Research projects are PERFECT for distance learning because it puts the child in charge of their own learning! The reason it is important for teachers like me, is our district decided teachers are not allowed to instruct on new academic content during this time of school closures. This was a result of not being able to insure everyone has access to the same material. So I thought, RESEARCH PROJECTS to the RESCUE! Besides, it's what I typically assign after state testing is over with anyway! So, who doesn't love going on the endless rabbit hunt from time to time when you start diving into a topic? GUILTY!! NOW is the time to get the students on that learning train! Go ahead, dangle that carrot in front of them if you have to, but kickstart that love for learning again by assigning a digital research project. Make sure you maintain parameters, of course! Just provide your class with a little bit of context, some suggested kid-friendly research websites, and an overarching topic. Watch my video to see how I kickstart the research phase of our Animal Research Project! In my opinion, animals and countries are great places to start when introducing research projects. Don't be afraid when you hear "research projects" and you think back to that dreadful semester-long project your high school English teacher assigned you. Think of what it looks like now in a 1:1 classroom setting or digital learning through Google Classroom. It can be as simple as a presentation you might create to teach your class about a new topic - but this time your students are teaching! What's the encyclopedia of modern times? The Internet!! And how do you begin that search? GOOGLE! Nobody does Ask Jeeves or Yahoo anymore. So utilize the research tools available inside Google Docs and Google Slides to set your students up for success in a research project! And if you're looking for some quality research projects, hurry up and check-out my digital resources by clicking the image below. I promise you with the cute template and 5 video tutorials included to set your students up for success, you'll definitely enjoy how simple it was to assign a research project: Until we meet again, have a beautiful rest of your day!
