Teaching Resources

7 Keys to Research for Writing Success: A Conversation with Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison (and a giveaway!)

 //  Jan 25, 2018

7 Keys to Research for Writing Success: A Conversation with Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison (and a giveaway!)

Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison are co-authors of 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. They join edu@scholastic to share a conversation about their process for conceiving of and writing the book, as well as why it's so important for educators to understand how to talk about research.

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving five readers the chance to win a copy of 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment below telling us about the most successful research project you've done with students in your class. One entry per person. All entries must be submitted by 5:59 p.m. ET on February 9, 2018. U.S. residents, 18 and over, please. See the complete legal rules here.

We would like to share our writing journey with you for our latest Scholastic book, 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. As a literacy expert and educator (Mary Jo) and children’s book author (David), we have collaborated for several years, and knew that we could grow this work into a resource that will help educators teach students how to get ready to write. And as writers, both of us know from lots of trial and error that in order to craft something powerful, you have to be prepared. It was in this idea of preparation that we saw an important opportunity. 

We had conversations about writing (and teaching writing) with many writers, editors and teachers, and decided that our book didn’t need to be about the writing process. There are excellent titles about the process but there is not much information about what writers need to do before they are ready to write. Preparing to write—doing the presearch and research about a subject—shapes what we say and how we say it when the time comes to do the writing. Presearch is what writers do to prepare for the real digging for information (research). It’s the time when we think about the task ahead, decide what we’ll need to know, and map out how we’ll go about the process. In other words, presearch is planning for research. When young writers learn to organize their thoughts and questions, as well as the knowledge they bring to a subject, they have a solid foundation on which to tell a compelling story or craft an iron-clad argument. 

We also knew that “doing research” is a skill that needs to be taught in a practical way. It’s not enough to say, “look at books,” or “enlist the librarian.” Students need guidance on how to do these things with purpose: to select a topic, ask the right questions, consult reliable resources (as author Dan Brown says, “Google is not a synonym for research”), take good notes, and prepare to write. When students have these skills, they become independent researchers, which is an important part of the writing process. 

We wrote 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success with help from experienced teachers who provided samples of their students’ work, and David dug into his own research notes for examples to share with students. He shared stories (all in the book!) about how important good research is to his writing. 

David offered this example in particular:

“A key element in a middle grade novel I was developing involved a scientist and his son driving across the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to spend a summer researching. When I personally traveled from Missouri to Arizona to see for myself the place I was describing, I learned that driving across that desert was actually not allowed. With this knowledge, I had to adjust: my adventurers had to settle for staying at a campsite! (And I had to make sure that any further plot points reflected the change.)”

Sharing stories like this with students drives home the point that unless we prepare before we start, our writing may have holes or inconsistencies that we don’t even know about! Our writing won’t be true and our readers will be cheated.

The teachers we worked with appreciated the step-by-step, efficient way they could teach good research skills to their students. By presearching a proposed topic, students discover if their idea is too big or too narrow. This saves time later on and helps keep students from being overwhelmed (by too much information) or disappointed (by too little). By putting a laser focus on their topics, students could choose more specific key words, saving time in the search and yielding better results. From there students can get really engaged in their topic. Suddenly, they will realize that research is the same for them as it is for published authors. We believe that if you do the (pre)work, you will wow your reader with a piece full of interesting and relevant facts and details. 

We open the book with an anonymous quote that we will use to close this blog post: “The future belongs to the curious. The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke it, question it and turn it inside out.”

We wish happy research adventures to you and your students!

Comments

comment4, acheter cialis

comment4, acheter cialis professional en ligne, 559, acheter female viagra, 8((, levitra professional france, 872929, zyvox france, cqil, acheter lasix france, >:((, commander kamagra effervescent, 389, acheter kamagra, 8-[, avis lovegra, %-)), acheter viagra professional, pxukjc, acheter levitra en ligne, hbqdl, vente brand cialis, 11855, vente augmentin, :DD, acheter provigil france, 981, acheter cialis super active france, zymk,

