Teach Research with Detective Booksy

Let Detective Booksy help you to teach research skills to elementary students. Educational benchmarks require elementary students to be able to:

• Participate in shared research and writing projects.

• Gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

• Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

• Take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

• Provide a list of sources.

How to Research a Topic for Elementary Research Projects

Research begins with a topic. A topic is something you want to investigate. You will research facts about a topic. A fact is something you can prove to be true.

First, get your questions ready. A question is also called an inquiry. We ask questions when we want to know more. An inquiry begins with a question word. Question words: who, what, where, when why how.

Here are some examples of research questions: Where do honeybees live? What do honeybees eat? How do honeybees collect nectar?

Next, choose your sources. A source has facts. A book is a source. A website is a source. An image is a source. An expert is a source.

Make sure your sources pass the TURN test. T is for trusty. Who is the author? Is the author an expert? U is for useful. Does it have facts that answer your questions? R is for right. Is it correct? Are the facts in the source true? N is for new. What is the date the source was published?

Then, take notes. To take notes is to write down important facts in your own words. Write down facts as you find them. Here are some examples of facts: Honeybees get nectar from flowers. A honeybee’s home is called a hive. Jot down the source of the fact.

Next, make a citation. A citation is the information you jot down about a source. Here is an example of a citation:

Esbaum, Jill. Explore My World: Honeybees. National Geographic, 2017.

Next answer your inquiry. Here is an example of an answer: Honeybees live in hives. They eat nectar from flowers. You will know you are finished when you have answered your questions.

Now you know how to research a topic in elementary.

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How to Choose a Topic for Elementary Research Projects

Sometimes you will be asked to research a certain topic. Other times you will choose your own topic. Let’s talk about how to choose a research topic.

One way to choose is to think about grade level benchmarks.

What does a second grader need to know?

What does a third grader need to know?

What does a fourth grader need to know?

What does a fifth grader need to know?

What does a sixth grader need to know?

Research helps us to better understand what we learned in past grades, what we are learning now, and what we will learn in the future.

Another way to choose is to look at a list of topic choices. This list has 67 topics for research in elementary. Look at the list and find a topic that looks interesting. Then, think about it. What do you already know about the topic? What do you want to know about the topic?