South Dakota ELA 11-12.W.7
The Standard
Conduct short as well as more sustained, focused research. Use appropriate methodology to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject under investigation.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students ask a focused question and choose a research method that fits it. They gather evidence in a short inquiry or a longer project, then explain what the evidence shows and what remains uncertain.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students explain why their method and sources fit the question. They connect evidence from several sources and address a contradiction or gap. Their conclusion does not claim more than the evidence shows.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose a topic so broad that their notes become a list of facts. They may treat one interview as proof of a general trend or quote a source without checking how its evidence was gathered.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Write a focused question about later school start times. Name one published source and one firsthand source you would use, and explain what each could and could not tell you.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed sleep-study abstracts and a school bell schedule; have them mark what each can answer and name one missing source.
Ask, 'Would interviewing three classmates show whether later start times improve teen sleep?' Have students write two limits of that method.
Deal teams question cards and method cards labeled interview, survey, and published study; award a point for each justified match.
Have students compare a school lunch menu with nutrition guidelines, then write a research question for the cafeteria manager.
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Related Standards
- 9-10.WHST.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation u...
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Conduct short as well as more sustained research; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation u...
- 5.W.7
Conduct short research projects that use multiple sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
- 9-10.W.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation u...
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