comment6, commander lasix, >

comment6, commander lasix, >:]], avis augmentin, 3835, vente viagra soft, 889, acheter viagra super active en ligne, =-DD, acheter cialis black france, >:-DDD, pas cher lioresal, 056791, pas cher glucophage, vsfm, achat synthroid, 282, vente cialis soft, %O, acheter prednisolone france, 54537, vente propecia, 099, acheter levitra france, bqsuqt, avis lovegra, 8-[[, acheter brand cialis france, 5466,

comment1, acheter cialis

comment1, acheter cialis professional france, 372, vente female viagra, 622, prix levitra professional, %-OO, vente zyvox, 43658, pas cher lasix, :-))), vente kamagra effervescent, %-[, avis kamagra, %]], avis lovegra, 48645, acheter viagra professional france, =), acheter levitra france, 849816, commander brand cialis, =[, acheter augmentin en ligne, jcnhk, provigil france, 8P, acheter cialis super active france, hrbqjc,

comment3, acheter accutane,

comment3, acheter accutane, :-]]], cenforce en ligne, %-P, achat kamagra jelly, 8], prix female viagra, 871324, avis prednisolone, ljftgo, acheter baclofen, 2709, vente clomid, 749, achat synthroid, sbp, prix brand cialis, %-]], acheter sildalis, nig, acheter propecia france, ynp, achat estrace, gbld, achat amoxil, >:-O, vente cialis soft, hpvasj,

comment4, prix viagra

comment4, prix viagra professional, 8-[[, achat zyban, 530, acheter estrace france, 4809, acheter cialis super active en ligne, :D, viagra soft en ligne, rzgbii, prix doxycycline, jzt, pas cher augmentin, =-)), commander super kamagra, 285615, clomid france, 45985, acheter provigil, noaq, commander cialis black, =[[, vente orlistat, =-DDD, achat kamagra jelly, =], commander cialis soft, xtsf,

comment5, acheter propecia,

comment5, acheter propecia, nny, pas cher zyvox, oqblz, brand cialis en ligne, auf, avis glucophage, =-(, avis super kamagra, >:-[, generique chloroquine, 8), avis chloroquine, zbbm, prix chloroquine, txfbjr, achat chloroquine, cefpfv, vente chloroquine en ligne, 7350, chloroquine achat, %-[,

comment2, chloroquine acheter

comment2, chloroquine acheter, 511, chloroquine en ligne, mhogr, pas cher chloroquine, ykpzoh,

comment3, achat chloroquine

comment3, achat chloroquine en ligne, =-)), vente chloroquine, 1689, chloroquine achat, 822034,

comment5, acheter chloroquine

comment5, acheter chloroquine en ligne, 8-D, vente chloroquine en ligne, lumvu, commander chloroquine, :-(((,

comment1, vente chloroquine

comment1, vente chloroquine en ligne, asm, vente chloroquine, 049842, vente chloroquine, :[[[,

comment2, cialis professional

comment2, cialis professional france, kblg, acheter female viagra en ligne, 8-PP, acheter levitra professional france, 67979, zyvox france, bjvhqc, lasix france, foheld, acheter kamagra effervescent en ligne, kwpyuf, kamagra france, 17700, acheter lovegra france, ftks, achat viagra professional, 32403, levitra en ligne, zwqelt, acheter brand cialis, rdwm, augmentin en ligne, 074, provigil en ligne, >:[[, acheter cialis super active, ltm,

comment3, avis female viagra,

comment3, avis female viagra, :]]], achat accutane, 50738, acheter stromectol, 167, acheter levitra professional, jmrich, vente estrace, ttpx, prix prednisolone, 630104, acheter priligy france, >:-(, acheter viagra super active en ligne, :]]], avis cialis black, >:-), aralen en ligne, elfgs, acheter augmentin en ligne, kiizj, viagra professional en ligne, :[, achat orlistat, %-], prix sildalis, eztjcz,

comment3, vente clomid,

comment3, vente clomid, 834216, avis doxycycline, =-D, pas cher sildalis, qvnkqr, prix aralen, rkcgy, brand viagra france, 9751, acheter cialis black, mky, achat super kamagra, 051, cialis soft en ligne, 121901, acheter propecia france, =-(, acheter valtrex en ligne, twowo, acheter glucophage, %OO, achat zyban, knffh, achat prednisolone, khbw, avis estrace, 65685,

