research project lesson plan high school

• Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

• These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
• Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
• Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
• Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
• Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
• Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

• Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
• Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
• Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
• Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
• Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
• Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like  Thesaurus.com .
• Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

• Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
• Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
• Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
• Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest).  Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
• Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
• Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
• Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
• Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
• Watch this video  from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
• Take a look at  20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know  by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
• Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

• Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me?  by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
• Brainstorm a list of popular domains   (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
• Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results  (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
• Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
• Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
• Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
• Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
• Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

• Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
• Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
• Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
• Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
• Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
• Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
• As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
• Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

• Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
• Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
• Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
• Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
• Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
• Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
• Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
• Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source. 
• Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
• Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
• Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

• Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
• Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
• Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
• Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

Research Lesson Plan

This lesson plan accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Research , and can be completed over several class periods. See suggested times for each section.

Students will:

Activate prior knowledge about how to do a research project.

Identify the sequence of events for conducting research.

Use critical thinking skills to analyze how and why having a focus is key to conducting research and doing a research report.

Demonstrate understanding through creative projects, such as producing a movie using research they gathered, or coding a game that challenges players to sort the different research steps.

Present projects and reflect on new understandings.

TEACHER PRE-PLANNING

For background on the Research Topic , click the Full Description link below the movie player.

The INVESTIGATE and CREATE sections of the lesson require students to use Make-a-Map, Make-a-Movie, and Creative Coding projects. Assign the Research Make-a-Map to the class in advance of the lesson. 

Approximate time: 20-25 minutes

Begin the lesson plan by activating students’ prior knowledge and making real-life connections.  Then show the movie to introduce the topic. 

• DISPLAY this Anchor Question on whiteboard and read it aloud: What are the signs of a good research question? Tell students they will investigate this question over the course of the lesson and will return to it at the end.
• ACTIVATE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE by having pairs or small groups share with each other steps they’ve taken for doing a research project, including what has and hasn’t worked.
• READ ALOUD the description below the movie player.
• MAKE CONNECTIONS by asking students to share specific research projects they’ve worked on and what they learned from the experience. 
• WATCH the movie Research as a whole class on the whiteboard. Turn on the closed caption option to aid in comprehension.    

INVESTIGATE

Prompt students’ inquiry and critical thinking skills by having them find key details to build knowledge and understanding.

FIND EVIDENCE

• Students open their Make-a-Map Assignment and select or create a sequence map. They type the question they will investigate at the top:  What are the steps to conducting research for a research report?
• As students watch the movie again, they identify the steps for doing a research report. Evidence can include text, images, and movie clips. ADDED CHALLENGE : Prompt students to include evidence for why research isn’t always a linear process; why returning to earlier steps is sometimes a key step to conducting research. SUPPORT TIP: Help students by identifying the first step or two for doing a research report, and add it to the concept map.
• Students SUBMIT their maps when they are done.

Approximate time: 45-60 minutes

Students demonstrate their understanding by synthesizing their ideas and expressing them through one or more of the following hands-on, creative projects.  They can work individually or collaborate. Remind them to use evidence from their concept maps in their creations.

APPLY KNOWLEDGE   

• Research Memes :   Code a research meme. It can be about a research topic, the research process, or even a famous researcher.  Your meme can be funny or serious!
• A Research Tutorial : Produce a mini tutorial for classmates describing a research report you’re working on now, and the steps you are taking. Include your research question. 
• Research Steps Game : Code a game challenging players to identify when in the research process different steps happen: beginning, middle, or end.

Wrap up the lesson with student presentations and a final reflection on learning.

PRESENT : Students present their completed projects to their classmates. 

WRAP UP : Draw attention to the Anchor Question again: What are the signs of a good research question? Students answer the question using their new knowledge.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

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How to teach research skills to high school students: 12 tips

by mindroar | Oct 10, 2021 | blog | 0 comments

Teachers often find it difficult to decide how to teach research skills to high school students. You probably feel students should know how to do research by high school. But often students’ skills are lacking in one or more areas.

Today we’re not going to give you research skills lesson plans for high school. But we will give you 12 tips for how to teach research skills to high school students. Bonus, the tips will make it quick, fun, and easy.

One of my favorite ways of teaching research skills to high school students is to use the Crash Course Navigating Digital Information series.

The videos are free and short (between ten and fifteen minutes each). They cover information such as evaluating the trustworthiness of sources, using Wikipedia, lateral reading, and understanding how the source medium can affect the message.

Another thing I like to integrate into my lessons are the Crash Course Study Skills videos . Again, they’re free and short. Plus they are an easy way to refresh study skills such as:

• note-taking
• writing papers
• editing papers
• getting organized
• and studying for tests and exams.

If you’re ready to get started, we’ll give you links to great resources that you can integrate into your lessons. Because often students just need a refresh on a particular skill and not a whole semester-long course.

1. Why learn digital research skills?

Tip number one of how to teach research skills to high school students. Address the dreaded ‘why?’ questions upfront. You know the questions: Why do we have to do this? When am I ever going to use this?

If your students understand why they need good research skills and know that you will show them specific strategies to improve their skills, they are far more likely to buy into learning about how to research effectively.

An easy way to answer this question is that students spend so much time online. Some people spend almost an entire day online each week.

It’s amazing to have such easy access to information, unlike the pre-internet days. But there is far more misinformation and disinformation online.

A webpage, Facebook post, Instagram post, YouTube video, infographic, meme, gif, TikTok video (etc etc) can be created by just about anyone with a phone. And it’s easy to create them in a way that looks professional and legitimate.

This can make it hard for people to know what is real, true, evidence-based information and what is not.

The first Crash Course Navigating Digital Information video gets into the nitty-gritty of why we should learn strategies for evaluating the information we find (online or otherwise!).

An easy way to answer the ‘why’ questions your high schoolers will ask, the video is an excellent resource.

2. Teaching your students to fact check

Tip number two for teaching research skills to high school students is to teach your students concrete strategies for how to check facts.

It’s surprising how many students will hand in work with blatant factual errors. Errors they could have avoided had they done a quick fact check.

An easy way to broach this research skill in high school is to watch the second video in the Crash Course Navigating Digital Information series. It explains what fact-checking is, why people should do it, and how to make it a habit.

You can explain to your students that they’ll write better papers if they learn to fact-check. But they’ll also make better decisions if they make fact-checking a habit.

The video looks at why people are more likely to believe mis- or disinformation online. And it shows students a series of questions they can use to identify mis- or disinformation.

The video also discusses why it’s important to find a few generally reliable sources of information and to use those as a way to fact-check other online sources.

3. Teaching your students how and why to read laterally

This ties in with tip number 2 – teach concrete research strategies – but it is more specific. Fact-checking tends to be checking what claim sources are making, who is making the claim, and corroborating the claim with other sources.

