Step One Questioning & Planning

1. Introducing the Question, Choice or Problem

	Your teacher has asked you to research background information about a Spanish-speaking country and its people and culture.    Did you know... Spanish is the official language of 20 countries? there are more than 30 countries and territories in which Spanish is widely spoken? Spanish is the third most widely-spoken language in the world? 250 million people speak Spanish as their mother tongue. Spanish ranks 4th in official language population? 280 million people live in countries where Spanish is the official language.    - The Lance Junior High School Foreign Language Department
	The Task Your school is beginning a foreign exchange program with Spanish-speaking countries around the world. You have been asked to participate on a team to develop profiles of the 20 countries in order to help exchange candidates with their selections. You will be assigned a specific country and will research what the nation offers in terms of:    geography  notable figures and events      the arts  other cultural aspects   In addition, you have been selected to participate in the actual exchange program. To help you decide where you'd like to live and study for six weeks, you will participate in a gallery walk, reviewing at least four of the informational posters created by your peers depicting the various countries, cultures, and people.
	Final Product You will need to research this topic, then prepare a poster displaying the information you gathered. You will arrange your information on the poster using a graphic organizer that represents some aspect of your country (such as a palm tree with fronds for Costa Rica or levels of a pyramid for Mexico). Also, using designated scoring tools, you will complete peer critiques of the posters you review and a reflection journal entry about why you selected the country you did for your foreign exchange experience. Teachers, click here to see other possible student products.

2. Brainstorming Questions

	As you look at the task above, list as many questions as you can that will help you to understand and investigate this topic. What do you already know about the country? What do you need to know to begin your research? What information do you need in order to make your country appealing to potential exchange students?
	Examples of questions: What are the major geographical features and climate? What are the popular sports? What are some typical foods? What are some places of interest? For additional ideas for forming questions see:    The Question is the Answer  Questioning for Quality Thinking    Essential Questions  Asking Questions, Structuring Tasks

3. Creating Graphic Organizers

	Think about how you want to organize your list of questions and how you will record your answers.
	If available, you can use the Make It Happen! software program (available in middle schools) to enter your questions in the "Pose I-Search Question" section of the program. You may also organize the related questions into groups using a cluster diagram using the Inspiration software program. Click here to see an example of a cluster diagram created using Inspiration software. This cluster diagram example is based on the research question : Which city should we move to? The main research question is shaded gray, and the related questions are shaded blue and yellow. The related questions are supporting questions you would ask about your main research topic. You can think of them as subtopics.  If you choose to do a cluster diagram rather than using the I-Search software, you may use Microsoft Works Draw module to do so. Be sure to save all of your work, and give it a file name so that you can use it again. Click here to see other examples of different kinds of graphic organizers. Click here to see an assessment by which your graphic organizer may be assessed.

4. Assessment

Grading for this project will be based on daily participation as well as on the final presentation. Click here to see a rubric by which YOU may assess your research process. Click here to see a rubric by which your TEACHER may assess your research process. Click here to see a rubric by which your poster may be assessed. Click here to see an assessment if you include an oral presentation with your poster. Your teacher may supply criteria for assessing the peer critiques and journal reflections.

5. Research Process

Step	Research Process	Research Activity
One	Questioning and Planning	Developing questions Using graphic organizers
Two	Gathering/Sorting/ Sifting	Using print, CD-ROM, or Internet resources
Three	Synthesis and Evaluation Time to stop and "take inventory"	Evaluating information Which questions are well answered? Which ones require further investigation? Are there any new questions?
Four	Gathering/Sorting/ Sifting	Returning to print, CD-ROM, or Internet resources
Five	Final Synthesis and Evaluation	Creating an informational poster
Six	Presentation	Preparing for the presentation

Steps in the Research Process:  Next   | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six |