South Dakota ELA 7.W.8

7.W.8 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• 7.W.8.a

  Use search terms effectively.

• 7.W.8.b

  Assess the credibility and accuracy of each source.

• 7.W.8.c

  Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism.

• 7.W.8.d

  Follow a standard format for citation.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students find relevant information in print and online using focused search terms. They check who made each source and whether its claims match other evidence. They quote or paraphrase what they find and cite the source.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can narrow a search from “sleep” to “middle school start times and sleep.” They can explain why a source is trustworthy and check a claim against another source. Their quotes and paraphrases use MLA citations.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may treat the first search result as the most accurate or assume a polished website is trustworthy. They may change a few words and call it a paraphrase, or list a URL without citing the borrowed idea.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a printed article and a web page about school start times, with author and date details. Ask for a focused search phrase, one claim checked across both sources, a reason to trust one source, and a paraphrase with an MLA citation.

1. 01

   Give pairs a printed article and a web page about school start times; have them mark matching claims and circle each source's author and date.

2. 02

   Ask students to write: Would you trust a school district report or an anonymous blog about start times, and what claim would you check?

3. 03

   Run a search-term relay: teams turn “kids tired” into three narrower searches, then compare which terms find research on school start times.

4. 04

   Have students compare a district start-time page with a bus schedule, then write a cited note explaining when they would need to leave home.

• 8.W.8

  The 8th Grade version of this standard.

• 6-8.WHST.8

  Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources.

• 6.W.8

  The 6th Grade version of this standard.

• 5.W.8

  Gather and recall relevant information from experiences and multiple print and digital sources such as library databases.