research skills grade 6

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Grade 6 Research Skills Worksheets

Related ela standard: w.6.7, research skills worksheets to print:.

Ancient Civilizations – Lots of questions of questions to answer about some past civilizations.

Evaluating and Outline for a Research Paper – This activity will see how deep you read into outlines.

Research Practice – You can put your answers in citation format.

Understanding Plagiarism – We hear your thoughts on if a cheater is present or not.

Research an Animal – What animals do you find helpful.

The Biography: Research Skills – When a person does something significant-good or bad-people usually want to know more about them.

Conducting Research – For this assignment you will learn about a country or a specific landmark or area within a country.

Understanding Historical Fiction – Choose one of the books listed below to read. Before beginning to read the book, though, conduct some research about the book's setting so that you fully understand the context of the story.

Conducting Research – Use any of the resources that your teacher makes available to you to research one of the following mysteries.

Preparation and Using a Computer – Prepare to write a report on how the role of women has changed over history.

Doing Research – Use any of the resources that your teacher makes available to you to answer the following questions.

Identifying Plagiarism – Read each set of passages below. Identify the one that is plagiarism. Rewrite the plagiarized passage on the lines below so that it is not plagiarism.

Medusa – Use whatever resources your teacher makes available to you to research the myth of Medusa.

A Moment in Time – Think like a photojournalist. What kind of image would capture the event that you researched?

Is It Plagiarism? – It is very common for people to get married in June, though the cultural reason behind this preference is no longer common cultural knowledge.

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• Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

• These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
• Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
• Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
• Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
• Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
• Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

• Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
• Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
• Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
• Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
• Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
• Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like  Thesaurus.com .
• Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

• Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
• Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
• Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
• Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest).  Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
• Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
• Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
• Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
• Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
• Watch this video  from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
• Take a look at  20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know  by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
• Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

• Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me?  by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
• Brainstorm a list of popular domains   (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
• Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results  (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
• Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
• Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
• Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
• Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
• Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

• Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
• Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
• Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
• Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
• Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
• Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
• As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
• Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

• Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
• Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
• Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
• Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
• Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
• Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
• Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
• Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source. 
• Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
• Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
• Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

• Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
• Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
• Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
• Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

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Research Skills Lesson Plan: Be a BrainPOP Expert

Submitted by: angela watson.

In this research skills lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades K-8, students use BrainPOP and/or BrainPOP Jr. resources to conduct independent and/or collaborative research on a selected topic. The focus of this lesson is to support students in identifying their interests and following their passions in an educated manner. Students will share their research findings with the class using web 2.0 tools or other presentation methods.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:.

• Conduct independent and/or collaborative research on a selected topic.
• Share research findings with the class using web 2.0 tools or other presentation methods.
• Access to BrainPOP's website or mobile app
• BrainPOP Expert Certificate page from BrainPOP Educators
• Computers for students to use or mobile devices

Preparation:

Lesson procedure:.

• Share a few of your own areas of interest with the class: a historical period you're fascinated with, a favorite genre, a science topic you love to read about, etc. You may want to share props or photos, as well. Explain that these are different from your hobbies, but sometimes hobbies and work opportunities develop from your interests.
• Tell the class you'd like to learn more about the things that are fascinating to them! Ask students to think about topics they've learned about in school or in books and online, then turn and talk to a partner about some science, social studies, math, health, or literacy topics that interest them.
• Pass out the blank BrainPOP Expert Certificates to the class and explain that students will be researching a topic they care about, and that's they'll become a certified BrainPOP expert through their work!
• Give students time to explore the notebooks in BrainPOP or BrainPOP Jr. and select one that interests them. You may choose to allow students to work in pairs or groups. Have them write their selected topic and name on the certificate. On the back, they should write the names of 3-6 movie topic pages (depending on your students' ability levels) that they intend to explore in order to become experts in their chosen area. Alternatively, students can use their mobile devices to submit their movie topics to you via Google doc or form, Edmodo, etc.
• Have students pass their certificates in for your approval. Help students narrow or expand their topics as needed and ensure that they have selected appropriate movies to help further their understanding.
• The following day, conduct a class brainstorm session to determine the criteria students will need to meet in order to earn their certificates and the BrainPOP Expert status. List students' ideas on the board. For example, they may wish to watch each movie, take the corresponding quiz, and complete one feature activity.
• If needed, provide note-taking sheets, graphic organizers, or other support for students to use in recording what they learn. Outlines, webs, KWL charts, 5 W charts, item/description charts, and more are available on the Graphic Organizers page.
• Explain that students will be able to choose a presentation method to share their research with the class. Allow them to brainstorm some possible ways they can communicate what they learned: Voicethread, a blog post, video, podcast, PowerPoint, Prezi, poster, skit, etc. Alternatively, students may want to set up a visual display of what they learned and set up stations around the classroom. Students can walk around to each display and talk with the class "expert" on each topic.
• Give students time in class or at home to conduct their research. Check in with them frequently to provide support and guide students in their thinking.
• Assign each student a time to present or share their newfound expertise. At the conclusion of each presentation, award each student their BrainPOP Expert Certificate! Encourage students to share their area of expertise with their families.

