IRP - Independent Research Project
Planning Checklist

Topic: ____________________________________________________
Teacher & Parental approval needed for all topics

1. Choose a topic to learn about.

• free choice of topics within limits
• project should include a history, geography or science component
• cannot be a topic previously studied or researched
• cannot be science or social studies topic that will be covered in grade 5 or 6

2. Finding Information – Using a variety of resources

• locate & retrieve information in school & community libraries
• use some books – but not only books
• use magazines, videos, CD-ROMs, the Internet, maps
• get information from primary resources – go on a field trip, observe things with your own eyes, go to a museum or a place that has what you are studying
• conduct an interview to get information, talk to an expert
• learn how to use an on-line catalogue at your local library by yourself
• Check out what books CHiPS has in our Library
• fill in the Bibliography Tracking Sheet as you go - this is a record or resources you used in finding out about your topic - keep this in your IRP Duo-Tang

3. Doing an Interview

• you need to interview an expert as part of your research
• an expert is someone who has personal experience with whatever you are researching
• parents are not experts just because they studied the subject in school
• think of questions that you could ask the expert - questions you could not find answers for in books - this is what makes talking to an expert interesting
• write up at least 5 questions that you could ask that person - keep in your IRP Duo-Tang
• after the interview write a few notes on what you learned from the expert - some students tape record the interview or video tape it  - keep in your IRP Duo-Tang
• keep a record of when you did the interview & how long it took
• you can do an interview in person, over the phone or via the internet
• some experts students have used in the past include: pet store owners, zoo keepers, curator at a museum, travel agent, someone who has lived or traveled in a country, specialty store owner

4. Recording what you learn

• read a lot first before you start to take notes, think about what you want your presentation to be about
• take point form notes about important information so that you will remember it
• record where you got your information from – have all of the information needed to do a formal Bibliography (blank sheets will be given to you)
• make sketches, take photos of what you see when you are learning
• you will hand in all of your point form notes on your presentation day
• you will not be writing a report on what you have learned
• keep all of your information together in your IRP Duo-Tang

5. IPD - Information Presentation Devices - Artifacts, Models, Photographs, Maps

• you will not be writing a report but you need to show the class things so that we can learn by using our eyes as well as our ears
• you need to show the class artifacts or a model related to your topic
• you are also encouraged to show the class pictures - either in books or magazines (that have been tagged), posters, collages
• maps are always a good IPD since most things take place somewhere
• some students use a small clip from a video to show the class something - either from a video they made themselves or from a video borrowed from the library - the video clip should not be longer than 5 minutes and needs to be introduced to let the audience know what is important to look for
• all students need to have at least 2 different type of IPDs - namely a model or artifact and 1 other type
• write yourself a list of IPDs that you will use for your presentation - this is good for you as a last minute checklist when you get your things ready to bring to school on the day of your presentation - keep this list in your IRP Duo-Tang

6. Presentation Outline - what you are going to talk about during your presentation

• once you have learned all that you need to know to teach us something, plan your presentation
• decide in what order you will tell us things and what you will show us & when
• decide what you will explain when you show us your IPDs - not just "this is...this is..." - so that we understand what we are to learn from looking at your IPD
• make a plan of your presentation & give you r presentation in front of an adult - time it
• when you are happy with your plan & your information, write up a plan for you to use during your presentation
• number your topics  (1., 2., 3...) or use letters (A., B., C.,....) so that you know what order you are going to say things in
• also indicate on your plan when you are going to show what IPD - don't leave all of the showing to the end of your presentation - mix it in
• your plan can only be 1 to 2 pages long & must have heading in the order you will talk about them with a few point form notes under each heading
• you may not write out full sentences or read from your outline
• the outline will not have all of the information you will talk about - just enough to remind you about what you are going to say
• do a final presentation from your outline in front of an audience and time yourself
• on the day of your presentation, the outline is the only piece of paper you may refer to extensively
• keep your Presentation Outline in your IRP Duo-Tang

7. Quiz for the Class

• after your presentation, you will have a question & comment period
• after you have answered all questions, it is your turn to ask the class questions to see if the class learned anything from your presentation
• make up 10 questions about your topic
• the answers should be yes/no, true/false or short answer questions
• do not ask tricky questions - but rather ask questions that should be able to be answered by someone who paid attention to your presentation
• make a good copy of your questions with the answers written in & put it in your IRP Duo-Tang
• you will ask the questions orally and students will write the answers in their notebooks
• you will take up the quiz with the class and the students will mark their own work
• you will record their scores on a class list

8. IRP Duo-Tang

• your IRP Duo-Tang is the place to keep all of your information on your presentation
• on the day of your presentation you need to hand it in right after you present
• the contents of your IRP Duo-Tang need to be in this order:
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Presentation Outline
  3. 10 Question Quiz - Question & Answers
  4. Interview Questions & Notes
  5. Bibliography
  6. Research Notes etc.

Presentation in June  

• your presentation will take place in weeks 36 & 37 of the year (i.e. end of May, beginning of June)
• your presentation is expected to be between 10 & 20 minutes long
• you are expected to have practiced your presentation in full at least twice to an adult before presenting it to the class
• you should check out the IRP Self-Evaluation Matrix to get an idea of what makes a good presentation
• you need to have a Presentation Outline that you will follow when you present
• you are expected to talk about what you know - not read or have a speech memorized
• Photographs – show photos or illustrations
• Model / Display – you need to show a model that you made or a display of items (artifacts) relating to your topic that you gathered
• IPD – you are expected to produce an Information Presentation Device on your topic – choose something from the attached list
• You should tell the class about the Interview you did
• If you have special needs for your presentation (TV needed, special time of day so that your parents can come & watch, you are bringing in a live animal, you will be demonstrating something that requires special equipment, you are bringing in food that needs to be refrigerated etc) you need to discuss this in advance so that proper arrangements can be made
• After your Presentation you will ask the class for Questions & Comments (about 5 to 10)
• After Q&C, you will give the class your Quiz
• You will then get Instant Feedback from the teacher (orally) in the form of PMI - what was Plus, Minus & Interesting about your presentation
• At the end of all of the presentations, you will get an IRP Evaluation