Sunday, May 12, 2019

Grading Research Papers -- Really?



I take my job as English teacher of the seventh and eighth grades pretty seriously.  To me, that means that I do the following when it comes time for research papers.

1.  I present a slideshow of topics which includes about sixty American history topics and sixty world history topics.  I also often say, "This would be a great research paper topic," when we cover something amazing in history, and then I add it to the list.  Usually,  my students pick a topic that they are truly interested in.  (I have a slideshow of topics with pictures that I share if you are interested in seeing it.  Email me at litleflock7 at gmail.com and I'll be happy to share it with you.)

2.  I take the students on a field trip, or I go to the library myself and find lots of good books on their topics.  (I also order books for the ones whose topics are a little out of the ordinary.) 

3.  I check every single note card and source as the students are working on gathering information for their reports.  

4.  I spend hours grading their research papers.  I mark every run-on sentence, fragment, and misspelled word.  I also write "awk" wherever their writing is awkward, and I draw a squiggly line under any word that I would call a "first grade word."  They know that squiggly line means to get a Thesaurus and find a bigger, better word. 

5.  I really do get a ruler and measure all the margins on their second (typed) drafts.  I also check all the spacing, parenthetical citations, page numbers, capitals, and the italics in the thesis statement on their outlines.  

6.  I also give them ample time and opportunities to correct all their mistakes, so that the final product is really a work of art.  Even though it is a lot of hard work, they know they've accomplished something grand.  

Getting middle school students ready for high school is an important job, and we should take it seriously.