comment2, clomid en ligne,

comment2, clomid en ligne, 8PP, acheter doxycycline en ligne, >:-]]], acheter sildalis en ligne, >:[[, aralen france, =-D, brand viagra france, hbfb, prix cialis black, :O, vente super kamagra, 972271, cialis soft france, lylvnz, prix propecia, 30244, valtrex en ligne, 74003, acheter glucophage, :)), vente zyban, 725, prix prednisolone, 153600, vente estrace, =-O,

comment3, acheter female

comment3, acheter female viagra france, 51133, acheter accutane france, %-]]], vente stromectol, ecdya, achat levitra professional, :-(((, prix estrace, 4425, acheter prednisolone, %-], priligy france, :], prix viagra super active, 24725, commander cialis black, >:-PPP, acheter aralen, %-DD, achat augmentin, >:-OOO, acheter viagra professional, %PPP, acheter orlistat, jajsx, achat sildalis, tzcj,

comment2, acheter doxycycline

comment2, acheter doxycycline, 874, acheter lioresal en ligne, dlmij, acheter stromectol en ligne, %-PPP, vente lovegra, qtm, prix brand levitra, uwep, commander zyvox, 8PP, commander cialis super active, 640, avis apcalis sx, 8]]], acheter orlistat france, 823227, viagra super active en ligne, csid, aralen france, :], acheter super kamagra, cqqs, brand viagra france, isn, acheter valtrex en ligne, 7169,

comment6, acheter chloroquine

comment6, acheter chloroquine en ligne, wplq, vente chloroquine en ligne, :-PP, acheter chloroquine, 4410,

comment6, accutane en ligne,

comment6, accutane en ligne, pazgh, acheter super kamagra, 8DDD, prix viagra soft, 8-PP, achat kamagra effervescent, cxv, synthroid en ligne, ebaa, commander kamagra, 8))), vente amoxil, %DDD, vente cenforce, nkww, levitra en ligne, %))), acheter lioresal france, wmodcy, pas cher zyban, 57234, achat provigil, jadrjg, acheter valtrex, pdowd, pas cher baclofen, :-D,

comment1, accutane france,

comment1, accutane france, vnqkua, achat cenforce, reqvzk, vente kamagra jelly, zdiv, achat female viagra, 7955, prix prednisolone, 0863, acheter baclofen en ligne, 8-[[[, vente clomid, 224462, avis synthroid, 257, brand cialis en ligne, :], sildalis france, =-)), pas cher propecia, 24161, avis estrace, jfsrvj, amoxil en ligne, %[[, cialis soft france, 4128,

comment3, pas cher female

comment3, pas cher female viagra, ocu, acheter accutane france, >:-DD, avis stromectol, 8D, achat levitra professional, 732438, estrace en ligne, pye, acheter prednisolone en ligne, 093, achat priligy, %OOO, pas cher viagra super active, %[[, cialis black en ligne, >:-)), acheter aralen en ligne, 34144, avis augmentin, 694, acheter viagra professional france, cbjoi, acheter orlistat en ligne, lxzb, acheter sildalis, :]]],

comment4, acheter accutane en

comment4, acheter accutane en ligne, =-]], pas cher cenforce, krlz, acheter kamagra jelly, xjcwma, commander female viagra, 815, commander prednisolone, cfkavx, prix baclofen, 610759, acheter clomid, 0275, achat synthroid, :-PPP, acheter brand cialis france, goy, sildalis france, 27574, avis propecia, >:-OOO, acheter estrace, cog, amoxil france, :D, prix cialis soft, >:PP,

comment6, acheter cenforce

comment6, acheter cenforce france, xir, vente brand cialis, xgyf, acheter kamagra, 2981, avis levitra professional, >:-DDD, avis amoxil, 48508, pas cher sildalis, lqi, acheter kamagra effervescent, yhxrgn, commander prednisolone, 119, acheter apcalis sx france, >:)), acheter valtrex france, 8(((, brand levitra en ligne, 770, acheter glucophage en ligne, =))), acheter ventolin en ligne, wdik, acheter brand viagra france, 81508,

comment4, pas cher

comment4, pas cher doxycycline, 8-[[[, prix lioresal, sjqm, avis stromectol, laur, commander lovegra, %DD, acheter brand levitra, :], pas cher zyvox, 8-P, cialis super active france, 479, pas cher apcalis sx, :-DDD, commander orlistat, %-OOO, achat viagra super active, 1129, aralen france, rtvlfb, prix super kamagra, %-]], acheter brand viagra en ligne, =OO, commander valtrex, ntku,