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Big Six Research Skills

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The Big Six Skills for information literacy is a set of skills which provide students with a problem solving strategy they can apply at all grade levels and across all curriculum content areas. It is an approach that accommodates differences in teaching and learning styles.

Big Six Skills is an ideal approach to information problem solving which can be adapted to existing K - 12 New York State and library curriculum standards in this document. Our students will leave equipped with the skills necessary to efficiently and effectively meet their information needs in school, work and personal lives.

  The Big Six Skills for Information Literacy

1.  Task Definition: 

1.1 Define the problem 1.2 Identify the information needed.

2.  Information seeking strategies: 2.1 Brainstorm all possible sources. 2.2 Select the best source.

3.  Location and Access: 3.1 Locate sources. 3.2 Find information within sources.

4.  Use of information: 4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view). 4.2 Extract relevant information.

5.  Synthesis:  5.1 Organize information from multiple sources. 5.2 Present the result.

6.  Evaluation: 

6.1 Judge the result (effectiveness). 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

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Free Printable Research Writing Worksheets for 6th Grade

Research Writing: Discover a vast collection of free printable Reading & Writing worksheets tailored for Grade 6 students, designed to enhance their skills and comprehension. Empower your teaching with Quizizz!

Explore Research Writing Worksheets by Grades

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Explore printable Research Writing worksheets for 6th Grade

Research Writing worksheets for Grade 6 are essential tools for teachers looking to enhance their students' reading and writing skills. These worksheets focus on various aspects of nonfiction writing, helping students to develop their abilities in researching, organizing, and presenting information effectively. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can provide a structured and engaging approach to teaching nonfiction writing. As students progress through the exercises, they will gain a deeper understanding of the different elements involved in crafting well-researched and well-written nonfiction pieces. With a strong foundation in research writing, Grade 6 students will be better prepared to tackle more complex reading and writing tasks in the future.

Quizizz is an excellent platform for teachers to supplement their Research Writing worksheets for Grade 6. In addition to offering a wide range of reading and writing resources, Quizizz also provides interactive quizzes and games that can help reinforce the concepts taught in the worksheets. Teachers can create their own quizzes or choose from a vast library of pre-made quizzes, allowing them to tailor their lessons to the specific needs and interests of their students. By incorporating Quizizz into their teaching strategies, educators can provide a more dynamic and engaging learning experience for their Grade 6 students. This combination of worksheets and interactive quizzes will not only strengthen students' research writing skills but also foster a love for reading and writing in general.

• Inspiration
• A Deep Study of Character
• Tapping the Power of Nonfiction
• Social Issues Book Clubs
• Dystopian Book Clubs
• Historical Fiction Book Clubs
• Investigating Characterization
• Essential Research Skills for Teens
• Literary Nonfiction
• Critical Literacy: Unlocking Contemporary Fiction

Because differences are our greatest strength

Skills kids need going into sixth grade

By Amanda Morin

Expert reviewed by Kristen L. Hodnett, MSEd

Sixth grade is a big transition year. In many school districts, this is when students begin middle school , which involves moving from classroom to classroom throughout the day as well as an increased workload. Academic expectations take a leap forward, too.

Your state’s academic standards outline the skills students need for each grade level. Here are some of the key skills kids are expected to learn by the end of fifth grade to be ready for sixth grade.

Skills to get ready for grade 6: English language arts and literacy

To get ready for sixth grade, fifth graders start reading plays, poems, and news articles in addition to short stories. They build a larger vocabulary by studying Greek and Latin roots of words. They also work on skills to help them summarize the things they learn — in both writing and speaking.

Kids write daily and improve their research skills of gathering information as well as interpreting, organizing, and presenting it. They learn to do the following kinds of activities that help develop language and literacy skills:

Identify themes of stories, poems, and plays by looking at how characters respond to challenges.

Compare stories and poems that talk about the same theme.

Support ideas with facts and details from a text.

Use information from many different sources (books, articles, websites) to find an answer to a question or problem.

Learn the conventions of Standard English and learn topic-related vocabulary (like science words) to use in writing and speaking.

Understand similes, metaphors, and other figurative language.

Participate in conversations and discussions not only by listening, but also by asking questions and adding their own ideas.

Give presentations, tell stories, and write reports, research papers, and opinion essays in a logical order and with supporting details.

