English Language Arts and Reading.7.12.B

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The student is expected to

develop and revise a plan;

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.

Share three or four examples of teacher-developed research plans or those from previous classes. Show a continuum of effectiveness such as one plan that is ineffective, one that is very effective, and one or two in the middle of that spectrum. Have students review the plans and rank them from most effective to least effective. Document observations of their conversations. Have students use the most effective plan as a mentor text to guide their own plan development. Observe and note whether students are transferring the most salient components of the most effective plan. Assessment will include both teacher observations recorded during conferences with students while they write their plans and also review of students’ plans as they complete first drafts.


Provide students with a template to use as they complete each step in developing their research plans. The template can include the following:

  • Research question
  • How information will be gathered
  • How information will be analyzed
  • Who the intended audience is
  • How the final product will be presented
     

Further Explanation

Students should be able to develop and revise a plan that includes each of the steps in the research process. Students should consider questions like What exactly am I supposed to do? and What am I expecting to find? Students should also reevaluate the research question and revise it based on source analysis and follow the final steps of drafting (or equivalent preparation), revision, editing, and presenting results in an appropriate mode of delivery (written, oral, or multimodal).

Students are expected to create and follow a plan that includes each of the steps in the research process. Students should understand that a research plan is a timeline created around the research process. Fundamental to developing a research plan is a clear understanding of the assignment. Students at this grade level should know how to adjust a plan when the process is not working. For example, students should ask themselves questions such as “How much progress have I made?” and “Could we be doing things more efficiently?” Additionally, students should know how to continually evaluate the research question and revise it based on source analysis.
a timeline created around the research process that identifies the initial steps needed to find accurate, significant, and relevant sources to support the topic of inquiry or working thesis; intermediary steps of reevaluating the research question and revising the thesis based on source analysis; and the final steps of drafting, revising, editing, and presenting results in an appropriate mode of delivery

Research

1. Voyager Sopris Learning. (2008). The writing process for step up to writing. Step Up For Writing Series, Expository Paragraphs.  Retrieved from www.voyagersopris.com

Summary: This one-page resource outlines eight steps in the writing process. The stages include prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing, writing a final copy, proofreading, and submitting the final copy.

2. Mason, L. H., Kubina, R. M., & Taft, R. (2011). Developing quick writing skills of middle school students with disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 44(4), 205–220. doi: 10.1177/0022466909350780

Summary: Two studies were designed to examine the use of persuasive quick write responses with seventh-grade students with disabilities  In both studies, the written responses of the students were evaluated before, during, and after students developed their personal strategy to address the quick response. Two strategies were used by the students: POW—pick my idea, organize my notes, write and say more; and TREE—topic sentence, reasons (three or more), explain, and ending. All students improved in their ability to create a strong persuasive response after a few weeks of instruction and practice.