comment1, prix accutane, 237

comment1, prix accutane, 237, vente super kamagra, %P, acheter viagra soft france, =DD, avis kamagra effervescent, 294, avis synthroid, 8-]]], acheter kamagra, fsp, amoxil en ligne, 2679, acheter cenforce, %(, acheter levitra en ligne, uiqv, pas cher lioresal, 60525, acheter zyban france, hxrg, commander provigil, 8863, avis valtrex, sodrjx, avis baclofen, >:D,

comment2, accutane france,

comment2, accutane france, qfdj, achat priligy, 0636, baclofen en ligne, 1895, commander brand levitra, :), avis apcalis sx, %-DD, achat amoxil, gnci, commander orlistat, 8((, prix cenforce, %[, lioresal en ligne, bgr, achat stromectol, >:]], acheter synthroid, oks, achat kamagra jelly, 505604, acheter ventolin, 8-OOO, acheter viagra super active, =-[,

comment6, viagra professional

comment6, viagra professional en ligne, >:-((, achat zyban, 595, acheter estrace, dfll, vente cialis super active, fasju, viagra soft france, fhx, acheter doxycycline, pwa, prix augmentin, :]], super kamagra en ligne, lrb, clomid france, 40043, provigil france, >:-]]], vente cialis black, 4932, vente orlistat, vgauxo, commander kamagra jelly, fvl, pas cher cialis soft, ziaqa,

comment1, acheter accutane,

comment1, acheter accutane, 8]]], super kamagra france, 835, vente viagra soft, 476, pas cher kamagra effervescent, wjw, acheter synthroid, %]]], acheter kamagra, =-(, amoxil en ligne, 265731, commander cenforce, ohqcgb, avis levitra, hleguj, lioresal france, vhexb, acheter zyban france, 299, acheter provigil france, 70686, prix valtrex, 8-[[[, baclofen en ligne, 331572,

comment6, acheter female

comment6, acheter female viagra france, %-], accutane france, nbdb, stromectol france, 8-[[[, levitra professional france, 32912, commander estrace, gcykh, prednisolone en ligne, 737324, acheter priligy en ligne, gmi, commander viagra super active, czv, achat cialis black, :-D, vente aralen, 291078, commander augmentin, :-))), pas cher viagra professional, kxzl, commander orlistat, wrwru, vente sildalis, =-(,

comment3, chloroquine achat,

comment3, chloroquine achat, 08801, vente chloroquine en ligne, 754, pas cher chloroquine, 8-),

comment5, chloroquine en

comment5, chloroquine en ligne, 490, achat chloroquine en ligne, 969, achat chloroquine, %-PPP,

comment5, vente chloroquine

comment5, vente chloroquine en ligne, >:-O, achat chloroquine en ligne, >:(, achat chloroquine, =(((,

comment2, generique

comment2, generique chloroquine, 5772, pas cher chloroquine, kyhua, avis chloroquine, %]]],

comment3, avis cialis

comment3, avis cialis professional, >:], commander female viagra, 8[[[, vente levitra professional, 212192, zyvox en ligne, >:-[, lasix france, =-D, achat kamagra effervescent, 251, kamagra france, ltdfn, prix lovegra, 8[, commander viagra professional, 4089, pas cher levitra, =O, brand cialis france, bxuzri, acheter augmentin, vfxz, acheter provigil, :PP, prix cialis super active, kgp,

comment2, avis stromectol,

comment2, avis stromectol, 5770, levitra en ligne, :-(, avis viagra super active, 892757, acheter lovegra en ligne, 259, avis cialis professional, qtrrg, acheter priligy en ligne, dxcfhv, acheter female viagra, 8144, aralen en ligne, cug, commander lioresal, >:-)), vente zyvox, %]], acheter lasix en ligne, txz, acheter synthroid france, 95276, baclofen en ligne, 4339, acheter propecia, :-[[[,

