For your natural disaster research project, we'll be learning a few note-taking strategies that will help you collect important information without copying directly from your source. First, a couple of vocabulary words:
Plagiarism: Using someone else's ideas or words as your own.
Paraphrasing: Using new words to state the same meaning.
(Definitions adapted from Merriam-Webster Word Central.)
We want to avoid plagiarism by using good paraphrasing skills - these are learned through practice. Today's activity will help us better understand what good paraphrasing is, as well as how to apply it as we take notes.
I picked an article about a different natural disaster from the ones you're researching to demonstrate. The following paragraph is from a story about Hurricane Katrina:
Plagiarism: Using someone else's ideas or words as your own.
Paraphrasing: Using new words to state the same meaning.
(Definitions adapted from Merriam-Webster Word Central.)
We want to avoid plagiarism by using good paraphrasing skills - these are learned through practice. Today's activity will help us better understand what good paraphrasing is, as well as how to apply it as we take notes.
I picked an article about a different natural disaster from the ones you're researching to demonstrate. The following paragraph is from a story about Hurricane Katrina:
This Day in History: August 29
"Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane on this day in 2005. Despite being only the third most powerful storm of the 2005 hurricane season, Katrina was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. After briefly coming ashore in southern Florida on August 25 as a Category 1 hurricane, Katrina gained strength before slamming into the Gulf Coast on August 29. In addition to bringing devastation to the New Orleans area, the hurricane caused damage along the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as other parts of Louisiana."
- excerpt from This Day in History: Hurricane Katrina Slams Into Gulf Coast
Which of these two is a better example of paraphrasing for this paragraph?
1. Hurricane Katrina his New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005. It was a Category 4 storm and the third most powerful that year, but it ended up being the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. In addition to New Orleans, it damaged Mississippi, Alabama, and other parts of Louisiana.
2. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina became the worst natural disaster the U.S. has ever seen. After gaining strength for days, it hit near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. It also affected Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Why? How did I get there?
1. Hurricane Katrina his New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005. It was a Category 4 storm and the third most powerful that year, but it ended up being the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. In addition to New Orleans, it damaged Mississippi, Alabama, and other parts of Louisiana.
2. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina became the worst natural disaster the U.S. has ever seen. After gaining strength for days, it hit near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. It also affected Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Why? How did I get there?
Use bullet points to pull out information - this will make it easier to use your own words when putting the facts back together. The bullets I used for the paragraph above were:
What do we notice about these?
Let's try one together:
- Hit near New Orleans
- August 29, 2005
- Category 4
- Worst U.S. natural disaster
- Gained strength
- Damaged MS, AL, LA
What do we notice about these?
Let's try one together:
In all, it is believed that the hurricane caused more than 1,300 deaths and up to $150 billion in damages to both private property and public infrastructure. It is estimated that only about $40 billion of that number will be covered by insurance. One million people were displaced by the disaster, a phenomenon unseen in the United States since the Great Depression. Four hundred thousand people lost their jobs as a result of the disaster. Offers of international aid poured in from around the world, even from poor countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Private donations from U.S. citizens alone approached $600 million.
- excerpt from This Day in History: Hurricane Katrina Slams Into Gulf Coast
Now it's your turn to try. You will pair up with a partner researching the same natural disaster as you and complete the following activity:
Pompeii Eruption:
1906 San Francisco Earthquake:
Mount St. Helens Eruption:
2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami:
2010 Haiti Earthquake:
2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami:
- Each of you will read one of the below articles on your topic
- You will have a few minutes to read and take notes using bullet points.
- You may write down up to 10 bullet points using no more than 4 words each.
- Then you'll have to close the computer and tell your partner about what you read using sentences that you build around your bullet points.
- Your partner will ask a question about the topic, then you'll answer.
- Switch roles.
- Finally, after talking about the article, you'll write your own paraphrased sentences based on the bullet point notes you took. This is what you will turn in.
Pompeii Eruption:
1906 San Francisco Earthquake:
Mount St. Helens Eruption:
2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami:
2010 Haiti Earthquake:
2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami: