Students should begin by developing a plan. Teachers should encourage students to research their chosen topic at both the school and public libraries. Each student should write down ideas and create a rough draft before typing the paper. Otherwise, the process can become overwhelming for younger students. Teachers should consider requiring each student to turn in a copy of their rough drafts. This process will give students a more realistic idea of how a true research paper is created.
The teacher must decide on the particular format that students should use. However, most elementary papers should be typed in a size 12 font. Teachers should show students how to make the paper double-spaced, and how to adjust the margins to the correct size. Students can benefit from a sample research paper to show them what their paper should look like. The teacher can also assign a required number of words, pages and references.
Elementary school students consider what information should be included in their report. Young students have a tendency to include every piece of information they can gather. The educator should spend time discussing the difference between meaningful information and information that will distract from the paper. Students should remove information that does not seem to answer a central question about the topic.
It is vital that elementary students learn the rules of giving credit to their sources. Teachers must show students the correct format for citing any information that they have gathered. Students should take notes as they visit the library. Each student should be careful to include multiple sources and reference them correctly. This understanding will help them as they advance to higher levels of learning, and write more detailed research papers.