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Introduction:
1. Have students set up in groups of 3-5 students. Give each group a dictionary, a stack of index cards, markers, and highlighters.
2. Explain to students that today they will be taking the Trash\'n Treasure method of taking notes one step further: They are going to learn how to pick out key words that will help them answer two questions: Why is their animal endangered and how is it protected?
Body:
1. Revisit the idea of Trash\'n Treasure notetaking. Ask for student volunteers to describe what Trash\'n Treasure is. Give a brief review of Trash \'n Treasure, if needed. (This lesson assumes students have previously been introduced to Trash\'n Treasure.)
2. Explain to the students that they will learn how to use the Trash\'n Treasure method to determine why their animals are endangered and how they are being protected.
3. Explain that they will learn how to pick out keywords and concepts that will help them answer their research question. Explain that they will do this today by practicing in the classroom and then when they go to the library next, they will be able to use their new skills to do their research.
4. Have two paragraphs copied (or typed up) from a real encyclopedia article that covers an endangered animal. (See Related Media for example.) For this project, one article should address the question:
Why is ____ endangered? and the other paragraph should address the question: How is _____ protected?
5. Hand out the article or paragraph(s) that you plan to use as your example. Give half of the class one article and the other half of the class, the other article. (This will help generate a longer list of keywords for the students to use later in their research).
5. Explain to the students that they each have a paragraph in front of them that comes from a real encyclopedia (make sure the paragraph is cited!). Explain that each article addresses one of the two questions: Why endangered/How protected? Explain that on their own, they should read the paragraphs, highlighting keywords or phrases that they believe will help them answer their question. Give students five minutes to do this. Make sure to encourage students not to highlight every sentence--but to highlight key words and phrases!
6. When the five minutes is up, have students pair up with one other person in their group and share the keywords and key phrases that they highlighted. Ask them to share with one another why they highlighted what they did. Give the students 5 minutes to do this.
7. When the five minutes is up, have students share with their entire group what they highlighted and what they discussed with their partners. Tell the students to decide, as a group, what they feel are the most important key words and key phrases in the article. Explaing that they should write down these key words and key phrases on index cards to be shared with the class. Give the students 7 minutes do to this.
8. If need be, have a list of keywords already generated and printed out. Hand the list out at this point if students need some assistance or difficulty picking out keywords on their own.
9. When it is time, ask students to volunteer their keywords. Ask students to volunteer to bring their keywords up to the front of the room and tape them to the poster with the Venn diagram that has one circle labeled 'Endangered', another lableled 'Protected', and the center labeled 'Both'.
10. After the student has brought up their key word or phrase, ask the student to explain to the class why they picked it and why they think it belongs in each group.
11. Ask for as many student volunteers as you have time. You may need to bring up your own key words or phrases or lead by questioning the class if the students miss some important words. The more keywords the students see and hear, the better.
Conclusion:
12. Conclude the class by asking students: What have you learned today? How will this help you when you are in the library next to do your research?
