Drawing Conclusions to Answer Your Research Question

1. Drawing Conclusions to Answer Your Research Question You will need… Green Sheet Your note cards Yellow Sheet Sheet of paper to take notes

2. What you will do. . . • Answer your research question by forming an opinion • Support your answer with 3 facts you learned from your research

3. Your conclusion paragraph will look like this: • Your opinion/answer to the research question (thesis) • 3 sentences of supporting facts • Last sentence = profound, insightful

4. Answering the Comparison Question: Sample Comparison Question: How did Auschwitz compare to Bergen-Belsen? • When you began your research, you had two topics. • Ex. Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen • Look over your note cards to find the differences.

5. To answer comparison question • Tip the scales. • Think of adjective or adverb to describe the difference between the two subjects. Your answer to your research question/ essential question will contain a phrase like the phrases below. • More harshly • More ruthless • Better / worse • More compassionate • Safer

6. Write your thesis sentence • Auschwitz was more deadly thanBergen- Belsen. OR • Auschwitz had worse living conditions than Bergen Belsen. OR • Auschwitz was a better organized camp than Bergen Belsen.

7. On yellow log, copy down thesis statement first:Auschwitz was a better organized camp thanBergen-Belsen.Then, choose three general facts that prove your thesis. Copy them into the fact slots. Your thesis sentence and fact sentences together will make your conclusion! • Fact # 1: It was made up of three camps: a forced labor camp, a concentration camp, and a death camp. • Fact # 2: Arriving prisoners went through a selection process to determine which camp they would be sent. • Fact #3: Buna-Monowitz, the labor camp, provided slave labor for large German companies.

8. Finally, write your profound and insightful concluding sentence. • Example: The word Auschwitz has come to symbolize, in many languages, the cruelty and horror of the Holocaust itself. • do not write a summary line there! Say something that makes your teacher think, “this student understands the material and is is taking it to a higher level, mentioning implications of the subject.”

9. Your paragraph will look like this… Auschwitz was a better organized camp thanBergen-Belsen.It was made up of three camps: a forced labor camp, a concentration camp, and a death camp. Buna-Monowitz, the labor camp, provided slave labor for large German companies. More than 1,000,000 people were exterminated at Birkenau, the death camp. Arriving prisoners went through a selection process to determine to which camp they would be sent. The word Auschwitz has come to symbolize, in many languages, the cruelty and horror of the Holocaust itself.

10. More examples of Comparison Words/Descriptions: • More important • More successful • More organized • More advanced • Stronger • Stricter • Smarter

11. Example of Cause and Effect: How did Kindertransport affect Jewish children? • Look at your notes about Jewish children. • How did life for Jewish children change after the Kindertransport? • Was it better or worse?

12. Cause and Effect • Answer HOW did the one subject affect the other subject? • Kindertransport had a positive effect for many Jewish children. OR • Although Kindertransport may have been a controversial effort to save Jewish children, it was the best thing that could have happened to them. OR • Without Kindertransport, life for Jewish children would have been devastating.

13. Sample Thesis: Although Kindertransport may have been a controversial effort to save Jewish children, it was the best thing that could have happened to them. • Three facts that support your opinion. • Ten thousand Jewish children under the age of seventeen were saved from Nazi oppression. • The majority of these children were well-treated in England and cared for by foster families. • Many children grew to be productive citizens in the countries in which they settled.

14. Write your paragraph and include a concluding sentence. Although Kindertransport may have been a controversial effort to save Jewish children, it was the best thing that could have happened to them.Ten thousand Jewish children under the age of seventeen were saved from Nazi oppression. The majority of these children were well-treated in England and cared for by foster families. Many grew to be productive citizens in the countries in which they settled. If not for Kindertransport, many generations would not be with us today.

15. Helpful Hints • Do not use “In my opinion” or “I think” or “You.” • The 3 supporting facts for your thesis belong in separate sentences. • If you are doing a comparison question, keep your facts on one side! Do not write one about Auschwitz and the other about Bergen-Belsen and the next about Auschwitz. Keep all about Auschwitz or keep all about Bergen-Belsen.

16. Review: How to complete your yellow conclusion sheet: • 1) Write thesis • 2) Write 3 facts that prove your thesis • 3) Write your insightful concluding line • Show deep understanding of topic • Why does your subject matter? • Was there a lesson learned? • What is our responsibility?