Thematic Analysis Research Paper - English 11: Part 3 - Note Taking

Created By:
Kathy Lehman
Title/Role:
Head Librarian
Organization/School Name:
Thomas Dale High School
Location:
Virginia

Grade Level:
11
Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit
Type of Schedule:
Flexible
Collaboration Continuum:
Intensive
Content Area:
Language Arts
Content Topic:
British Literature. Note taking in support of a thesis.
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.
Dispostion Indicator(s):
1.2.1 Display initiative and engagement by posing questions and investigating the answers beyond the collection of superficial facts.
1.2.5 Demonstrate adaptability by changing the inquiry focus, questions, resources, or strategies when necessary to achieve success.
2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.
Responsibilities Indicator(s):
1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses.
2.4.3 Recognize new knowledge and understanding.
Scenario:
This is Part 3 Note Taking. In this unit the librarian collaborates with an English teacher to prepare eleventh grade college bound students to write an in depth critical analysis paper on a novel of their choice. To ensure student success, the teacher and librarian have worked together to intersperse classroom instruction and library instruction for each step in the research process. After determining their thesis and locating sources, students are now ready to take notes to support their thesis. In the classroom the teacher will have had them practice reading critical literature and pulling out facts that support a theme. The teacher will have explained the three types of note cards: summary, paraphrase and direct quotation. Students will have practiced making each type of note card. In the library, students will put these skills into practice by reading the articles they located previously and determining which support their thesis and take notes. The librarian will assist them in relocating their articles from their source cards and helping them persist in the sometimes difficult task of finding new sources to fill gaps in their research.

Overview:
In a unit to write a thematic research paper for English, students return to the library for two final 90 minute class periods to access the sources discovered during the location and access days and begin to take notes for their research paper. The essential question is: How well is my theme supported in critical literature?

Final Product:
Students complete note cards from their sources and label each as a summary, paraphrase or direct quote. Students may discover that some of their sources are not approproate or are redundant. The teacher and librarian will work individually with students to help them revise their search strategies and access additional sources to complete their research.

Library Lesson:
• Students will learn to skim articles on their novel or play for key information and take notes according to the guidelines established by their teacher. • Students learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it with careful note taking and proper citations. • Students will learn that they may have gaps in their research that need to be filled with additional resources.

Estimated Lesson Time:
120 minutes
Assessment
Product:
The teacher and librarian check the notecards to make sure that students understand the three different types of note cards and that their articles support their thesis.

Process:
The teacher and librarian circulate in the lab to assess how well students are relocating the articles identified on days 3 & 4 and how well they are completing the note cards. At the end of day 5 a self checklist is distributed for students to complete. This checklist will allow the librarian and teacher to determine how well the students evaluated the articles, if they are finding material supporting their thesis and who will need extra help on day 6 in the lab.

Self Questioning:
Can I use keywords effectively to relocate articles in the databases? Are the articles from my source cards supporting my thesis? Am I able to answer my research questions with the information in my articles? Are some of the articles too difficult for me to understand? Are there gaps in my research? Where else can I look to find better information to support my thesis?

Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Dataset (ie. lists, tables, databases)
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)

Resources instructor will use:
Projector
Laptop
Smart board

Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction:
In the classroom, the teacher instructs the students in note taking (summarizing, paraphrasing and direct quoting) and defines plagiarism so students understand the importance of taking notes carefully and citing properly.

Modeling and guided practice:
In the library lab, the librarian begins day 5 of the unit with an article projected on the Smart Board. With the teacher leading instruction, students are guided to take notes from a section of text. Using the highlight features of the SmartBoard, the librarian highlights the text to be paraphrased or summarized as the teacher speaks.

Independent practice:
Students take notes on their own while the teacher and librarian circulate to answer questions and guide them in completing their research.


Have you taught this lesson before:
Yes

Strategies for differentiation:
For students with physical disabilities, the databases provide audio access and enlarged text. The keyboard helps those with fine motor disabilities. Much of the information gathering and citation collection can be done as point and click with the mouse. When students have difficulty understanding how to find articles from their source cards, the librarian and teacher should check their search strategy and help them revise their keywords. Because this unit is designed for honors level students, the differentiation in instruction is often focused on giving extra help to those who are having difficulty making the leap from direct instruction to guided instruction where they have to think for themselves. With two teachers, students get much one-on-one guidance to overcome the gaps in their research and to help them persist when they have difficulty finding articles supporting their thesis.
AASL/Common Core State Standards Crosswalk

Common Core State Standards English Language Arts:

CC.11-12.W.7 » English Language Arts » Research to Build and Present Knowledge » 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. (11,12)

CC11-12RS/TS3 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 3. Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.8 » English Language Arts » Research to Build and Present Knowledge » 8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS1 » Writing Standards » 1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS2 » Writing Standards » 2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.3 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 3. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text. (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS8 » Writing Standards » 8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. (11,12)

CC11-12RS/TS1 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. (11,12)

CC11-12RS/TS6 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 6. Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved. (11,12)

CC.11-12.SL.1.d » English Language Arts » Comprehension and Collaboration » d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS1e » Writing Standards » e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.2.f » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS2e » Writing Standards » e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation provided (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). (11,12)

CC.11-12.L.4.d » English Language Arts » Vocabulary Acquisition and Use » d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). (11,12)

CC.11-12.L.4.c » English Language Arts » Vocabulary Acquisition and Use » c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, its etymology, or its standard usage. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.7 » English Language Arts » Integration of Knowledge and Ideas » 7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. (11,12)

CC11-12WH/SS/S/TS9 » Writing Standards » 9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.2.b » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » b. Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.9 » English Language Arts » Research to Build and Present Knowledge » 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.1 » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.2 » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.2 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 2. Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.4 » English Language Arts » Craft and Structure » 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10). (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.5 » English Language Arts » Craft and Structure » 5. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.8 » English Language Arts » Integration of Knowledge and Ideas » 8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses). (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.I.9 » English Language Arts » Integration of Knowledge and Ideas » 9. Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features. (11,12)

CC.11-12.R.L.2 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. (11,12)

CC.11-12.SL.2 » English Language Arts » Comprehension and Collaboration » 2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.1.a » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. (11,12)

CC.11-12.W.9.b » English Language Arts » Research to Build and Present Knowledge » b. Apply grades 11-12 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., "Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning [e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court Case majority opinions and dissents] and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy [e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses]"). (11,12)