Surviving Your Child's Research Report ... page 2

• Go in with your eyes wide open.
  Instead of being one huge job, help your child see the first draft as a series of smaller tasks: reading and note taking, writing (or typing) the note-card paragraphs, and creating a short introduction. Look at a calendar with your child and count the number of work times that she has to complete the report. Together, assign all the tasks to certain time periods, keeping due dates in mind. This exercise in time management will help your child realize the size and scope of the report project and teach her a successful way to approach long-term projects.

• Pare a topic down and keep it simple.
  Teachers assign reports in different ways. If you're lucky, your child will have an outline to follow along with frequent check-ins with the teacher. If not, you may need to help pare the topic down to something your child understands. Last year when one of my fifth graders was researching electricity, it became obvious that a large amount of information dealt with concepts too advanced for a ten year old. By scaling back to "Lightning," the child was able to stick with the electricity theme, but also able to understand the reference material.

• Frame the report as a series of questions.
  Too often kids just read and take notes. Their notes jump from one topic to another, and organizing the information into ordered paragraphs is next to impossible. Here's the solution: Ask your child to come up with three or four important questions about their topic. Get several large index cards, and write each question at the top of its own card. You have just organized your child's note taking - and the paragraph structure for the first draft.

• Find age-appropriate material.
  Kids love to find information on the Internet and encyclopedia disks. Yet, this information can be too difficult for them to read and retell in their own words. Find reference material that is easy for your child to read. Books written for slightly younger children will present facts in a way that your child can easily retell. Encyclopedia disks for younger children, like the Golden Book Encyclopedia, are great. The multimedia World Book is also kid-friendly. Check out the reference section for younger children in the library, and Xerox pages so your child can highlight details while reading.

• Stick to the research questions.
  Once the reference material and index cards are in place, your child can work independently. As he reads, remind him to note only details that help answer the questions at the top of his index cards. No matter how interesting the fact, if it doesn't answer a question on one of the index cards, it shouldn't be written down. Compiling note cards will also help your child get a sense of the amount of work needed to complete the entire report.

Research reports can be overwhelming monsters for kids. By helping kids stay focused on smaller tasks, you are teaching them to assemble "parts of the whole," an excellent problem-solving strategy. Don't be frustrated if, in the beginning, you seem to be the one holding the process together - or if your child thinks you're a nag.

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