But lateral reading is another concrete research skills strategy that you can teach to students. This skill helps students spot inaccurate information quickly and avoid wasting valuable research time.

One of the best (and easiest!) research skills for high school students to learn is how to read laterally. And teachers can demonstrate it so, so easily. As John Green says in the third Crash Course Navigating Digital Information video , just open another tab!

The video also shows students good websites to use to check hoaxes and controversial information.

Importantly, John Green also explains that students need a “toolbox” of strategies to assess sources of information. There’s not one magic source of information that is 100% accurate.

4. Teaching your students how to evaluate trustworthiness

Deciding who to trust online can be difficult even for those of us with lots of experience navigating online. And it is made even more difficult by how easy it now is to create a professional-looking websites.

This video shows students what to look for when evaluating trustworthiness. It also explains how to take bias, opinion, and political orientations into account when using information sources.

The video explains how reputable information sources gather reliable information (versus disreputable sources). And shows how reputable information sources navigate the situation when they discover their information is incorrect or misleading.

Students can apply the research skills from this video to news sources, novel excerpts, scholarly articles, and primary sources. Teaching students to look for bias, political orientation, and opinions within all sources is one of the most valuable research skills for high school students.

5. Teaching your students to use Wikipedia

Now, I know that Wikipedia can be the bane of your teacherly existence when you are reading essays. I know it can make you want to gouge your eyes out with a spoon when you read the same recycled article in thirty different essays. But, teaching students how to use Wikipedia as a jumping-off point is a useful skill.

Wikipedia is no less accurate than other online encyclopedia-type sources. And it often includes hyperlinks and references that students can check or use for further research. Plus it has handy-dandy warnings for inaccurate and contentious information.

Part of how to teach research skills to high school students is teaching them how to use general reference material such as encyclopedias for broad information. And then following up with how to use more detailed information such as primary and secondary sources.

The Crash Course video about Wikipedia is an easy way to show students how to use it more effectively.

6. Teaching your students to evaluate evidence

Another important research skill to teach high school students is how to evaluate evidence. This skill is important, both in their own and in others’ work.

An easy way to do this is the Crash Course video about evaluating evidence video. The short video shows students how to evaluate evidence using authorship, the evidence provided, and the relevance of the evidence.

It also gives examples of ways that evidence can be used to mislead. For example, it shows that simply providing evidence doesn’t mean that the evidence is quality evidence that supports the claim being made.

The video shows examples of evidence that is related to a topic, but irrelevant to the claim. Having an example of irrelevant evidence helps students understand the difference between related but irrelevant evidence and evidence that is relevant to the claim.

Finally, the video gives students questions that they can use to evaluate evidence.

7. Teaching your students to evaluate photos and videos

While the previous video about evidence looked at how to evaluate evidence in general, this video looks specifically at video and photographic evidence.

The video looks at how videos and photos can be manipulated to provide evidence for a claim. It suggests that seeking out the context for photos and videos is especially important as a video or photo is easy to misinterpret. This is especially the case if a misleading caption or surrounding information is provided.

The video also gives tools that students can use to discover hoaxes or fakes. Similarly, it encourages people to look for the origin of the photo or video to find the creator. And to then use that with contextual information to decide whether the photo or video is reliable evidence for a claim.

8. Teaching your students to evaluate data and infographics

Other sources of evidence that students (and adults!) often misinterpret or are misled by are data and infographics. Often people take the mere existence of statistics or other data as evidence for a claim instead of investigating further.

Again the Crash Course video suggests seeking out the source and context for data and infographics. It suggests that students often see data as neutral and irrefutable, but that data is inherently biased as it is created by humans.

The video gives a real-world example of how data can be manipulated as a source of evidence by showing how two different news sources represented global warming data.

9. Teaching your students how search engines work and why to use click restraint

Another video from the Crash Course Navigating Digital Information series is the video about how search engines work and click restraint . This video shows how search engines decide which information to list at the top of the search results. It also shows how search engines decide what information is relevant and of good quality.

The video gives search tips for using search engines to encourage the algorithms to return more reliable and accurate results.

This video is important when you are want to know how to teach research skills to high school students. This is because many students don’t understand why the first few results on a search are not necessarily the best information available.

10. Teach your students how to evaluate social media sources

One of the important research skills high school students need is to evaluate social media posts. Many people now get news and information from social media sites that have little to no oversight or editorial control. So, being able to evaluate posts for accuracy is key.

This video in the Crash Course Navigating Digital Information series also explains that social media sites are free to use because they make money from advertising. The advertising money comes from keeping people on the platform (and looking at the ads).

How do they keep people on the platform? By using algorithms that gather information about how long people spend on or react to different photos, posts and videos. Then, the algorithms will send viewers more content that is similar to the content that they view or interact with.

This prioritizes content that is controversial, shocking, engaging, attractive. It also reinforces the social norms of the audience members using the platform.

By teaching students how to combat the way that social media algorithms work, you can show them how to gather more reliable and relevant information in their everyday lives. Further, you help students work out if social media posts are relevant to (reliable for) their academic work.

11. Teaching your students how to cite sources

Another important research skill high school students need is how to accurately cite sources. A quick Google search turned up a few good free ideas:

• This lesson plan from the Brooklyn Library for grades 4-11. It aligns with the common core objectives and provides worksheets for students to learn to use MLA citation.
• This blog post about middle-school teacher Jody Passanini’s experiences trying to teach students in English and History how to cite sources both in-text and at the end with a reference list.
• This scavenger hunt lesson by 8th grade teacher on ReadWriteThink. It has a free printout asking students to prove assertions (which could be either student- or teacher-generated) with quotes from the text and a page number. It also has an example answer using the Catching Fire (Hunger Games) novel.
• The Chicago Manual of Style has this quick author-date citation guide .
• This page by Purdue Online Writing Lab has an MLA citation guide , as well as links to other citation guides such as APA.

If you are wanting other activities, a quick search of TPT showed these to be popular and well-received by other teachers:

• Laura Randazzo’s 9th edition MLA in-text and end-of-text citation activities
• Tracee Orman 8th edition MLA cheet sheet
• The Daring English Teacher’s MLA 8th edition citation powerpoint

12. Teaching your students to take notes

Another important skill to look at when considering how to teach research skills to high school students is whether they know how to take effective notes.

The Crash Course Study Skills note-taking video is great for this. It outlines three note-taking styles – the outline method, the Cornell method, and the mind map method. And it shows students how to use each of the methods.

This can help you start a conversation with your students about which styles of note-taking are most effective for different tasks.

For example, mind maps are great for seeing connections between ideas and brain dumps. The outline method is great for topics that are hierarchical. And the Cornell method is great for topics with lots of specific vocabulary.

Having these types of metacognitive discussions with your students helps them identify study and research strategies. It also helps them to learn which strategies are most effective in different situations.

