3.12 Questions, Sources, and Notetaking

Learning Target

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to say YES to the following questions.

• Can I use strategies for determining importance and finding the main ideas?
• Can I transform ideas and information to create an original paragraph?
  
• Can I apply thinking skills to gain meaning from text?
• Can I respond to text in a variety of ways, including providing support for my response?

Gathering Resources

If you are able to, visit the library or sign out ebooks to gather information about your subject. You should browse:

• The Internet - articles, websites, and even youtube - (with parent/caregiver permission, of course)
  
• Newspaper articles
• Magazine articles and interviews
• Biographies (specific to your person or in books like The Kids Book of Great Canadians)
  
• History books (Books in the Scholastic Canada Biographies series may be available at your library. They are a nice reading level.)

If you are using the internet for your research, be sure you have parent/caregiver permission!

Good Questions!

VERY IMPORTANT: READ THIS ENTIRE ONLINE BOOK BEFORE DOING ANY RESEARCH!

Now that you've selected a subject, the real fun begins! Biographical research is like detective work. Your assignment: Uncover fun facts about your subject! But first.....

Creating a focus question - a "big question" that will drive your introduction, conclusion, and information, and an outline will help you to focus your research and choose what facts to pay attention to, record, and think about. What is a big question?

When you read, the introduction and conclusion can help you determine what the writer's purpose was - and what "big ideas" the writer was hoping you would gain. A purpose or focus question helps to give unity to the biography.

TERRY FOX

What was the focus question of the Terry Fox biography? When you read about Terry Fox, the introductory paragraph said:

This Canadian hero has had more impact than he could have possibly imagined!

The closing paragraph said:

The research they’ve done is already saving lives, and Terry’s cause has now been taken over by others – millions of ordinary Canadians.

Can you tell what "big question" was being answered in his biography?

Answer What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? Other people?

ALAINA PODMOROW

What was the focus question of the Alaina Podmorow biography? When you read about Alaina, the introductory paragraph said:

Back in 2006, when student Alaina Podmorow was only nine, she was inspired into action after attending a speech by a Canadian journalist and human rights activist named Sally Armstrong

The closing paragraph said:

Alaina lives her life following her motto that "education = peace" and has become a recognized force for change... She is someone who understands that the world beyond her own community needs help. According to www.littlewomenforlittlewomen.com, Alaina is more motivated than ever and vows to never stop fighting for Little Women and for Global equality in human rights.  She continues to speak to audiences, sharing information about the importance of education as a key tool in peace building. The world is a better place thanks to inspired and inspiring humans like Alaina Podmorrow.

Can you tell what "big question" was being answered in her biography?

Answer How can one person make the world a better place?

The Big Driving Question

The Big "Driving" Question

The big questions provide focus and make biographical reading interesting. If you have a "big question", your readers will feel satisfied after reading the biography you will write. The reader will have an "understanding" of something important as a result of reading your biography.

• Some questions you might want to think about include:
  • What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? other people?
  • Do you feel this person made the world a better place to live in because of what he/she did?  How? Why or why not?
  • How would the history of the world been affected or changed if this significant
    contributor had never lived?
  • What qualities did this person have that made him or her successful?

If you have a big question "in mind", it may change as you learn more about your person. That is OK.

The Small Questions

The Small Questions

That doesn't mean the small questions are not important. They form the body of your biography. The big question helps you to "think about" the facts, to synthesize or put together the facts to create a meaningful essay. The questions below show three categories you can organize your notes into - at least to get started. Depending on the person, your organization might end up being a bit different.

EARLY LIFE

• What is your person’s first and last name-nicknames/pseudonyms?
• What is their date of birth and death?
• What was your person like when they were young?
• What do you know about their family members and important early experiences which contributed to their personality or future? Who influenced this person's life and choices? W
• What schools did your person attend in their life? Where are the schools located? Any interesting information on their school behavior or grades? Was there a particularly influential teacher?
• What obstacles did this person have to overcome? How did s/he overcome them?

LATER LIFE

• When they were an adult, what jobs did they hold? Why did this person enter the field they did? Did they receive and awards or recognition in their lifetime?
• If your person has died: When and where did they die? How did they die?

