Collaborating with younger grades can be a challenge because the Common Core Standard is for SHARED research in the primary grades. Many of the teachers in my building use the RAN chart to collect shared research and the students use post-it notes to collect new facts, record prior knowledge, monitor their learning, and to ask questions. This strategy was developed by Tony Stead and is discussed in his books Reality Check: Teaching Reading Comprehension Through Nonfiction and Explorations in Nonfiction Writing.
To make the research process more collaborative and portable between the computer lab, library, and classroom, I created RAN charts on 3-panel display boards. This way, teacher are able to bring their shared research to the library where students can add to it, and then fold it up and carry it back to their classrooms. I've done a few trials and it works great!
Here are the headings I created, then I just taped them to the board. I can't wait to use this tool for a larger research project.
How do you handle shared research in your library or classroom? Share in the comments below.