Teaching research skills to high school students . . .

Doesn’t have to be

• time-consuming

The fantastic Crash Course Navigating Digital Information videos are a great way to get started if you are wondering how to teach research skills to high school students.

If you decide to use the videos in your class, you can buy individual worksheets if you have specific skills in mind. Or you can buy the full bundle if you think you’ll end up watching all of the videos.

Got any great tips for teaching research skills to high school students?

Head over to our Facebook or Instagram pages and let us know!

CommonLit 360 How to Teach a CommonLit 360 Research Unit

Olivia Franklin

Engage students with interesting research topics, teach them skills to become adept independent researchers, and help them craft their end-of-unit research papers.

CommonLit 360 is a comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6-12. Our standards-aligned units are highly engaging and develop core reading and writing skills.

Want to engage students in independent research? Looking to hook students with interesting research questions and informational texts? CommonLit has your back.

CommonLit’s 360 curriculum provides research units for grades 6-10 that will help students complete independent research and craft evidence-based research papers.

Get students excited about their research with Essential Questions designed around timely topics

Each research unit has an Essential Question that students analyze and discuss throughout the unit. The topics for each research unit are designed to be interesting, timely, and relevant to students’ lives.

Students will learn about the status of the world’s oceans, discuss if social media is beneficial or risky, argue if contact sports are worth the risk, research how branding influences purchasing behavior, and learn about the human costs of clothing.

Here are the research units and their Essential Questions:

Get students excited about the research topic with introductory slide decks

Each unit comes with introductory slide decks that preview what students will be learning about over the course of the unit. The slide decks spark classroom discussion, hooking students from the very first lesson.

In Our Changing Oceans (6th grade), students discuss what it would be like to be an oceanographer, preview the texts they will be reading about issues facing our oceans, and hear about the key skills they will be learning throughout the unit.

Informational texts anchor each research unit

CommonLit’s research units are centered around informational texts that provide students with key background information and research to eventually support their end-of-unit essay.

Four core texts make up the Essential Reading Lessons for 6th grade. These texts teach students about the need to protect Antarctica and how plastic debris, sea level rise, and overfishing are affecting the world’s oceans. These texts teach students important facts they will need to cite in their end-of-unit research papers.

Supplemental texts allow students to dig deeply into independent research

Each unit comes with a large selection of supplemental texts to provide students with more facts and information to use in their research paper.

In middle school, students use the provided supplemental texts to further inform their research. In high school, students learn about finding reliable sources and can use both provided supplemental texts on CommonLit and texts from additional sources in their research.

For example, in Our Changing Oceans, 6th graders choose to research one of three topics related to ocean changes.

In high school, students are taught about the beginning of the research process, including developing a research question, finding reliable sources, and reading and taking notes. Students in 9th and 10th grade can use the supplemental texts as well as texts found in books or on other online learning platforms.

Students learn about the research process and how to craft research papers throughout the unit

Each unit includes lessons about conducting research so students can be prepared for the end-of-unit research paper. Scaffolded supports help students move through the research process. In lower grades, certain steps in the process, like developing a research question and finding reliable sources, are provided for students.

Students learn about writing research papers during writing lessons. In 8th Grade, students learn how to discuss and outline research papers. Then, they learn how to write a counterclaim, format a Works Cited page, and use in-text citations properly. Each of these research-paper focused writing lessons will prepare students to answer the end-of-unit essay.

Students also explore how to conduct independent research in research-specific lessons. In 8th Grade, teachers explain that they have provided the first two steps of the research process for students: developing a research question and finding reliable sources.

In the lesson, students are taught how to use a graphic organizer to take notes on each text they read in preparation for their research paper. Students also engage in an Introduction to Independent Research lesson, where they learn about steps of the research process and begin reading and taking notes on supplemental texts. Later, students engage in a discussion lesson that will help them synthesize all the information they have learned throughout the unit by discussing the research question with classmates.

Related Media Explorations provide even more background information for students

Related Media Explorations are a unique cornerstone of our ELA curriculum. These interactive tasks bring our research units to life and provide background information for students to use in their research.

In 8th Grade,  students learn about the way football culture has changed over the past few decades as scientists learn more about the long-term effects of repeated concussions. Students watch three videos that explain the culture of football in the past and present, and analyze statistics about concussions before discussing the question: “Who is most responsible for shaping mindsets about tackling in football: players, coaches, parents, or fans?”

Discussion lessons help students synthesize information in preparation for their research paper

Discussion lessons in each research unit provide students with the opportunity to practice citing evidence from sources, explain their evidence to classmates, and practice synthesizing information. These conversations give students the chance to gain new perspectives, receive feedback on their ideas, and boost their confidence before delving into the research paper.

In 8th Grade, students synthesize their ideas about the research question through a class discussion. After the discussion, students have an opportunity to outline their research paper using both their discussion notes and the note-taking graphic organizer they have used throughout the unit.

Participate in an optional final project that fosters creative thinking and collaboration

Each research unit comes with an optional end-of-unit project to further engage students through project based learning. These optional projects help foster student creativity and collaboration. Students can work with a partner or group to complete the task.

In 8th grade, students must make a brochure providing prospective parents and student athletes with factual information about the benefits and risks about contact sports so families can make an informed decision about participating. Students must work with a peer with an opposing view on the topic so the brochure is factual and unbiased. This task encourages teamwork and collaboration between peers with differing views.

Vocabulary and grammar lessons build student comprehension and writing skills

Each 360 unit comes with vocabulary and grammar lessons. Vocabulary activities help students internalize high-impact academic vocabulary words they will see in the texts they are reading. Grammar activities help students improve their writing skills, teaching students valuable skills to construct carefully crafted, grammatically correct paragraphs.

Want to learn more about research units and CommonLit 360? Register for a free, 30-minute webinar today!

Interested in learning about our affordable support packages? For just $6,500 per school, School Essentials PRO Plus provides teachers with three  benchmark assessments, two unit skill assessments per 360 unit, personalized professional development, school-wide data reports, LMS integrations, and more.

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High School to College Transition

• Get Started
• For Students: Research Toolkit This link opens in a new window

Prepare Students for College Research

Discuss critical questions for information literacy, find lesson plans & activities, read articles about the high school to college transition, associations and standards, information literacy news.

• Data Literacy This link opens in a new window
• News Literacy This link opens in a new window
• Financial Literacy This link opens in a new window

Discover tips and activities that address the research struggles of first-year college students. 

Choosing a topic, creating an argument:, students struggle to choose their own research topic and browse for ideas. they take a stance before researching and get frustrated when sources don't fit their argument. they often choose a different topic or rely on less credible sources..

