Curriculum

STANDARD 7:  RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION 

      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. 

     Investigation, discussion, and reflection help students to look at and make sense of the world to develop questions, identify issues, address problems, and seek answers. Students acquire a range of tools to accomplish these tasks.

· Formulate engaging questions from life and classroom experiences

· Discuss, hypothesize and plan steps to find answers

· Gather data from a variety of sources

· Analyze and synthesize data in a way that clearly shows new knowledge

· Communicate what has been learned to suit purposes and audience

KINDERGARTEN

1. Share data and information

2. Listen and respond to literature that enhances integrated thematic units

3. Participate in open investigations over time

4. Participate in brainstorming

FIRST GRADE

1. Decide topics, gather data, write and present reports

2. Learn questioning techniques and practice asking questions

3. Compare information gathered from several sources

SECOND GRADE

1. Report on a topic; include appropriate facts and details and draw from several sources of information

2. Continue to learn questioning techniques

3. Understand the purpose of some reference materials (e.g., encyclopedia, atlas,  dictionary)

THIRD GRADE

1. Report on a topic using research from several sources

2. Work in cooperative groups to gather and synthesize data

3. Understand the purpose of some reference materials (e.g., encyclopedia, atlas, dictionary)

FOURTH GRADE

1. Research a topic and make a presentation that demonstrates a literal understanding of the topic

2. Address a specific problem in a group by specifying goals, devising alternative solutions, considering the risks of each, and choosing the best course of action

3. Emphasize points to assist the audience in following ideas and concepts

4. Use details, examples, anecdotes, or experiments to explain or clarify information

5. Develop skills in using a variety of reference materials (including thesaurus)

6. Use parts of the book (table of contents, glossary, title page, index)

FIFTH GRADE

1. Give oral presentations using research materials and multimedia

2. Interpret speakers’ messages (both verbal and nonverbal), purposes, and perspectives

3. Develop skills in using a variety of reference materials and sources

4. Demonstrate use of table of contents, glossary, title page, dictionary, and index

5. Read a variety of materials related to content area curriculum 

6. Ask questions that seek information not already discussed

7. Clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence, elaboration, and examples

8. Analyze how media transmits culture through information, entertainment, persuasion, etc.

SIXTH GRADE

1. Give oral presentations using research materials and multimedia

2. Develop skills in using a variety of reference materials and sources

3. Read a variety of materials related to content area curriculum

4. Analyze how media transmits culture through information, entertainment, persuasion, etc.

5. Identify and use features of newspapers and magazines to gain meaning

SEVENTH GRADE

1.  Identify topics, ask questions, and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation, and research

2. Write research reports that convey a clear and accurate perspective on the subject; include evidence generated through the research process; credit reference sources (e.g., bibliography)

3. Orally deliver research presentations that convey clear and accurate perspectives on the subject

4. Locate nonfiction, fiction, reference materials, and other information following a class library orientation

5. Locate words and their meanings in a dictionary

6.  Locate information using a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents

7.  Understand and analyze the differences among various categories of informational materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, instructional manuals, signs) in terms of their structure and purpose

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Write research reports that define a thesis; plan and conduct multi-stepped information searches; use a variety of primary and secondary sources; record important ideas, concepts, direct quotes paraphrasing and summarizing as appropriate; achieve balance between researched information and own ideas;  organize and record information on charts, maps, and graphs as needed; credit reference sources

NINTH/TENTH GRADE

1.  Prepare a bibliography of reference materials for a report using a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents

2.  Generate relevant questions about readings that can be researched

3.  Use clear research questions and coherent research methods (e.g., library, electronic media, personal interview) to elicit and present evidence from primary and secondary sources

ELEVENTH/TWELFTH GRADE

1.  Use research and analysis to justify strategies for gesture, movement, and vocalization, including dialect, pronunciation, and enunciation

2.  Develop presentations by using clear research questions and creative and critical research strategies (e.g., field studies, oral histories, interviews, experiments, electronic sources)

3.  Use systematic strategies to organize and record information (e.g., anecdotal scripting, annotated bibliographies)