Recommends having beginning journalism students conduct brief surveys to help them learn about data gathering and statistical analysis and to sensitize them to certain faults in surveys by the media. (TJ)

Flowcharting is combined with Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) to yield PER-flo, a flowchart that is calibrated in some dimension, usually temporal, with the accomplishment of a goal. The illustrative model provided is a research project guidance vehicle prepared for psychology students. (RAO)

An effective unit on the presidency must clarify the balance between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. Two activities for use with secondary students are presented. (RM)

Proposes two methods for gathering information outside the library to help students understand the full context in which research activities are carried out. Offers theoretical support for the methods and gives examples of their application. (HTH)

This lesson plan features a classroom simulation that helps students understand a command economic system. The lesson plan states a purpose; gives student educational objectives; suggests a time duration for the activity; lists materials needed; and outlines a step-by-step teaching procedure. Instructions for a research and writing homework…

Describes a prewriting activity in which students form questions about their classmates' research topics. Notes that this activity provides students with multiple questions concerning their topics, and conveys the message that they will be writing for a real audience of peers. (MM)

Presents an activity that gives elementary social studies students a chance to investigate the meanings of personal names from around the world. Uses the Global Names Table to gather from students' neighborhoods the names, meanings, backgrounds, and classifications from different cultures. Concludes the lesson with presentations and selection of…

Presents two approaches to de-mystify the research process: (1) students assume the persona of a famous author and write letters to each other; and (2) students establish a research and development division for school staff, which allows students to screen proposals, prioritize suggestions, develop research and report strategies, and complete…

A research paper can be seen as a reasonable goal by students if the teacher focuses on the process of writing as much as on the final product. The steps involved are explained and a reproducible progress chart is included. (MT)

On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman, a Union Army scout convinced a land office clerk in St. Louis (Missouri) to open the office shortly after midnight so that Freeman could file a land claim. In doing so, Freeman became one of the first to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Homestead Act, a law signed by President Abraham Lincoln…

Suggests two exercises in writing a research paper: compare two biographies of one person, and discuss a problem about the truth of an incident in the person's life, citing positive and negative points of view. (TJ)

Describes a research assignment for 8th grade students on the elements of the periodic table. Students use web-based resources and a chemistry handbook to gather information, construct concept maps, and present the findings to the full class using the mode of their choice: a humorous story, a slideshow or gameboard, a brochure, a song, or skit.…

Describes three alternatives to the student research report: (1) collaborative research; (2) Ken Macrorie's "I-Search"; and (3) the saturation report. Notes that all three activities are concerned with integrating inquiry, learning, and writing. (MM)

Argues that nothing is written without some sort of bias. Explains an exercise in which students are forced to confront the issue of where does the truth actually lie by using a "truth line" similar in appearance to a time line, with fiction at one end and nonfiction at the other. (PA)

Argues that English teachers should open classroom doors to the world's violence in order to examine, interpret, and reduce it, focusing critical inquiry on the subject of violence. Describes how, in the author's English classroom, the study of violence in popular culture compels critical inquiry as students research what they know about violence…