• Provide opportunities for students to choose their own research topics.
• Introduce students to the "Browse Issues" feature in the Opposing Viewpoints database and websites like ProCon.org  or The New York Times  Prompts for Argumentative Writing .
• Guide students through the exploration phase of research. Not knowing is okay.
• Differentiate between writing a report (specific answers) and a research paper (asking questions, synthesizing information, considering multiple perspectives).  
• Hands-On Activities: Creating 21st Century Superheroes  or Take a Stand

Awareness of information sources.

Students are reluctant to go beyond google and are overwhelmed by information choices and quantities..

• ​ Help students understand that not everything can be found on Google. Provide examples.
• Create opportunities for research using databases and books. 
• Explain the difference between popular and scholarly information . 
• Practice using advanced Google search techniques and Google Scholar to narrow web results.  
• Hands-on activities:  The Google Bucket  or Database Teach-In  or  Scholarly versus Popular

Turning a topic into a search. ​​

Students find it difficult to find the right words when searching for information online. they don't understand that searching a database is not like searching google. ​.

• Take time to brainstorm search terms, synonyms, and different ways of describing or saying the same thing.
• Practice searching for articles using databases. Explore search features and limiters.  
• Search a topic multiple times using different words on the Web and using multiple databases. Discover which words and which sources retrieve the best results. Use successful search results to find more more search terms (what words does the article use to describe the topic?).
• Hands-on activities:  Synonym Scattergories  or  Furry Crab  or  Database Searching Research Activity

Understanding research as a process.

Students aren't aware of the need to search again and again, refining their searches as they discover new questions and synthesize new information ..

• Demonstrate the phases of the research process. Emphasize that research takes time and energy.
• Use concept mapping to show how research can take you in different directions.
• Hands-on activities: Summarizing Controversial Perspectives

Ability to evaluate and understand information. 

Students are over-confident in their ability to evaluate information and determine whether or not a source is credible. .

• Use the Critical Thinking Questions about Information Literacy in this guide as a source for discussion and exploration. 
• Discuss key concepts and critical thinking questions related to news literacy and data literacy . 
• Hands-on activities: Evaluating  the Interwebz with Think/Square/Share  or Evaluating the Interwebz with Designated Skeptics  or  Scholarly versus Popula r or B lue Feed, Red Feed

Knowing where to go for help.

Students believe that they are expected to "know" already, or that they have to figure everything out on their own..

• ​ Provide students with information on where they can go to get research help at school, by visiting WCC's Bailey Library, or from their local public library. Let them know that librarians will help them at any stage of the research process. 

Head, A.J. (2013, December). Learning the Ropes: How freshmen conduct course research once they enter college.  Project Information Literacy, Passage Studies Research Report .

Donham, J. (2014, January). College Ready - What can we learn from first-year college assignments? An examination of assignments in Iowa Colleges and Universities.  School Library Research, 17.  

• Research Struggles of First-Year Students

Help students think critically about research.

(Click on a topic to view questions)

Authority is Constructed & Contextual

• ​ Why and when should you trust an information source?
• Who created this information? What is their level of credibility?
• Is the author an expert? Does the author need to be an expert in this context?
• Is the information biased? Is it opinion or fact?
• When searching for information online, how do you decide whether the information you find is good or bad?

Information Creation as a Process

• Where is the first place you go when you have a research question? What kinds of problems do you run into? Why?
• Is everything available on the Web for free (books, articles, information)? Why not? What's missing?
• ​ How do you figure out what kind of information you are looking for? 
• How many different sources of information can you think of? How do you know when an information source is the best choice for your information need?
• How can information be packaged and distributed?
• Is some information created for specific populations? How does that change its packaging and distribution? (Consider social media, blogs, newspapers, magazines, books, academic journals)
• Do you have a bias for or against certain types of information? 

Information has Value

• ​ How do you cite information sources? Why is it important to cite sources? Why do citations follow a particular format? Does it matter?
• How do you avoid plagiarism? Do you have any questions about plagiarism? What is the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing, summarizing, or citing?
• In what ways can information be bound by a license or copyright? When are you allowed to reuse information?
• How do you properly use graphics or videos you find on the web? How do you know if graphics or videos are licensed for reuse?
• What is public domain? What is the creative commons? 

Research as Inquiry

• How do you broaden or narrow a research topic?
• Have you ever struggled to find information on a topic and decided that there is nothing on your topic and you have to find a new topic? What other strategies could you use? 
• If a topic you are researching is part of a debate, how do you research multiple viewpoints?
• What can you do if you hit a dead end when researching a topic?

Scholarship as a Conversation

• ​ Is there more than one perspective on a given topic?
• Who is contributing to the conversation? Are some voices louder than others? Why? 
• Does information on a given topic change over time? Why might it be important to seek out the most up-to-date information on a given topic?
• How do you or could you contribute to the conversation on a given topic?

Searching as Strategic Exploration

• Describe an experience in which you were not able to find the information you needed? How did you feel? How much time did you spend looking for that information? What could you do differently?
• Have you ever experienced the feeling of information overload? When and why? What steps could you take to avoid information overload when researching a question or topic?
• How do you turn a research question into a successful search for information?
• When do you feel most confident and successful in finding the information you need?
• How would you describe your research process? Describe the steps you take when your research is most successful.  ​

Look at the  Research Toolkit Tab  for even more ideas you can take into your classroom. 

• Critical Thinking Questions about Information Literacy

Find activities that can be adapted for your high school lesson plans.

• ACRL Information Literacy Sandbox Research activities created by academic librarians.
• CORA: Community of Online Research Assignments Sort activities and lesson plans by topic, discipline, or grade.
• Data Literacy for High School Librarians University of Michigan project offering webinars and lessons.
• The Google Bucket Critical thinking activity from the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga.
• Hands-On Learning for the iGen Student Fun, interactive activities from Ferris State - Kahoot, Family Feud, Scattergories, and more.
• RAILS - Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills Rubrics for incorporating information literacy skills into student research assignments.
• S.O.S. for Information Literacy Award-winning "peer-reviewed lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos and other resources to enhance the teaching of information literacy (K-16)."
• Research Activity: Using Databases Walk students through the pre-research process and use Michigan eLibrary databases to find articles.
• College Ready—What Can We Learn from First-Year College Assignments?
• The First Year: College Readiness
• How Teens do Research in the Digital World
• Learning the Ropes: How Freshmen Conduct Course Research Once They Enter College
• More Professors Say Undergraduates Need to Hone Research Abilities, Survey Finds
• Survey: Most Profs Find HS Grads Unready for College or Work
• Three short months: the college transition - Should school librarians prepare students for the college transition?
• A Transition Checklist for High School Seniors
• American Association of School Librarians
• Association of College and Research Libraries
• MAME - Michigan Association for Media in Education
• Michigan Academic Standards
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills
• School Library Journal's Information Literacy Blogs Lesson ideas, news, and helpful online resources.
• KnowledgeQuest The Journal of the American Association of School Librarians. Information literacy, STEAM, intellectual freedom, and more.

