Find, Assess, and Annotate Potential Sources
We will continue searching, assessing, and annotating potential texts for our team’s research investigation. We will conference with our teacher and continue to revise our Research Frame Tool to capture our evolving ideas and prepare to present it to another team.
Lesson Goals
Can I effectively search for and explore a variety of credible sources to answer a question or solve a problem, using an organized and dynamic process of inquiry?
Can I establish and explain an accurate understanding of the central ideas of texts?
Can I use language and strategies to accomplish my intended purpose in communicating?
Can I revisit, refine, and revise my understanding, knowledge, and work based on discussions with others and feedback and review by myself and others?
Texts
There are no texts for this Lesson.Materials
- Potential Sources Tool
- Presentation Guide
Question Sets
- Application Unit: Section 2 Question Set
Tools
- Application Unit: Research Frame Tool
- Research Note-Taking Tool
- Vocabulary Journal
Reference Guides
- Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide
- Assessing Sources Reference Guide
Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss
We will continue searching for, assessing, and annotating sources for our own investigations, and we will revise our research frame tool as needed.
Step 1
In your research teams, review your progress from the homework and the previous lesson. Use the following questions to discuss the status of your investigation:
How do the sources each member found help the team understand each inquiry path?
How do the sources help you answer your inquiry questions?
Are your inquiry questions still appropriate for your investigation? Can any be modified? Can any be added?
What keywords have proved the best for finding helpful sources?
At this point, which inquiry path seems to be the strongest, or most supported? Why?
Given what you have learned from your sources, is your Central Research Question still appropriate? Can it be revised to better guide your investigation?
Determine whether you need to complete a new Research Frame Tool as you revise and refine your Central Research Question, inquiry paths, inquiry questions, and keywords.
Make a clear plan about which member will be searching for which inquiry paths and inquiry questions on your Research Frame Tool.
Step 2
Continue using keywords to search for sources, revising your keywords and inquiry questions as needed to improve your search results.
As you find potential sources, use the Potential Sources Tools to assess their usefulness.
Using the Research Note-Taking Tool, keep track of how each source contributes to each inquiry path.
Throughout all these activities, remember to maintain an organized research portfolio. You should be storing all your sources, tools, and notes, coding and organizing them with respect to your research frame.
Activity 2: Discuss
We will conference with our teacher about our team’s project and progress.
While the teams are researching, your teacher will visit each team to review your list of sources; to offer help in determining what is missing, incomplete, or lacking in richness, relevance, and credibility; and to answer questions or support the team’s progress. With help from your teacher and your team, you can deepen your sense of what is required for the sources to be useful to you.
Activity 3: Discuss – Write
In our teams, we will review our research frame tools to assess our understanding of our topic and what’s missing from our research so far. we will make an action plan to find the information we need.
Step 1
In your teams, review your Research Frame Tool and Research Note-Taking Tools, review your potential sources, and discuss the following questions:
What new ideas, unsolved mysteries, fresh questions, or potential areas of exploration came up as you were evaluating the sources you have found so far?
What adjustments or additions do we need to make to our inquiry questions?
Are there sources lacking in credibility that we need to replace?
What new information do we need in order to more fully address our inquiry questions?
What arguments could we make based on the information we’ve gathered so far?
What conclusions could we draw based on the information we have so far?
See AlsoIncome Limits | HUD USERWhat missing perspectives do we need to research?
Are there any parts of our research or inquiry paths we should discard?
Are there new places to seek out sources?
Step 2
With your team, write a list of additional sources to seek, including the following:
Sources that address any missing perspectives that you need to research. (If there is more than one perspective missing, more than one member of the team can take on this task.)
Sources that replace any parts of your research that we have discarded.
Sources that might strengthen any conclusions we have drawn, deepening our understanding and providing us with more information and more evidence for making claims.
Sources that might challenge any conclusions we have drawn, offering a contrasting or alternative perspective.
Credible sources to replace any sources that we found lacked credibility, richness, or relevance.
Step 3
Either to advance your research or to prepare for a peer review of your research, make all the needed revisions to your Research Frame Tool.
Make a plan for tackling the work that remains in terms of finding, assessing, and annotating sources for your inquiry paths and questions.
Share your team’s progress with the whole group during a closing debrief and reflection discussion.
Activity 4: Discuss
We will continue to build our presentation skills by assessing another sample presentation and providing suggestions for improvement, with particular focus on speaking skills to help communicate ideas effectively. we will also set personal presentation goals on which to focus during our upcoming presentations.
Step 1
Review the list of characteristics of effective presentations that the class co-constructed in the previous section of the unit. Consider whether any additions or changes need to be made and share those with the whole group.
Step 2
Create a new entry in your Learning Log. View the videos displayed by your teacher, taking notes with regard to the speaking skills listed on the characteristics of effective presentations list.
Step 3
Participate in a whole-group discussion in which you share your observations and assessment about the speaker’s skills as well as offer suggestions for how to improve if needed or how you might learn from this speaker.
Back in your Learning Log, write a brief entry to set your speaking goal for this next presentation. This time, choose one of the speaking skills and explain how you will work on improving this aspect during your presentation and why you chose this one.
Activity 5: Read – Discuss
We will prepare to present our research and practice our presentations.
Step 1
We will present our research progress during the next lesson using the criteria in the checklist as a guide.
Review and refine the following materials, which you will use to help you present:
Research Frame Tool
Potential Source Tools
Step 2
Assign specific roles for each team member to present your research to another team. Consult the Presentation Structure section in the Presentation Guide to help teams assign roles and begin thinking about your roles for the final presentation.
Step 3
Review your Learning Log entry from the previous activity to recall and solidify your personal speaking goal for this presentation.
Step 4
Rehearse your presentation, focusing on both the content and your speaking skills. Help your team members by providing them feedback and then work together to make additional revisions or adjustments in final preparation for the next lesson.
Step 5
Individually, reflect on your portion of the presentation and assess yourself for progress toward the speaking goal you set.
Activity 6: Read – Write
For homework, we will continue to search for texts and add them to the potential sources tool and assess them for usefulness.
Continue your search for texts based on the decisions made by the team in the previous activity. Use and revise your keywords as needed to improve your search results. As you find potential sources, use Potential Sources Tools to assess them, and begin annotating them using the Research Note-Taking Tool.
Record new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.
Be ready to present your team’s Research Frame Tool and Potential Sources Tools in the next lesson.