CONTRIBUTIONS / ACCOMPLISHMENTS / FUTURE

• How did their death affect society or other individuals?
• If your person is still alive: What new projects are they working on?
• What are they doing today?
• What opinions do others have about this person?
• What do you know about their hopes for the future?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

• Quotable quotes can really add to your content and message. If you find a quotable quote by your person or about your person, record it. Just keep track of "who said it".

Taking Notes - What NOT to Do

You will be taking notes as you read texts, watch videos, etc.  By writing notes in your own words, you will be forced to think about the ideas that are presented in the text and how you can organize and explain them. The process of note-taking will help you to understand and to analyze what you have read.

Taking Notes - The Importance of Your Questions

Watch (and read) this video to see how important it is to know WHAT your questions are when notetaking - both your big question and your small ones. 

Organizing for Notetaking - Option 1

Remember your main purpose for note-taking is to learn and to prepare for writing your biography. You don't want to take too many notes, or not enough, and you want your notes to be clear.

Where should you record your notes:

Option One: Sticky Notes and "Story Board" - This is a fabulous method of note-taking, especially for a biography because you can organize your sticky notes into a timeline to help you form your sequential text structure. 

Organizing for Notetaking - Options 2 and 3

Option Two: Computer Document - You can take point form notes on a computer document. This method works well as you can copy and paste notes when you are done to organize them in a timeline format. Then, it is easier to write using the sequential text structure when you are done.

Option Three: Notepaper - This works fine, too. After your notes are taken, you can number the notes you'd like to use in order of time to help you to write using the sequential text structure when you are done.

Recording Sources

On a separate page or document, keep a record of your information sources.

• Always keep a record of your information source.
  • When referring to a book, record the author's name, the date of publication, the title of the book, the relevant page number, the name of the publisher and the place of publication.
  • When referring to a magazine or newspaper, record the name of the author of the article, the date of publication, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the publication number and page number.
  • When refering to internet sources, record (at least) the full URL or web address and the date you accessed the information.

Why should we record or cite our sources?

You can keep track of your resources on bibme.org - it will help you put them together like a pro - books, magazines, and websites. It is a good idea to copy and paste each bibliography entry from bibme onto a document that you save on your computer. You can use this site without registering or setting up an account. After all, you don't want to put your personal information online!

Getting Started

Whether you are gathering notes on your computer, on paper, or on sticky notes, you need five pages (or sections if you are working on a computer) for your notes. Here are the sections:

• EARLY LIFE
• LATER LIFE
• CONTRIBUTIONS / ACCOMPLISHMENTS / FUTURE
• QUOTABLE QUOTES
• SOURCE - Your place to keep track of sources of information (books, websites, youtube movies, etc.) as you go along.

Once set up, you can begin to gather your point form notes!

Below is the kind of information for each section. You will not be able to answer ALL the questions below. They are just guidelines.

EARLY LIFE

• What is your person’s first and last name-nicknames/pseudonyms?
• What is their date of birth and death?
• What was your person like when they were young?
• What do you know about their family members and important early experiences which contributed to their personality or future? Who influenced this person's life and choices?
• What schools did your person attend in their life? Where are the schools located? Any interesting information on their school behavior or grades? Was there a particularly influential teacher?
• What obstacles did this person have to overcome? How did s/he overcome them?

LATER LIFE

• When they were an adult, what jobs did they hold? Why did this person enter the field they did? Did they receive any awards or recognition in their lifetime?
• If your person has died: When and where did they die? How did they die?

CONTRIBUTIONS / ACCOMPLISHMENTS / FUTURE

• How did their death affect society or other individuals?
• If your person is still alive: What new projects are they working on?
• What are they doing today?
• What opinions do others have about this person?
• What do you know about their hopes for the future?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

• Quotable quotes can really add to your content and message. If you find a quotable quote by your person or about your person, record it. Just keep track of "who said it".

And Go!

What are you waiting for? You are ready to get started. Set up your pages and start your note-taking. When you think you have your notes complete, you can send a copy of your notes (or take digital pictures if they are on sticky notes or paper - you don't want to send them in as you will need them), come back to the next online lesson where you will learn about organizing notes and putting your ideas together.