Stop the Copying with Wild and Wacky Research Projects

Book excerpt: Did you know A famous French chef created her greatest recipe BEFORE she learned to cook! The first airmail letters went by train. McDonald's opened its first restaurant as a barbecue stand. The best way to prevent a toothache is to wear a dead mole around your neck. These and many other wacky but true facts serve as springboards to research about people, places, food, animals, and historical events. Students are asked to create poems, games, quizzes and other products in lieu of traditional written reports in this new book of ideas keyed to standards in writing, reading comprehension and information literacy. Based on one of Nancy Polette's most popular workshops (Research Without Copying), this book will appeal to school librarians and teachers in grades 4-8. Extensive bibliographies of recommended resources add to the usability of this title.