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