Borrow books from the Bailey Library or use MeLCat  to have them delivered to your local public library.

• << Previous: For Students: Research Toolkit
• Next: Data Literacy >>
• Last Updated: Dec 11, 2020 4:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.wccnet.edu/high-school-transition

• Haystack Directory
• Telescopes and Facilities
• Open House Events
• Past Conferences
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
• SRT: The Small Radio Telescope

K–12 STEM Lesson Plans

• Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation (NEROC)
• Publications
• Astronomy Projects
• Astronomy & Astrophysics (Science)
• Geodesy Projects
• Geodetic Science
• Geospace Projects
• Geospace & Atmospheric Science
• Space Technology Projects

At Haystack, researchers use several basic science concepts every day. Electromagnetic waves, optics, and molecular chemistry are just a few of the core topics that can be incorporated into the high school science curriculum by exploring the atmosphere and the universe with lessons focused around the research specialties at Haystack.

The original material presented here was developed by teachers, with the assistance of the staff at MIT/Haystack. All lesson plans have been successfully used in high school classrooms. These lessons have been prepared with specific attention to the goals and objectives of current science curricula. The object is to create lessons that will enhance your class, not require you to add substantial material.

The development of these educational materials at the Haystack Observatory was funded by the National Science Foundation under the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program.

Lesson Plans

Drones and Software-Defined Radio

The focus in these lessons is on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and software-defined radios (SDRs), so we have developed a curriculum in two parts: one using UAVs, targeting kinematics, and the other using SDRs, targeting the electromagnetic spectrum (as well as a brief summary of wave properties). Additionally, we have included an optional capstone project, which integrates both the UAVs and the SDRs, but may not be appropriate for every classroom or curriculum.

The Cryosphere: On Thin Ice

Cryosphere lesson plans: Unit 1: What the cryosphere is Unit 2: How we study the cryosphere Unit 3: Why we study the cryosphere

Geodesy: The Earth Isn’t Flat (but it isn’t round, either)

While these lessons can be taught as a unit for astronomy or earth science classes, their primary purpose is to function as interjection lessons for a physics class. Physics teachers may choose which labs, activities, and discussions are most useful for the instruction and enrichment of standard physical principles and employ them without disrupting their overall curriculum or objectives. Therefore, these lessons are organized by physical principles—such as kinematics or forces—with the aim of enriching a physics curriculum.

In this study of geodesy, students begin by exploring the problem of defining a universal time system and a stationary spatial reference frame in the dynamic conditions of an ever-expanding universe, followed by a review of data gathering techniques. The next layer is a set of discussions, labs, and activities centered on three geodetic techniques: very long baseline interferometry, GPS, and satellite laser ranging. Students will explore these techniques by using a simple acoustic interferometer and other simplified methods to deduce their fundamental physical principles which will be conceptually applied to geodesy. Afterwards, students will explore some of the applications of geodesy such as measuring tectonic plate motion and post-glacial rebound, and using VLBI for interstellar travel.

Information in Radio Waves

Importance: As modern technology becomes more and more advanced, the underlying principles of how something works can often become easily overlooked. Radio waves are a perfect example of this. Almost all of your students nowadays are going to have a cell phone or other handheld devices on them. Same can be said about a television in their respective households or the wireless internet their computer, phone, or even TV rely on. Each of these devices are going to vary in their complexity and functionality, but unbeknownst to them, they all boil down to the same concept. Radio waves and the information it carries!

Bringing Black Holes into the Classroom

Post-Newtonian contributions to science, such as relativity, have been transformational. They have impacted every branch of science and the technology that shapes our daily lives. However, many high schools do not expose students to modern astronomy or post-Newtonian physics concepts. This unit contains two sets of curriculum modules designed for use in high school physics and astronomy classes.

Climate C.H.A.N.G.E.: Concepts Having Anthropogenic & Natural Global Evidence – YOU DECIDE

This unit provides lessons regarding how the Earth’s atmosphere responds to environmental changes in ways which differ markedly depending on the location, altitude, and time period of observation.

This unit will enhance student ability to critically analyze and interpret data. The goal of this teaching unit is for high school students to see that climate change is occurring at all levels of the atmosphere and for them to come to an independent decision on the cause of the change.

A Physics MOSAIC: Scientific Skills and Explorations for Students

This unit includes an introductory unit on measurement, uncertainty, and data analysis.

The goal is to teach students how science is done, they learn skills that will serve them well whether they continue their studies of science or not. The opportunity to do research on the atmosphere provides increased engagement in the classroom, and students have an authentic experience of asking and answering scientific questions when the answer cannot simply be Googled.

Meet Me in the Mesosphere: Investigation of Atmospheric Processes for Classroom Studies

This unit introduces the Mesospheric Ozone System for Atmospheric Investigations in the Classroom (MOSAIC) system. Background is provided on the hardware, signal reception, and Graphical User Interface (GUI) through which students may access a network of installed MOSAIC instruments. This can provide students with an authentic scientific inquiry.

Students and teachers will find materials suitable for investigations in Earth Science, Chemistry, or Environmental Science. Topics covered: Atmospheric Layers, the Greenhouse Effect, Earth’s Energy Balance, Ozone Creation, and Noctilucent clouds.

This unit also explores the Physics principles connected to an instrument such as MOSAIC. Topics included are: Heat Transfer, Heat and Temperature, the Laws of Thermodynamics, Radio Waves, and Fluid Mechanics. Demonstrations and lab exercises are provided.

Versatile System for learning about Radio Telescopes

This unit brings the exploration of radio waves into the classroom through the use of the Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT). The VSRT system can be assembled by the user from commercially available parts for less than $500.

The unit consists of various activities and experiments that are appropriate in varying degrees for grades 8-12. These hands-on, inquiry–based activities are an excellent introduction to the concept on invisible electromagnetic radiation.

These materials are appropriate for physics classes by experimenting with the transmission, absorption, propagation, polarization and interference of radio waves (not visible light) emitted by a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL).

Use in a general science classroom would include comparing the transmission of light and radio waves through various materials as well as learning about the polarization of both visible light sources and radio waves from a CFL.

Caught in the Solar Wind

Humans in the 21st century are relying more and more on technology that has the potential to be disrupted by the sun’s influence on Earth’s ionosphere. Space weather is a concept that is becoming more familiar to the general public and will be in the spotlight as we approach the next solar maximum.

The goal of this teaching unit is to educate students about the source, mechanisms and impacts of space weather.

The unit contains a variety of activities that can be used with students from middle school through high school. The activities are designed to fit together as a cohesive package, but can also stand alone for teachers to select as they choose for their classes.