Download graphic organizers to help your child with writing , and learn how to help your child break writing assignments into chunks . Is your child struggling with reading? Discover ways to build phonological awareness in middle school . And see which reading and writing skills kids typically develop at different ages.

Skills to get ready for grade 6: Mathematics

By the end of fifth grade , students are expected to understand place value and to work with decimals up to the hundredths place. They’re also expected to know how to add, subtract, and multiply fractions . Fifth grade is also a year for building geometry and measurement skills.

Here are some math activities kids do to get ready for sixth grade:

Compare two decimals and figure out which is greater or less than the other.

Solve word problems using multiplication, fractions, or mixed numbers.

Represent math problems on a graph.

Measure volume and relate volume to multiplication and addition.

Download graphic organizers to help your child with math . Get tips on helping your child with tricky math homework . And learn more about math skills kids typically develop at different ages .

How to help your rising sixth grader

Kids develop at different rates. But if your child hasn’t mastered most of these skills by the end of fifth grade, it’s a good idea to talk with your child’s teacher about your concerns. Together, you and the teacher can come up with a plan for addressing your child’s trouble spots.

You can practice skills at home with your child, too. Here are some things you can do:

Ask your child to read and discuss details about both fictional and informational texts of varying lengths.

Practice multiplication and division without paper (“ mental math ”).

Practice rounding decimals with dollars and coins, or with the prices of objects listed in advertisements.

Discuss positive and negative numbers in terms of credits and debits using a bank account or a bill.

Discuss the volume of objects around your home, like a water bottle, a box, or a container.

Keep in mind that the activities kids do in sixth grade require good executive functioning skills . Explore ways to help your child build these skills . And follow steps to prepare your child for changes to routine in middle school .

Key takeaways

To be ready for sixth grade, kids need to know many ways to find answers to questions and support their answers with facts and details.

If you notice that your child is having trouble keeping up, talk to your child’s teacher about your concerns.

Practicing math and reading skills at home can help your child prepare for sixth grade.

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Printable Student Research Skills Worksheets

These worksheets are great for working on library and media skills. In order to complete these printables students will need to intensely research the topics independently. It is also a great idea to have them properly cite the references that they use.

Research Skills Worksheets Related To History and Social Studies

• Abolition of slavery in America
• Adolph Hitler becomes dictator after coup
• America buys Alaska
• American Constitution Drafted
• Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Berlin Wall built between East and West Germany
• "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Ireland
• Civil Rights Act passed in US
• Cleopatra becomes Queen of Egypt
• End of Crusades (Tenth) with defeat of Muslims in Israel
• Great Wall of China Is Built
• Henry Ford designs first mass-produced cars
• Ivan IV (the Terrible) crowned Tsar of Russia
• Julius Caesar becomes Roman Leader
• Joan of Arc burnt at stake after military campaigns against England
• John Cabot lands in Canada
• King John forced to sign Magna Carta
• Last major eruption of Mount Etna, Sicily
• Macbeth becomes king of Scotland
• Napoleon sells Louisiana to America
• Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal
• Poland and Lithuania unite
• Portugal achieves independence from Spain
• Portuguese travelers discover Congo River
• Reformist John Calvin regains authority in Geneva
• Republic of Rome Declared
• Teutonic Knights established in Prussia
• The Boston Tea Party
• Treaty of Paris
• Witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts

Research Skills Worksheets For Grade 3 to 6 Students

• Do The Research Worksheet 1
• Do The Research Worksheet 2
• Do The Research Worksheet 3

Research Skills Worksheets For Middle School Students

How to improve your research skills.

Research is one of the universal requirements that we come across more often than we think we do. Whether we are deciding which new car to buy, the best fat loss strategy, or authoring a thesis, research is one of the unavoidable processes we must go through.

It can also be said that when we go through research, we most definitely grow through it. Considering its ever-increasing demand, being a good researcher is a must-have skill. With the vast armada of information and disinformation available in today's world, the ability to separate useful from the highly abundant irrelevant material is indeed an art and a skill.

Like any skill, it can be learned, and if you are looking to tackle your woes of not being able to research properly, you've come to the right place!

In this article, five tips are highlighted for your consideration: time-tested tactics that people use and recommend related to searching and researching. These tips will assist you in refining your research skills and, if done properly, will result in speedy execution with less effort. Read on to find out!

Essential Tips on How to Improve These Skills

Research skills are essential for both your academic and professional lives. These skills enable you to identify problems, search for solutions to solve these problems, or perhaps even come up with new solutions altogether.

These types of abilities are necessary for building knowledge and facilitating the process of learning. With increased awareness, you understand social issues and become more aware of your surroundings. If you are well-researched and well-versed on a topic, you will be in a better position to disapprove lies and uphold the truth while building on creating authentic and reliable knowledge.

