Index cards. Hundreds of index cards. Stacks of sources. And hours of research and card making. Lots of confusion. And less understanding of how to synthesize the gathered information. Those are words and phrases that describe my high school composition class days. I finished my paper. I got an A–and then when I set out to write my books thirty years later, I knew I had to develop a better way. There had to be a method by which kids could research from multiple sources, organize that information, outline, and write—with less stress, headache, and bad memories (and hopefully WITH skills that they could carry on to college).
After ten years of curriculum writing, I finally had it—my Overview Source Method and Color-Coded Research approach. And now eight years later still, I am happy to “report” that these methods work! They simplify the process. They help students figure out from the beginning of their research exactly what each paragraph will contain. They force students to design paragraphs up front—avoiding the three-page-long-paragraph problem. And they teach students how to research purposefully. AND…how to merge sources for advanced writing.
Still wondering how this could be? Watch this week’s live video class to see how it can be! 🙂
More helpful books:
Meaningful Composition 8 – I, Bridging the Gap
Meaningful Composition 8 – II, Junior High Research Reports
Meaningful Composition 9 – I, Writing for High School
Meaningful Composition 10 – II, Four Research Reports
Write On, Beauty & the Beast! Level V
Love and hope,
Donna
P.S. What writing challenges do you face in your classroom? What levels and types of writing would you like to see live videos of?