Demystifying Scientific Data

Introduces high school students and their instructors to one of the vital aspects of science: the essential skills of data analysis and interpretation. Units based on the scientific research in radio astronomy, geodesy, and space weather. Leads to understanding a critical process of science: transforming raw data into explanatory theories. Appropriate for grades 8-12.

Waves in Motion

The unit consists of a series of interlocking lectures, activities, and investigations that can be used as stand alone units to supplement a teacher’s existing curriculum, as an independent investigation for a student, or as long exploration into radio astronomy with a theme of waves in space: how and where they carry their information.

Specifically students will comprehend the role radio waves play in our daily lives and in the investigation of the universe. Special emphasis is given to the Relativity theories in honor of the “World Year of Physics” to celebrate Einstein’s 1905 contributions. This unit is appropriate for grades 9-12 and concentrates on the fields of Physics and Astronomy.

Outer Space Is Not Empty Space

A teaching unit in AstroChemistry organized around the question “What is the Universe made of?” The unit deals with large themes that can be used in any science class from Biology to Chemistry to Physics. Includes WebQuests on Light, Matter and the Atmosphere, worksheets, hands-on activities, and instructions for using the Small Radio Telescope in the classroom. Lessons appropriate for grades 8-12.

Small Radio Telescope (SRT) Projects

If you have access to a Small Radio Telescope , this page contains a series of introductory lessons using the SRT for the high school classroom. Further descriptions of some of the activities and projects can be found on the main SRT projects page. The page also contains general information about our SRT program, including how you can obtain one of your own. These lessons are appropriate for grades 10-12.

Space Weather

This tutorial walks the student through a pre/post test with questions about space weather, aurora and other sun/earth phenomena. The answer links within the tests link to pages containing descriptions about the various topics.

AM Radio Lesson Plan

This lesson asks the question, “Why can you hear AM Radio better at night than during the day?” The one-week investigation goes on to explore basic wave principles (wavelength, frequency, and speed) and how electromagnetic waves interact with the Earth’s ionosphere. Space Weather and the Aurora are also examined. The use of the Millstone Radar to probe the atmosphere is also discussed. This lesson is appropriate for grades 9-12.

Solar and Geomagnetic Investigations

This six-week program explores the Sun-Earth connection and combines on-line data collection with the use of the Small Radio Telescope in an extensive introduction to electromagnetic waves, activities on the Sun, and their effects that are felt here on Earth. Go to Frameworks for a detailed explanation of how this lesson will conform to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. This lesson is appropriate for grades 8-12.

One of the key principles in radio astronomy is the resolution of ones measurements. These lessons present the concept of resolution as it applies to radio astronomy. Interference patterns and Spectroscopy are also discussed. This lesson includes a teachers guide. This lesson is appropriate for grades 10-12.

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)

An introductory unit on radio frequency interference for the high school classroom that helps students understand the concepts behind electromagnetic radiation, matter and energy in the Earth system and beyond, and wavelength vs. frequency. This unit is appropriate for students in grades 9-12.

Links explaining how GPS works and a lesson plan that explores the operations of GPS units and their relationship to work that is being performed at Haystack.

Think Like a Researcher: Instruction Resources: #6 Developing Successful Research Questions

• Guide Organization
• Overall Summary
• #1 Think Like a Researcher!
• #2 How to Read a Scholarly Article
• #3 Reading for Keywords (CREDO)
• #4 Using Google for Academic Research
• #4 Using Google for Academic Research (Alternate)
• #5 Integrating Sources
• Research Question Discussion
• #7 Avoiding Researcher Bias
• #8 Understanding the Information Cycle
• #9 Exploring Databases
• #10 Library Session
• #11 Post Library Session Activities
• Summary - Readings
• Summary - Research Journal Prompts
• Summary - Key Assignments
• Jigsaw Readings
• Permission Form

Course Learning Outcome:   Develop ability to synthesize and express complex ideas; demonstrate information literacy and be able to work with evidence

Goal:  Develop students’ ability to recognize and create successful research questions

Specifically, students will be able to

• identify the components of a successful research question.
• create a viable research question.

What Makes a Good Research Topic Handout

These handouts are intended to be used as a discussion generator that will help students develop a solid research topic or question. Many students start with topics that are poorly articulated, too broad, unarguable, or are socially insignificant. Each of these problems may result in a topic that is virtually un-researchable. Starting with a researchable topic is critical to writing an effective paper.

Research shows that students are much more invested in writing when they are able to choose their own topics. However, there is also research to support the notion that students are completely overwhelmed and frustrated when they are given complete freedom to write about whatever they choose. Providing some structure or topic themes that allow students to make bounded choices may be a way mitigate these competing realities.

These handouts can be modified or edited for your purposes.  One can be used as a handout for students while the other can serve as a sample answer key.  The document is best used as part of a process.  For instance, perhaps starting with discussing the issues and potential research questions, moving on to problems and social significance but returning to proposals/solutions at a later date.

• Research Questions - Handout Key (2 pgs) This document is a condensed version of "What Makes a Good Research Topic". It serves as a key.
• Research Questions - Handout for Students (2 pgs) This document could be used with a class to discuss sample research questions (are they suitable?) and to have them start thinking about problems, social significance, and solutions for additional sample research questions.
• Research Question Discussion This tab includes materials for introduction students to research question criteria for a problem/solution essay.

Additional Resources

These documents have similarities to those above.  They represent original documents and conversations about research questions from previous TRAIL trainings.

• What Makes a Good Research Topic? - Original Handout (4 pgs)
• What Makes a Good Research Topic? Revised Jan. 2016 (4 pgs)
• What Makes a Good Research Topic? Revised Jan 2016 with comments

Topic Selection (NCSU Libraries)

Howard, Rebecca Moore, Tricia Serviss, and Tanya K. Rodrigues. " Writing from sources, writing from sentences ." Writing & Pedagogy 2.2 (2010): 177-192.

Research Journal

Assign after students have participated in the Developing Successful Research Topics/Questions Lesson OR have drafted a Research Proposal.

Think about your potential research question.

• What is the problem that underlies your question?
• Is the problem of social significance? Explain.
• Is your proposed solution to the problem feasible? Explain.
• Do you think there is evidence to support your solution?

Keys for Writers - Additional Resource

Keys for Writers (Raimes and Miller-Cochran) includes a section to guide students in the formation of an arguable claim (thesis).  The authors advise students to avoid the following since they are not debatable. 

• "a neutral statement, which gives no hint of the writer's position"
• "an announcement of the paper's broad subject"
• "a fact, which is not arguable"
• "a truism (statement that is obviously true)"
• "a personal or religious conviction that cannot be logically debated"
• "an opinion based only on your feelings"
• "a sweeping generalization" (Section 4C, pg. 52)

The book also provides examples and key points (pg. 53) for a good working thesis.

