Research Projects

Completing a research project can be a very difficult task for all students, but particularly for EAL students. Here are 5 suggestions to help EAL students complete a research project well and without plagiarism, whether it is a project on weather for grade 10 science, STIs for grade 11 phys ed, or Aboriginal Peoples for grade 11 history.

1. Explicitly model/teach the research skills you want students to do (note-taking, organizing info, summarizing, quoting, citing sources). Don’t assume students have learned these skills in another class.

2. Eliminate the need for students to use Google to find information. Find research materials at an appropriate reading level that you want EAL students to use and provide them with a photocopy or printout. Students cannot paraphrase or summarize information that they can’t understand. If the reading level is too difficult, students are forced to copy.

** We I would be happy to help you find resources that would be appropriate for EAL students, please don’t hesitate to ask! **

3. Show an example of what a completed project looks like.

4. Create a checklist of the steps that are needed to complete the project. As students complete each part, check their work to make sure they are on the right track.

5. Have students complete their written work during class time, using paper and pen. I find that when students complete their notes and rough copy by hand they are less likely to copy – it may still happen but it is less likely. Using a computer makes copy/paste so easy and many students will do this if they can.

I’ve included 2 attachments that you might choose to use with students.

1. Research Note-taking and Summary Page (a 1 page handout for students to take notes, write a summary, and complete a citation – I used this with my EAL class when we did research about Aboriginal Peoples)

Research note-taking frame
 

2. Research Organizer (a 1 page handout to show the overall organization for a research paper or essay – students in my grade 12 anthropology class were required to complete and hand this in with their research paper. It’s also a great way to make sure students are on track before they begin writing!)