Here are some essential tips for improving your research skills! Plan Bottom-Up

When you are researching, you may be initially overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the task at hand. This is a common occurrence that the result of planning ahead can overcome. A recommended planning strategy revolves around starting on broad terms on the top and then narrowing it down into subsections.

Suppose you are writing a paper on a particular event in history. It will help you go through a general overview of the topic on an open-source online website like Wikipedia. It will give you a gist of the occurrence in a brief manner.

Now to narrow down on the causes, detailed occurrence, results, aftermath, and the effects of the event, you can search accordingly in search engines for more detailed articles.

The critical takeaway is to begin research by first getting a general overview of the article and then going into its depth after getting that basic understanding. This way, you will have a mental image of the desired product at each stage and will definitely hit the bull's eye without wasting excessive time and effort.

Verify Your Sources

The internet presents us with various options that are not always accurate in what they say. It is impossible to ensure the authenticity of everything that is listed online.

However, by cross-checking multiple sources, you will be able to establish fact from fiction. This may appear to be a time-consuming process, but it may actually be done through the correct use of search engines and websites with the reference list for the source of information.

Be Organized In Your Research

Being organized in your research pays more dividends with each passing moment. While the attraction is strong towards having more and more information available to us, it becomes a challenging task to keep it in a manner in which we can access it at the required time without making too much effort. Being organized can be done in multiple ways. For example, you can save essential links in the bookmarks section of your browser; this will enable you to access information quickly and easily while your record will be maintained effectively.

A second tip would be to keep an annotated bibliography of research material which you can use at a later stage as per requirement. Another way people keep organized is to make folders regarding different subtopics of your research topic, which can assist you when you need to cite a particular reference. These tips help you achieve optimal performance and are a must learn for the academic researcher.

Do Not Disregard Library Sources

Libraries are one of the best places to do research. Library resources offer organized systems with search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc. The databases available in libraries contain a vast amount of data and information and superior searching capabilities that allow you to verify and evaluate your information sources. These databases come in different forms that are as follows:

- Catalogs - E-books - E-journals - Internet Resources - Trading Print Resources

So, if you doubt your research skills, you need not worry –there are numerous places where you can carry out research. Several high schools and colleges allow the general public to access their resources. So, keep an eye out for any such facilities in your area.

You can access research guides or gain access to specific databases by checking out the library websites. Remember that the key to successful research is knowing how to use and select appropriate resources that meet your requirements and are relevant to your study.

You may come across certain answers that sound surprising to you during your research. To be a good researcher, one must learn to be open to such answers.

If you only look for information that confirms your idea or thoughts, you are not doing a very good job. You would selectively pick and choose only that information supporting your theory. This approach prevents you from developing an accurate understanding of the subject matter. So, have an open mind while conducting your research.

The key to successful research is identifying the problem, collecting information from relevant sources, and verifying your sources. Remember to always be open in your research!

• There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

The Science of Reading: Do This, Not That (Grades 6-12)

For educators of middle school and high school students, there’s no denying the importance of reading for student success. As a result, it’s only right to make sure that education programs are based on the most up-to-date science of reading principles. What works for an elementary student will not necessarily work for those slightly older – and specific adjustments may be needed. This blog post aims to examine the “do’s and don'ts" when teaching reading to students in grades 6-12 within the context of scientific research by reviewing positive behaviors (what you should do).

How reading can have an impact on learning for grades 6-12 

Reading plays a significant role in academic success, especially for students in grades 6 through 12. It is important to understand the science of reading and how this knowledge can be applied to improve performance in the classroom. The research that embodies the Science of Reading proves that allowing students to strengthen their decoding as well as develop greater comprehension skills through reading will allow them to be more successful in all academic areas by improving their retention and ability to break down and analyze text. Thus, using summarization and self-monitoring for comprehension strategies can prove invaluable for 6 th -12 th grade learners as they work towards achieving excellent reading abilities that ultimately lead them to better academic experiences overall.

Do This! What the science of reading tells us about improving comprehension for middle and high school students 

The science of reading holds valuable insights into how to improve comprehension for middle and high school students. Research shows that summarization helps students understand the content better, as it requires them to recall the main points and actively participate in the learning process. Additionally, monitoring comprehension while reading can help detect when there are breakdowns in understanding so they can be addressed quickly and effectively. Finally, formulating essential questions while reading can be a helpful tool, as readers will have an idea of what they should pay attention to within a given text and it will provide a focus that ultimately leads to improved comprehension. Any or all of these strategies could be instrumental for middle and high schoolers who are looking to strengthen their comprehension skills.