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• Next: Research Question Discussion >>
• Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 10:23 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ucmerced.edu/think_like_a_researcher

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Connecting Past and Present: A Local Research Project

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

When students make real-world connections between themselves and their community, they can participate in authentic communication activities based on issues that matter to them personally. In this activity, students research a decade in their school's history, with small groups researching specific topics. Within each group, students take on specific roles, such as archivist, manager, techie, or researcher. Students become active archivists, gathering photos, artifacts, interviews, and stories for a museum exhibit that highlights one decade in their school's history. The final project can be shared and displayed in your classroom, in the school auditorium or in the library. This lesson plan was developed as part of a collaborative professional writing initiative sponsored by the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (KMWP) at Kennesaw State University.

Featured Resources

Tips for Interviews : This handout provides general tips for students that are useful in any project requiring an interview. Museum Exhibit Teacher Tips : These tips cover important points for teacher to consider throughout the museum exhibit project. ReadWriteThink Notetaker : This online outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information, choosing bullets, Roman numerals, or letters.

From Theory to Practice

In Writing Our Communities: Local Learning and Public Culture , educators find these poignant questions:

How can students create rather than regurgitate knowledge that matters to them? How can they interact meaningfully with the community around them? How can the classroom become a real community, not a contrived one in which teacher and student are performing for each other? (xi).

These questions inspire this research unit, which works to instill excitement and interest among students who dread the annual research paper. Additionally, such authentic research projects greatly reduce the possibility of plagiarism and bought papers. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this activity creates a classroom community of learners, based on the belief that "students need to engage in multiple communities that surround them and also that those communities benefit from the energy and enthusiasm that students bring to active citizenship, where citizenship means recovering, critiquing, and actively engaging the world around them" (Winter & Robbins, xi). After completing this research project, students will realize the broader connections they have with their school and community. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Digital cameras
• Museum Exhibit Teacher Tips
• Museum Exhibit Planner
• Museum Exhibit Project Checkpoints
• Research Group Roles
• Tips for Interviews
• Connecting Past and Present Rubric
• Connecting Past and Present Student Reflection

Preparation

• Gather enough supplies for each student, including file folders, colored paper, poster board, tri-fold displays, markers, paint, paint brushes, lettering, scissors, cardboard, glue, and tape.
• Prepare a copy of the Museum Exhibit Planner for each student.
• Prepare a copy of the Museum Exhibit Project Checkpoints sheet by writing in due dates for each step. Then reproduce a copy of this sheet for each student in the class.
• Refer to the Museum Exhibit Teacher Tips sheet for suggestions on facilitating a successful project.
• Identify local resources, such as historical societies, a local college or university, the school library, old yearbooks, parent-teacher-student organization, local clubs (i.e., Optimists, Rotary, Civitan, etc.), local citizens/historians, and family members. Become familiar with the availability of resources about different decades in your school’s history. The class will select a decade for their research and should be encouraged to select a decade for which a wide variety of resources are available.
• Gain access to and familiarize yourself with technology needed for this project, including digital cameras, a scanner, and research databases.
• Test the ReadWriteThink Printing Press and Notetaker interactives on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the Technical Support page .

Student Objectives

Students will

• discover connections between the community and themselves.
• conduct research using yearbooks, newsletters, club scrapbooks, school newspapers, etc.
• interview community members.
• identify applicable artifacts.
• organize collected artifacts.
• create museum displays.

Session One

• Have students respond to the following journal prompt: Going back in time, think about how many decades have passed here in our school, our community, our town, and our county. Pick one decade from the past 150 years (adjust this number to reflect how long the school has been in existence), and write what you would expect to find (people, cultures, buildings, etc.) at that time in history. Place yourself in that decade.
• Which decade did you write about?
• How did you describe the people, culture, and places during that time period?
• How did your response differ from those of classmates who wrote about the same decade?
• How was your response similar to those of classmates who wrote about the same decade?
• Why do you think there are differences among your classmates’ knowledge and perceptions of the same time period?
• Introduce the research project to students and explain that they will research one decade in their school’s history by gathering photos, stories, and other artifacts. As a final project, they will create a museum exhibit.
• Distribute the Museum Exhibit Project Checkpoints Sheet to students. Explain that the sheet outlines the due dates for each step of the project.
• Ask students to keep track of their progress by recording the dates they finish each step on the Checkpoints Sheet .
• Explain that after completing each step, groups will meet in with the teacher to mini-conference about their progress and review their next step.
• As a class, begin discussing which decade the class will research. Even though students should have ownership of this decision,you may need to guide them toward time periods based on your knowledge of the information available for the chosen decade (e.g., the school might have been in existence for 150 years, but that does not mean that one could find enough resources for the first decade as compared to the resources that are available for the 1960s.)
• Select a decade to research.
• In groups, choose a specific topic to research, such as sports, extracurricular activities, school alumni, etc.
• Conduct research using the Internet, archived newsletters, yearbooks, school newspapers, and community resources.
• Interview members of the community and school.
• Identify artifacts that apply to the selected decade and specific topics chosen by each group.
• Organize collected artifacts.
• Create a fun and interesting museum display by bringing the findings together.
• For homework, have students consider which decade they would like to research. Ask students to write their top two choices in their journals, and briefly explain why they think each would be a good choice for a museum display.

Session Two

• Have students share their top two choices for the project. Tally responses on the board or on a sheet of chart paper. If there is no clear favorite, students can debate their choices. This would also be a good time to offer your input regarding available resources for specific decades.
• Have the class come together to brainstorm a list of topics that should be researched and included in the class exhibit. Possible topics include sports, extracurricular activities, school alumni, a world or national event that impacted the school community, etc.
• Once students select a decade, arrange the class into groups of at least five, categorized by interests (i.e., administration, teachers, sports, clubs, and so forth).
• MANAGER—keeps group members on task; communicates with teacher; provides leadership.
• REPORTER—keeps all of the group’s records; manages paper; tracks “who’s doing what.”
• TECHIE—manages the group’s technology needs (e.g., computers, digital cameras, scanners, and other technology); knows how to use the technology or is willing and able to learn new technology as needed for this project.
• ARCHIVISTS (2)—organizes found stories, photos, and artifacts.
• RESEARCHERS—all group members participate in the research process, actively researching their topic throughout the time spent on the project.
• Have students decide on role assignments within their groups and begin sharing preliminary ideas about the research task.
• After roles are decided, each group should confirm their topic of interest for the research project.
• What group members already know about their topic
• What specific information the group wants to learn about the topic
• Five questions the group has about the topic
• The group’s plan for collecting information and artifacts
• A list of preliminary Internet and community research resources. (The teacher should circulate with suggestions, since students may not be familiar with what is available.) Possible community resources include newspaper archives, historical societies, museums, the public library, a college or university history department, etc.
• A plan for collecting, organizing, and displaying artifacts
• What work can be done in class and what work will need to be done outside of class
• Group recorders should provide the teacher with a copy of this sheet for review.
• At this stage, make sure groups have a clear and effective plan for beginning their research. Assist groups as needed and then return the sheets to group recorders for their records.