comment2, acheter female

comment2, acheter female viagra france, 8[, commander accutane, 766, prix stromectol, few, pas cher levitra professional, 539185, prix estrace, %-PPP, prednisolone en ligne, :PPP, commander priligy, exzs, acheter viagra super active, xvuxqy, acheter cialis black, 939178, avis aralen, =-[[, pas cher augmentin, >:-PPP, commander viagra professional, =[[, achat orlistat, 7905, sildalis en ligne, :-PPP,

comment1, acheter female

comment1, acheter female viagra en ligne, xatf, acheter accutane france, mnwjtc, acheter stromectol france, 915464, levitra professional france, 14564, vente estrace, %-((, avis prednisolone, qkmo, acheter priligy, 3328, commander viagra super active, cuj, pas cher cialis black, emojvj, prix aralen, %DD, prix augmentin, 3110, vente viagra professional, zbvyw, orlistat france, dstjr, avis sildalis, 811,

comment6, prix doxycycline,

comment6, prix doxycycline, >:-))), lioresal en ligne, yatpry, achat stromectol, 9697, acheter lovegra, :), achat brand levitra, czlle, commander zyvox, 820642, achat cialis super active, jflwe, prix apcalis sx, 0111, orlistat en ligne, >:-]], acheter viagra super active france, hlo, pas cher aralen, :[, commander super kamagra, 289840, pas cher brand viagra, =-DD, prix valtrex, >:[,

comment3, commander

comment3, commander chloroquine, 8PP, acheter chloroquine en ligne, :((, chloroquine france, axcwja,

comment2, acheter chloroquine

comment2, acheter chloroquine, 72177, vente chloroquine en ligne, kwucoi, chloroquine achat, wqw,

comment1, acheter female

comment1, acheter female viagra france, jug, accutane france, ptnnw, vente stromectol, 7387, achat levitra professional, %-P, commander estrace, osp, prix prednisolone, 726198, achat priligy, ejto, pas cher viagra super active, =DDD, acheter cialis black france, %PPP, commander aralen, urztzo, augmentin france, nenzoc, vente viagra professional, 666468, vente orlistat, 99788, vente sildalis, :-]],

comment6, vente accutane, =

comment6, vente accutane, =-D, viagra soft france, slc, commander cialis professional, qgi, commander cialis black, >:), commander levitra professional, %-), viagra professional france, zxkefy, achat provigil, 50227, commander zyban, 8-[[, acheter levitra, 07472, acheter kamagra effervescent, tbkdux, prix kamagra, qpxy, pas cher priligy, mcfjo, acheter ventolin, 93445, pas cher glucophage, 9104,

comment2, zyvox en ligne,

comment2, zyvox en ligne, 1241, acheter provigil france, 217, zyban en ligne, >:O, vente brand levitra, =-(, avis valtrex, azqq, commander lasix, 125, kamagra en ligne, hdii, achat brand viagra, 8((, acheter clomid france, kopz, avis stromectol, =-]], cenforce france, 164317, commander doxycycline, kwker, ventolin en ligne, zmgq, achat female viagra, :-PP,

comment3, vente stromectol,

comment3, vente stromectol, 8-]], pas cher levitra, 8(((, commander viagra super active, %], acheter lovegra, hzway, avis cialis professional, wyqpke, pas cher priligy, vwwvb, vente female viagra, 0514, acheter aralen, 8], acheter lioresal en ligne, >:]], vente zyvox, %-), lasix france, >:-))), pas cher synthroid, 8O, baclofen en ligne, rswlt, pas cher propecia, 213780,

comment4, prix viagra

comment4, prix viagra professional, %-O, prix zyban, 02306, avis estrace, =DD, cialis super active france, 543746, viagra soft france, 50825, vente doxycycline, 9975, augmentin en ligne, 8[[, acheter super kamagra france, =-P, avis clomid, >:-)), avis provigil, 10923, vente cialis black, 8-PP, acheter orlistat en ligne, fse, kamagra jelly france, 5719, commander cialis soft, >:(,

comment2, achat propecia, :

comment2, achat propecia, :-DD, avis zyvox, 99441, brand cialis en ligne, elcetx, acheter glucophage, yqkbh, acheter super kamagra france, 44471, chloroquine france, 34350, commander chloroquine, 65661, avis chloroquine, 474, prix chloroquine, 04656, commander chloroquine, :[[, commander chloroquine, :))),

Pages