Grade-level text will always be an important part of the curriculum, but what really makes a difference in the classroom is how students engage with that grade-level text. When texts are delivered at the instructional level, phrasing, and content can be tailored to better meet students’ literacy needs and lead to improved reading comprehension. We know this from decades of research; middle school and high school students who read the grade-level text at their instruction level will achieve higher levels of reading performance than those who do not. To maximize learning in today's classrooms, grade-level texts must be placed in the context they were intended: at our students’ instruction level.  If students are struggling with grade-level texts, students always benefit from teacher modeling and small-group instruction to develop greater reading proficiency.

Using essential questions when teaching reading comprehension can help students of all ages to engage more deeply with the material they are studying. By posing questions relevant to the text and creating a collaborative learning environment, teachers can foster deep analysis and generate excitement for learning. However, incorporating higher-level questions into your lesson plans will inevitably push students to think at a deeper and more creative level. Doing so will not only raise student engagement while creating meaningful connections with the material, it may also lead to an overall improvement in their academic performance. Therefore, employing strategic inquiry-based questioning techniques and providing opportunities for collaboration when teaching the Science of Reading is an essential component for successful student development.  Higher-level questions push students toward inferential or evaluative reading rather than continually engaging at lower literal levels of reading.

When research-based practices like summarizing, self-monitoring comprehension, and formulating essential and high-level questions are put into place, students can gain greater reading proficiency in both middle school and high school.  When educators implement these practices, our students grow into more competent readers and develop a passion for reading along the way! So, let’s offer them the reading strategies they need now so they can avail themselves of all the learning opportunities available to them through deep subject study!

Watch Part 1 of Dr. McKnight's webinar, Science of Reading: Foundational Literacy for Grades 6-12 .

Dr. Katie McKnight is a 15-year distinguished professor, dedicated teacher, and award-winning author. She is the founder of Engaging Learners, an educational company built around her successful Literacy & Learning Center model. Her support for professional learning at the leadership and classroom level has resulted in unprecedented academic achievement in many struggling schools. Dr. McKnight has authored 20 books, including best-selling, The Teacher’s Big Book of Graphic Organizers, winner of the 2013 Teachers’ Choice Award, and Literacy & Learning Centers for the Big Kids, grades 4-12.

CommonLit 360 How to Teach a CommonLit 360 Research Unit

Olivia Franklin

Engage students with interesting research topics, teach them skills to become adept independent researchers, and help them craft their end-of-unit research papers.

CommonLit 360 is a comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6-12. Our standards-aligned units are highly engaging and develop core reading and writing skills.

Want to engage students in independent research? Looking to hook students with interesting research questions and informational texts? CommonLit has your back.

CommonLit’s 360 curriculum provides research units for grades 6-10 that will help students complete independent research and craft evidence-based research papers.

Get students excited about their research with Essential Questions designed around timely topics

Each research unit has an Essential Question that students analyze and discuss throughout the unit. The topics for each research unit are designed to be interesting, timely, and relevant to students’ lives.

Students will learn about the status of the world’s oceans, discuss if social media is beneficial or risky, argue if contact sports are worth the risk, research how branding influences purchasing behavior, and learn about the human costs of clothing.

Here are the research units and their Essential Questions:

Get students excited about the research topic with introductory slide decks

Each unit comes with introductory slide decks that preview what students will be learning about over the course of the unit. The slide decks spark classroom discussion, hooking students from the very first lesson.

In Our Changing Oceans (6th grade), students discuss what it would be like to be an oceanographer, preview the texts they will be reading about issues facing our oceans, and hear about the key skills they will be learning throughout the unit.

Informational texts anchor each research unit

CommonLit’s research units are centered around informational texts that provide students with key background information and research to eventually support their end-of-unit essay.

Four core texts make up the Essential Reading Lessons for 6th grade. These texts teach students about the need to protect Antarctica and how plastic debris, sea level rise, and overfishing are affecting the world’s oceans. These texts teach students important facts they will need to cite in their end-of-unit research papers.

Supplemental texts allow students to dig deeply into independent research

Each unit comes with a large selection of supplemental texts to provide students with more facts and information to use in their research paper.

In middle school, students use the provided supplemental texts to further inform their research. In high school, students learn about finding reliable sources and can use both provided supplemental texts on CommonLit and texts from additional sources in their research.

For example, in Our Changing Oceans, 6th graders choose to research one of three topics related to ocean changes.

In high school, students are taught about the beginning of the research process, including developing a research question, finding reliable sources, and reading and taking notes. Students in 9th and 10th grade can use the supplemental texts as well as texts found in books or on other online learning platforms.

Students learn about the research process and how to craft research papers throughout the unit

Each unit includes lessons about conducting research so students can be prepared for the end-of-unit research paper. Scaffolded supports help students move through the research process. In lower grades, certain steps in the process, like developing a research question and finding reliable sources, are provided for students.