Session Three

• Have students visit the Smithsonian’s The Promise of Freedom online exhibit to get ideas for types of artifacts they could include in their museum exhibit.
• Allow time for students to become familiar with the ReadWriteThink Notetaker tool and explain that they will use the tool to take notes about their research as they work.
• Call or e-mail contacts; don’t just show up without an appointment if you wish to meet with a specific individual.
• Remember you’re representing your school as you’re conducting community research for this project. Use appropriate behavior guidelines.
• After meeting with an individual for an interview or receiving assistance from someone in the community, be sure to send a thank you note.
• Don’t take photographs or recordings unless it is expressly permitted. If you’re not sure—ask!
• Do be prompt and courteous when meeting with individuals in the community.
• Review each group’s list of possible community and Internet resources and address any concerns you have before they begin that portion of their research.

Session Four

• Before students prepare to conduct interviews, you may wish to teach a minilesson on interviewing techniques. Share the Tips for Interviews handout with the class.
• Have pairs of students role-play interview scenarios in front of the whole class or within their groups. Using the Tips for Interviews sheet, have audience members orally critique each mock interview.
• Conduct community interviews
• Interview alumni
• Conduct research at community historical societies, museums, newspaper archives, libraries, etc.
• Have students discuss any additional community resources they identify with you in advance.

Session Five

• Review students’ homework by completing the Museum Exhibit Project Checkpoints sheet and discussing your comments with each group.
• Suggest any necessary changes to students’ research and offer additional guidance as needed.
• Next, have students begin their Web research. Encourage students to visit Internet sources they have already identified, but to expand their research to additional Websites as needed.
• Remind students that they will have additional opportunities to conduct Internet research in future sessions.

Sessions Six to Eight

• Allow three to four sessions for students to complete their research and assemble their exhibits. During this time, students should have access to computers as they conduct Internet research and record their findings using the ReadWriteThink Notetaker tool. Note that students will need to print their notes each time they use the Notetaker tool, as the tool will not save students’ work. Each group’s techie should also have access to necessary technology (a scanner, digital camera, etc.).
• Be sure to review students’ work at each of the checkpoint due dates you previously recorded on the Project Checkpoints handout. It is especially important to review students’ research at several checkpoints during the project, in order to keep students accountable and identify poor/inadequate research during the process. Each group should also check in as they finish their research so that you can guide them in locating additional sources of information if necessary.
• Digital photographs of relevant location in the school or on school grounds
• Scans of archival photographs or documents
• Printouts from Internet resources
• Primary source documents including maps, posters, postcards, yearbooks, and photographs
• Objects including trophies, scrapbooks, or memorabilia
• Audio recordings of interviews or music
• Explain that exhibits do not need to contain all of these artifacts, but there should be a mix that visitors will find fun and interesting to view. A combination of sights and sounds will keep exhibit-viewers interested and engaged.
• Remind students that while the group archivist will set up the final exhibit, all group members are responsible for the display and should be involved in the design process. Students may want to browse the school museum exhibits Websites included in the Resources section for ideas for their own exhibits.
• Be sure to check in with each group before they begin assembling and organizing their artifacts. Provide feedback using the Museum Exhibit Project Checkpoints sheet.
• During these sessions, provide students with additional assistance as needed by referring to the suggestions on the Museum Exhibit Teacher Tips sheet.
• During this process, group managers should refer to the Museum Exhibit Planner to ensure that their groups are taking their original ideas into account as the project progresses.

Session Nine

• After all research is completed and artifacts are created, the group archivists should be responsible for organizing the exhibit in the location you have selected (auditorium, library, classroom, etc.). Have the archivists from all groups come together in order to create a coherent display of artifacts from all the topics researched during this project.
• When the exhibit is complete, students can create flyers to pass out to other classes in your building using the ReadWriteThink Printing Press interactive. If possible, have students bring a copy home to share with parents and include a copy of the flier in your school newspaper or newsletter.
• Have students conduct similar research on and expand their focus to their local community, or shift focus to an organization in the community such as the public library.
• Create a digital museum to post on your school’s Website. Have group techies organize a photo shoot to create digital pictures of all artifacts in the exhibit. If possible, invite tech-savvy students to participate in the creation of the Web page.
• You may wish to try a related ReadWriteThink lesson titled The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project . In this lesson, students research what was going on internationally, nationally, locally, in sports, music, arts, commercial, TV, and publishing during the year that they were born.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Have students reflect on their participation during this project by completing the Connecting Past and Present Student Reflection sheet. Students should reflect on their group participation, their group role, the content of their completed exhibit, and the creativity of their exhibit.
• For a more formal assessment of this project, use the Connecting Past and Present Rubric to evaluate students’ group role and participation, as well as the content and creativity of their completed exhibits.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

After viewing some footage from the actual event, students jot down thoughts and feelings of the Little Rock Nine. Students then write a bio-poem that might have been written by one of these students on this historic day.

The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers.

Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information.

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• Kindergarten K

Biomes Lesson Plans

In biology we begin the year with the characteristics of life, and then move into ecology. I like starting with ecology because it involves relatively easy concepts. Many students will have learned the basics in middle school, so it’s not a scary way to start the year. When working my way through the content, I essentially just teach in the order of the levels of organization (start with population dynamics, move onto community interactions… you get the idea. End with biomes).

I generally don’t have a ton of time left in the quarter, so if I get to spend 2-3 days on biomes thats a win. Since time is short I focus on the big picture- what causes these biomes? What patterns do we see when we look at a biome map? Why is biodiversity important within biomes? What is the human impact on biomes? Big picture concepts. What I DO NOT spend time on is having students memorize information about each biome. My goal is for students to walk away with an understanding of why biodiversity is important and how we can protect the natural world, not ramble off facts such as which biome receives the most precipitation and which biome has the greatest swing in annual temperature. (Stepping off soapbox). 

MISSION BIOMES: Need a website for students to do research on each biome so they can complete their brochure? Check out this site from NASA.  INTERACTIVE GAME: If you teach middle school, you may want to check out this interactive game where students match an animal to the continent it lives on. 

SPEED DATING: There are a few biome speed dating activities that are available for free on the internet. (I cant always find a reliable link so you will need to do a Google search). 

• Read more about: Ecology

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