English Language Arts and Reading.3.13.A

The student is expected to

generate questions on a topic for formal and informal inquiry;

inquiry research TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Inquiry and research: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes.

During one-on-one conferences, ask students to generate meaningful questions as they determine a topic and plan for a research project.

Further Explanation

Students are expected to be involved in an ongoing process of gathering and examining information in different ways. Students should be able formulate appropriate questions that will guide their research work and continue to clarify questions as an ongoing process throughout the research work. Students should also be able to differentiate between formal and informal inquiry.

Students will learn that informal and formal inquiries require different types of questions. Formal inquiries require an established process and typically include a specific goal. For example, a formal inquiry into how students can manage homework in an effective way might generate a question such as “What strategies can students use to complete homework on time?” An informal inquiry does not require the same complex process as researching a formal topic. The goal of informal inquiry is often to gain context for something or to begin exploring a new topic in a general way. For example, students investigating a simple topic such as favorite music amongst students may generate questions such as “What is your favorite song? Or If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a classroom, what would it be?”
During inquiry and research, students are expected to formulate questions to guide their research. As the research process evolves, the original questions change due to new information, findings, or reflections on the subject being researched. When students modify, or clarify, their questions, they refine the analysis of their topic. The clarification of questions is ongoing throughout the research process.