Students learn about writing research papers during writing lessons. In 8th Grade, students learn how to discuss and outline research papers. Then, they learn how to write a counterclaim, format a Works Cited page, and use in-text citations properly. Each of these research-paper focused writing lessons will prepare students to answer the end-of-unit essay.

Students also explore how to conduct independent research in research-specific lessons. In 8th Grade, teachers explain that they have provided the first two steps of the research process for students: developing a research question and finding reliable sources.

In the lesson, students are taught how to use a graphic organizer to take notes on each text they read in preparation for their research paper. Students also engage in an Introduction to Independent Research lesson, where they learn about steps of the research process and begin reading and taking notes on supplemental texts. Later, students engage in a discussion lesson that will help them synthesize all the information they have learned throughout the unit by discussing the research question with classmates.

Related Media Explorations provide even more background information for students

Related Media Explorations are a unique cornerstone of our ELA curriculum. These interactive tasks bring our research units to life and provide background information for students to use in their research.

In 8th Grade,  students learn about the way football culture has changed over the past few decades as scientists learn more about the long-term effects of repeated concussions. Students watch three videos that explain the culture of football in the past and present, and analyze statistics about concussions before discussing the question: “Who is most responsible for shaping mindsets about tackling in football: players, coaches, parents, or fans?”

Discussion lessons help students synthesize information in preparation for their research paper

Discussion lessons in each research unit provide students with the opportunity to practice citing evidence from sources, explain their evidence to classmates, and practice synthesizing information. These conversations give students the chance to gain new perspectives, receive feedback on their ideas, and boost their confidence before delving into the research paper.

In 8th Grade, students synthesize their ideas about the research question through a class discussion. After the discussion, students have an opportunity to outline their research paper using both their discussion notes and the note-taking graphic organizer they have used throughout the unit.

Participate in an optional final project that fosters creative thinking and collaboration

Each research unit comes with an optional end-of-unit project to further engage students through project based learning. These optional projects help foster student creativity and collaboration. Students can work with a partner or group to complete the task.

In 8th grade, students must make a brochure providing prospective parents and student athletes with factual information about the benefits and risks about contact sports so families can make an informed decision about participating. Students must work with a peer with an opposing view on the topic so the brochure is factual and unbiased. This task encourages teamwork and collaboration between peers with differing views.

Vocabulary and grammar lessons build student comprehension and writing skills

Each 360 unit comes with vocabulary and grammar lessons. Vocabulary activities help students internalize high-impact academic vocabulary words they will see in the texts they are reading. Grammar activities help students improve their writing skills, teaching students valuable skills to construct carefully crafted, grammatically correct paragraphs.

Want to learn more about research units and CommonLit 360? Register for a free, 30-minute webinar today!

Interested in learning about our affordable support packages? For just $6,500 per school, School Essentials PRO Plus provides teachers with three  benchmark assessments, two unit skill assessments per 360 unit, personalized professional development, school-wide data reports, LMS integrations, and more.

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Teaching Research Skills to K-12 Students in The Classroom

Research is at the core of knowledge. Nobody is born with an innate understanding of quantum physics. But through research , the knowledge can be obtained over time. That’s why teaching research skills to your students is crucial, especially during their early years.

But teaching research skills to students isn’t an easy task. Like a sport, it must be practiced in order to acquire the technique. Using these strategies, you can help your students develop safe and practical research skills to master the craft.

What Is Research?

By definition, it’s a systematic process that involves searching, collecting, and evaluating information to answer a question. Though the term is often associated with a formal method, research is also used informally in everyday life!

Whether you’re using it to write a thesis paper or to make a decision, all research follows a similar pattern.

• Choose a topic : Think about general topics of interest. Do some preliminary research to make sure there’s enough information available for you to work with and to explore subtopics within your subject.
• Develop a research question : Give your research a purpose; what are you hoping to solve or find?
• Collect data : Find sources related to your topic that will help answer your research questions. 
• Evaluate your data : Dissect the sources you found. Determine if they’re credible and which are most relevant.
• Make your conclusion : Use your research to answer your question! 

Why Do We Need It?

Research helps us solve problems. Trying to answer a theoretical question? Research. Looking to buy a new car? Research. Curious about trending fashion items? Research! 

Sometimes it’s a conscious decision, like when writing an academic paper for school. Other times, we use research without even realizing it. If you’re trying to find a new place to eat in the area, your quick Google search of “food places near me” is research!

Whether you realize it or not, we use research multiple times a day, making it one of the most valuable lifelong skills to have. And it’s why — as educators —we should be teaching children research skills in their most primal years. 

