This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click through a link and make a purchase, I will receive a commission.
In this quick guide to Native American research projects you’ll learn how to help students as young as second grade create written reports and projects. When you select good books, use a report template, set clear expectations, model, provide support when needed, use a rubric to revise and edit, include a project element, and celebrate success you’ll find that kids get excited about the research process.
Quick Guide to Native American Research Projects
1. Select good books
When kids are learning to do research it’s important to select good books that are relatable to children and have the perfect amount of content. They’re easy to navigate and promote independent learning. My favorite books for native American research projects are the “If You Lived With…” books by Scholastic.
There are four books in the series:
- If You Lived With the Iroquois
- If you Lived With the Sioux Indians
- If You Lived With the Hopi
- If You Lived With the Cherokee
As you look for other resources, use the criteria for “good books” to ensure your child will enjoy the research process. Some books are bogged down with too much information that is difficult to sift through. Others are written at reading levels that are too high. In addition to books, look for appropriate websites your child can use.
If you have trouble collecting appropriate books and websites, another option is to read aloud. For children, listening to difficult text is much easier than reading it. You can discuss the content and vocabulary to make sure your child understands.
2. Use a report template
Once you’ve selected good books, find a report template to use. By using a template you make writing a report easier for younger writers. It takes care of organization, which can be a difficult part of non-fiction writing. This Native American report template has everything you need from planning and writing to evaluating. It’s available in the Homeschool Notes store.
3. Set clear expectations
Before jumping into the research, make sure you set clear expectations for your child. Help her know exactly what she needs to do and produce. A rubric is a great way to do this and gives parents a tool to score their student’s work objectively. You can create your own or use the one provided in the Native American Research packet.
4. Model
Then next step is to model how to take information from a book and convert it to writing. Read a paragraph from a book and rewrite the information in your own words. Modeling paraphrasing is a crucial step.
This is a good time to talk about plagiarism and the importance of respecting the author’s work. For instance, if you forget this step, your child will naturally copy whole sentences from the book, word for word.
Another way to model is to write your own report as your child writes. By doing this you model all kinds of behaviors, like staying on task for an extended time, rereading texts, adding details, using good handwriting. You provide a positive role model for what writing time should look like.
5. Support when needed
As you write alongside your child, provide support when needed. If you notice her struggling to read a word, or she can’t find information on a certain topic, help her. Show her how to look through the table of contents to find what she needs. Have her read a passage to you and ask her what she learned. In addition, refer to the pictures and talk about what you noticed that might help her comprehension. If she asks you how to spell a word, be available to guide her.
6. Use a rubric to revise and edit
After your child has finished his Native American report, have him to go through the rubric with you. For each category read the criteria starting with the lowest score. Praise his efforts and move up to the higher scores until he can find something to improve.
For example, a score of one for illustrations might read, “I made illustrations on some pages.” If your child did that, read the next criteria for a two. “I made neat illustrations on every page, some with color; some without color.” To get a three all the illustrations need to be in color. For my son, using the rubric worked wonders. He flipped back through his report, found the illustrations he forgot to color, and added details.
7. Include a hands-on element
In order to make Native American research projects more meaningful, include a hands-on element. Have your child make a model of a home or create a piece of jewelry or artwork that shows more about the tribe she studied. Help her plan out and execute her project using a planning sheet. Walk through a project rubric beforehand, like you did with the report, so she’ll know what’s expected and aim to do her best work.
8. Celebrate success
Finally, make an effort to celebrate your child’s success. Have him read his report to family members and friends. Let him show off his project creation and talk about how he made it. If you make a quick video of his presentation, then you’ll have something unique for his homeschool portfolio to cherish for years to come.
In conclusion, Native American research projects can be easy to do for kids of all ages when you follow the steps in this quick guide. With the right books even younger children can be successful at researching independently, writing reports, and making projects to showcase what they learned.
