CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.7
The Standard
Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Writing Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students develop a clear research question and use several sources to build an answer. As they learn more, they create narrower related questions that open useful lines of inquiry.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students plan a short inquiry, gather relevant evidence from several sources, and record where each idea came from. They compare findings, refine their main question, and develop focused questions for further research.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose a broad topic instead of an answerable question. They may copy from the first source, treat a search engine as a source, or ask follow-up questions unrelated to the evidence.
How to Assess It
- Give students three short source cards about later school start times. Ask them to write an answer using two sources and add one focused follow-up question.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Set up three source stations on plastic waste, then have students collect evidence and write one new question at each station.
Ask students to write a research question about school life, then trade with a partner and revise it for focus and depth.
Play Source Match by having teams pair claims with evidence cards, reject weak matches, and create follow-up questions for missing information.
Investigate cafeteria food waste using a lunch menu, a one-day waste tally, and a staff interview, then propose a focused next question.
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Printable W.8.7 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.7, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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What This Unlocks
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.7
The 7th Grade version of this standard.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the i...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
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