research methods and statistics

Middle School students love to explore the unknown and share what they have discovered. Take advantage of this natural curiosity about the unknown to develop research and presentation skills. Even reluctant learners get involved when you allow them to research and write about real life unsolved mysteries.

Pre-teaching: Before beginning this hands on project, students must understand the concepts of theories and evidence. It would be wise to choose a topic of your own and complete the project to share with students prior to assigning the project.

Skills Needed: To complete this project, students must be familiar with PowerPoint or any other slideshow presentation tool you choose to use. If they are not already skilled in this area, provide opportunities for students to work with the program.

Search Engines: This project relies heavily on Internet Research. Time must be devoted Internet search techniques.

Assessing web sites: Teach students how to determine if a website is reliable. Use this template or create your own.

Note Taking: Require Middle School students to take notes of their research. Spend time teaching students to paraphrase and summarize what they have read. Use this template or create one of your own for students to use.

Crediting sources: Middle School students don't really understand the importance of crediting their sources. Take the time to teach the basics of citing sources.

Plagiarism: This is a good time to teach about plagiarism. Many middle school students still think that if they change around a few words they are not plagiarizing. Take the time to teach them how to use information without plagiarizing. Make sure you emphasize that using photos created by others must be credited too.

Unsolved Mysteries Project

Provide students with a list of unsolved mysteries to choose from. (See suggested topics at the end of this article). Most students will find a suitable topic on the list. For those who wish to choose their own topic, insist that the topic be approved by you prior to beginning.

Minimum Requirements:
Slide 1: Title slide containing the "unsolved mystery", student name, and date.
Slide 2: Introductory slide: The mystery must be introduced with an explanation of why it is a mystery. This should include a statement of opposing views or beliefs.
Slide 3: Supporting theories
Slide 4: Opposing theories
Slide 5: Evidence (photos, news reports, witnesses, police reports)
Slide 6: Conclusions, which includes the student's belief based on the information provided in their project.
Slide 7: Credits

Special thanks to Ruth Sundra who designed a similar group projects for 4th and 5th grade. The project outline shared here has been designed for middle school students to complete individually to demonstrate mastery of core skills while researching topics of interest to them.

Suggested Topics

Big Foot/Yeti
Loch Ness Monster
Ghosts
Life-after-Death Experiences
Psychic abilities
UFOs/aliens
Alien Abduction
Shadow People
How the Pyramids Were Built
Stonehenge
Bermuda Triangle
Angels
Auras
Out-of-Body Experiences
Mayan Calendar (end of the world)
Time Travel/Time Slips
Spontaneous Human Combustion
Miracles
Psychic Healing
Crop Circles

Add topics that fit the interests of the particular group you are working with. For 8th graders, the more bizarre, the better. Allow plenty of class time for research and for creating the slide show. Setting specific due dates for each portion will curtail misuse of time.

Your middle school students just may astound you with their final project. Not only do they get involved in their individual project, they are eager to learn what their classmates have discovered, too.




Reference research: beauty research and health research and sport research and my bookmark page




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