Teaching Research Skills to Elementary Students

In elementary school, children are just beginning their academic journeys. They are learning the essentials: reading, writing, and comprehension. But even before they have fully grasped these concepts, you can start framing their minds to practice research.

According to curriculum writer and former elementary school teacher, Amy Lemons , attention to detail is an essential component of research. Doing puzzles, matching games, and other memory exercises can help equip students with this quality before they can read or write. 

Improving their attention to detail helps prepare them for the meticulous nature of research. Then, as their reading abilities develop, teachers can implement reading comprehension activities in their lesson plans to introduce other elements of research. 

One of the best strategies for teaching research skills to elementary students is practicing reading comprehension . It forces them to interact with the text; if they come across a question they can’t answer, they’ll need to go back into the text to find the information they need. 

Some activities could include completing compare/contrast charts, identifying facts or questioning the text, doing background research, and setting reading goals. Here are some ways you can use each activity:

• How it translates : Step 3, collect data; Step 4, evaluate your data
• Questioning the text : If students are unsure which are facts/not facts, encourage them to go back into the text to find their answers. 
• How it translates : Step 3, collect data; Step 4, evaluate your data; Step 5, make your conclusion
• How it translates : Step 1, choose your topic
• How it translates : Step 2, develop a research question; Step 5, make your conclusion

Resources for Elementary Research

If you have access to laptops or tablets in the classroom, there are some free tools available through Pennsylvania’s POWER Kids to help with reading comprehension. Scholastic’s BookFlix and TrueFlix are 2 helpful resources that prompt readers with questions before, after, and while they read. 

• BookFlix : A resource for students who are still new to reading. Students will follow along as a book is read aloud. As they listen or read, they will be prodded to answer questions and play interactive games to test and strengthen their understanding. 

• TrueFlix : A resource for students who are proficient in reading. In TrueFlix, students explore nonfiction topics. It’s less interactive than BookFlix because it doesn’t prompt the reader with games or questions as they read. (There are still options to watch a video or listen to the text if needed!)

Teaching Research Skills to Middle School Students

By middle school, the concept of research should be familiar to students. The focus during this stage should be on credibility . As students begin to conduct research on their own, it’s important that they know how to determine if a source is trustworthy.

Before the internet, encyclopedias were the main tool that people used for research. Now, the internet is our first (and sometimes only) way of looking information up. 

Unlike encyclopedias which can be trusted, students must be wary of pulling information offline. The internet is flooded with unreliable and deceptive information. If they aren’t careful, they could end up using a source that has inaccurate information!

How To Know If A Source Is Credible

In general, credible sources are going to come from online encyclopedias, academic journals, industry journals, and/or an academic database. If you come across an article that isn’t from one of those options, there are details that you can look for to determine if it can be trusted.

• The author: Is the author an expert in their field? Do they write for a respected publication? If the answer is no, it may be good to explore other sources.
• Citations: Does the article list its sources? Are the sources from other credible sites like encyclopedias, databases, or journals? No list of sources (or credible links) within the text is usually a red flag. 
• Date: When was the article published? Is the information fresh or out-of-date? It depends on your topic, but a good rule of thumb is to look for sources that were published no later than 7-10 years ago. (The earlier the better!)
• Bias: Is the author objective? If a source is biased, it loses credibility.

An easy way to remember what to look for is to utilize the CRAAP test . It stands for C urrency (date), R elevance (bias), A uthority (author), A ccuracy (citations), and P urpose (bias). They’re noted differently, but each word in this acronym is one of the details noted above. 

If your students can remember the CRAAP test, they will be able to determine if they’ve found a good source.

Resources for Middle School Research

To help middle school researchers find reliable sources, the database Gale is a good starting point. It has many components, each accessible on POWER Library’s site. Gale Litfinder , Gale E-books , or Gale Middle School are just a few of the many resources within Gale for middle school students.

Teaching Research Skills To High Schoolers

The goal is that research becomes intuitive as students enter high school. With so much exposure and practice over the years, the hope is that they will feel comfortable using it in a formal, academic setting. 

In that case, the emphasis should be on expanding methodology and citing correctly; other facets of a thesis paper that students will have to use in college. Common examples are annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, and works cited/reference pages.

• Annotated bibliography : This is a sheet that lists the sources that were used to conduct research. To qualify as annotated , each source must be accompanied by a short summary or evaluation. 
• Literature review : A literature review takes the sources from the annotated bibliography and synthesizes the information in writing.
• Works cited/reference pages : The page at the end of a research paper that lists the sources that were directly cited or referenced within the paper. 

Resources for High School Research

Many of the Gale resources listed for middle school research can also be used for high school research. The main difference is that there is a resource specific to older students: Gale High School . 

