Talk to your child about what's required. In fourth grade, students are expected to tackle more complex, topical reports than the lower grades. Teachers often send home rubrics--or checklists--of everything that should be included, such as a table of contents, photos and references. If your son or daughter doesn't have any handouts, see if the teacher has a web page that lists the report requirements. If you're really up against the wall on the deadline, your last resort is to call other families in your class to see if they have any of these materials.
Once you know the scope of the project, help your child develop an action plan so he's not crunching the night before it's due. Sit down together and decide how many hours a day he'll need to complete the report and what he can accomplish each day. One hour a day for about seven or eight days shouldn't be too hard, but you may need to break that into two half-hour sessions of work. Decide if and when you need to visit the library, and work it into your schedule. Sooner is better, since many kids will probably be doing the same thing, and it's easy to get sidetracked after school.
Narrow down the subject matter. The ocean is a pretty broad topic and might be too extensive for your child to cover in one report. Find out if they can write about a specific body of water such as the Atlantic, or another subtopic, such as the water cycle or ocean mammals.
Help with research. Most school reports these days require Internet research, or a combination of online and print references. Start by having your child search oceans, but be wary of general sources that don't cite references. Safe bets are marine aquariums and museums, such as the Smithsonian Institute's Ocean Planet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also has an educational site that features reference materials and tutorials. Make sure your student does the investigating himself, but always monitor what he's doing on the Internet.
Print out any research pages that are especially helpful, making sure to cite them on a separate reference page. Print any needed photos, too, and have your child write photo captions.
If you have time, visit your local library. Keep in mind that your fourth grader may not be the only student looking for ocean materials, especially if it's a standard in your state. If you can't find the right books on the shelves, ask the children's librarian. She can direct you to reference sources that can't be checked out so they're always at the library. Make copies of the pages you need, but make sure your child doesn't use these pages verbatim. Don't forget to make some color copies of pictures like maps and ocean creatures.
Now your student is ready to write a first draft. Divide the report into sections that your student wants (or has been assigned) to cover. For instance, if he's writing a report about the Pacific Ocean, he might include the following sections: location, climate, depth, ocean life, major harbors, ecological concerns, hazards and interesting facts. Remember, these are only examples. Your student may have specific sections he needs to cover.
Have him write each topic on notebook pages or index cards.
For each topic, write one to three facts (or more, if needed) on the card. He can write them as bullet points if that's easier.
Using the fact cards as a basis, have your child write rough drafts of each section. Put each fact into a complete sentence and work on making sentences flow together by using connecting phrases such as "in addition," and "because of this." Each section might comprise one to three paragraphs.
Once he's finished with the rough draft of each section, your child can write an introductory paragraph. This sums up what will be included in the report. The first sentence, or opening statement, should be general but include attention-grabbing facts. Something like, "The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on earth, so it has room for plenty of interesting creatures, features and even dangers. This report will examine some of them."
Have your child read his rough draft. Help him find any weak verbs or adjectives that he can replace with stronger, more colorful ones. A thesaurus can help.
Have him rewrite his opening statement and each section. It helps to type it all on a computer. Make sure he saves his work periodically.
He'll need a concluding paragraph. As redundant as it sounds, the conclusion repeats the opening statement using a few different words or phrases. It should be a final word or two that makes the reader think (and shows that the student did some thinking). An example based on the opening statement we used earlier would be something like, "As the largest ocean on earth, the Pacific Ocean is home to some fascinating creatures and interesting geography. We need to take care of this beautiful body of water so that everyone can enjoy it for years to come."
Check each section for correct punctuation, capitalization and grammar, and have your student make any necessary corrections.
Make sure he includes a table of contents and a reference page. If pictures are required, he can draw them, print them out or make copies if he's using a reference book. He can paste photos and drawings on a separate "Pictures" page or intersperse them into the report.
Print out all pages, or have him write his report in his neatest printing or handwriting.
Have him create a report cover of some type. He can use printed pictures from his research or he can draw his own masterpiece. Some teachers require report folders, so check with the teacher to be sure of what's required.