Conducting primary research through digital video (DV) can allow students to experience meaning-making firsthand, gaining empathy and understanding for their subjects. Two practical reasons for encouraging students to use DV are that students are already using the technology outside of school and that the digital culture demands digital literacy.…

This article discusses how writing assignments focused on sports controversies provide students with opportunities to read, write, research, and debate in ways that feel authentic and meaningful. Athletes dominate the headlines about everything from dog fighting to domestic violence. Sports controversies are appropriate material for teaching…

This article discusses one teacher's efforts to give their students a mentor text for a persuasive, research-based writing project. The author's shift from assigning predominantly fiction to focusing more on nonfiction came as a result of their efforts to help their students move from students' current writing style -- that of a five-paragraph…

This article describes how adolescent students learn to question their lives and contexts through the "Crossing Boundaries" podcast assignment. In the assignment, the students pick a topic, design a project, interview at least one other individual, and analyze their data. The students do not realize they are engaging in original…

This article shows how students confront offensive language head-on by researching its history and reconsidering its use in contemporary conversation. It describes an assignment in which students study the histories and social reception of words (in some cases considered obscenities) used to insult people of various social categories. Students…

As online research has become an increasingly standard activity for middle school and high school students, Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) has simultaneously emerged as the bane of many teachers who include research-focused assignments in their courses. An online encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit its entries, Wikipedia has educators…

Describes a four- to six-week project for high school sophomores in which students create pamphlets and in the process learn basic research skills and practice several elements of the research paper. (SR)

Describes five types of language research projects that enable students to examine language for themselves. (DD)

Summarizes a student-conducted telephone survey involving 200 interviews on the topic of dating. Describes the process of organizing and carrying out the survey. Notes that the project was exciting and beneficial for both students and professionals involved. (HB)

Discusses the problem of sources in student research; evaluating web resources for authority and accuracy; and evaluating objectivity of web sources (their currency and coverage). Notes helpful web sites about evaluating sources. Describes some web evaluation exercises for students, and outlines three assignments on evaluating web sources. (SR)