If you’re looking for some more resources to aid in the research process, POWER Library’s e-resources page allows you to browse by grade level and subject. Take a look at our previous blog post to see which additional databases we recommend.

Visit POWER Library’s list of e-resources to start your research!

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Search engines can streamline the process of teaching basic research to elementary schoolchildren who require expert guidance on how to navigate the Web — and the earlier, the better.

Elementary school is when kids first begin to learn how to learn. Kids start using search engines quite early on, making elementary school the perfect time to teach research skills that become a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

The base skill for all schoolchildren is the ability to sift content for relevance and accuracy. Here are five ways teachers can help improve this skill in elementary-age children.

1. Define the task

What exactly must be researched? It’s very easy to get lost if children do not know precisely what they are looking for. In elementary school the subjects may be relatively simple, but they still must be defined accurately to aid in the search.

Teachers should talk with students about what they will be looking for and how to get specific results. The more specific they can get, the easier it will be to come up with search terms.

2. Discover keywords

Elementary school students may not fully grasp the concept of keywords, so they’ll need to be instructed in this foundational aspect of search technology. Search engines perform well only if correct keywords are used, and students need to learn how to come up with those words to get the results they need.

Keywords are typically based upon the most common approach to discussing a subject. Often, it will take some trial and error to discover just what keyword combination yields the desired results. Teachers can create a whole lesson around keywords, including what they are, how they work and how to find them.

3. Use appropriate tools

Google and Bing are probably the most popular search engines, but they may not be the best for teaching research skills to young people. Teacher Mary Beth Hertz recommends one of the more popular search engines for students, Sweet Search, whose results are screened by experts. Using something like Sweet Search may make it easier to teach research skills by weeding out a lot of the chaff that so often comes up on the more popular engines.

4. Teach about source hierarchy and evaluation

Elementary students can comprehend the tiers of legitimacy related to information-gathering. Teachers can explain about primary sources, original research and the reliability of information found on the Web. Kids can learn about how information travels from research papers to news sources to blogs and so on.

By going through examples, teachers can demonstrate the way various information sources find their information and present it to the public, and how to determine which information is best to use for their projects.

Children may not need to cite abstracts from scientific research papers, but they can learn to seek information more intelligently.

5. Take notes and compile information

The complexity of note-taking skills will depend on the students’ grade level, but even kids in the younger grades can learn to take pencil to paper and record the most important pieces of information they gather. The better they get at finding quality sources, the easier the note-taking will become.

Students should also learn how to cite their sources appropriately.

Setting up a lifelong skill

Learning research skills at a young age will give students a skill that will serve them over a lifetime. This skill will not only be useful in school, but in their everyday lives as they attempt to absorb ever-increasing amounts of information. Teachers will do their students a great service in teaching these skills.

You may also like to read

• How to Help Middle School Students Develop Research Skills
• Three Tips for Quality Assessment in Elementary School
• Top 5 Elementary School Models in America
• Resources for Social Skills: Lesson Plans for Elementary Students
• Web Research Skills: Teaching Your Students the Fundamentals
• Advice for Making Elementary School Reading Logs

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Research Project

Sixth graders use research, word-processing, graphic skills and a multi-media presentation. They complete a research project that meets the requirements for the Grade 6 Renaissance report.

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What your 6th grader should have learned

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team | Updated: May 5, 2024

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Did your child learn the skills they need to be ready for next year? Here are some of the most important academic skills that kids acquire in sixth grade. If your child hasn’t mastered some of them, don’t worry. No two kids are alike, especially when it comes to hitting developmental benchmarks. The important thing is to be making progress toward mastery . Choose a few to practice this summer, but keep things low-key — both for you and for your child. It’s more important that at-home learning be an experience that encourages your child to enjoy tackling challenges.

By the end of 6th grade, kids should be able to:

• Express an opinion in writing and back it up with evidence from researched sources.
• Write an informational essay with an introduction and a conclusion that explains a topic using information gleaned from research.
• Type three or more pages in one sitting.
• Paraphrase what they’ve read in writing and use quotation marks and attribution correctly to share information without plagiarizing.
• Calculate percentages.
• Understand the concept of and do calculations involving ratios (see examples of understanding ratios and working with ratios ).

Divide fractions by fractions.

• Solve real-world math problems involving area, surface area, and volume.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals.
• Solve equations in which X stands in for an unknown number, as a prelude to algebra.
• Use grade-level academic vocabulary words in their writing and speech (see 6th grade and 7th grade word lists).
• Discuss what they’ve read and reference evidence when they speak.
• Participate in group discussions and disagree respectfully.
• Understand that writing involves several steps: planning, revising, editing, rewriting and, sometimes, giving and receiving feedback and trying a new approach.

Read more about your sixth grader and reading , writing , and math under the Common Core Standards.

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