Oakland Schools Curriculum Unit Plan Third Grade ELA Writing

							Third Grade English Language Arts: Writing                                                    EW030700
Research: Creating a Research Project


                           Oakland Schools Curriculum Unit Plan

                                       Third Grade: ELA Writing

                  Unit 7: Research: Creating a Research Project
                                              Big Picture Graphic

Overarching Question:

          What steps do writers take to gather information and create research projects?
Previous Unit:                   This Unit:                                Next Unit:

  Informational Writing:          Research: Creating a Research Project            Writing Poetry
 Writing a Feature Article




Questions to Focus Assessment and Instruction:                      Intellectual Processes:

1. How can writers’ questions effectively guide their research?     Question/Answer
2. What are some strategies for gathering and managing facts
   and information?                                                 Research
3. In what ways can writers present the findings of their
   research?




The Oakland Schools Curriculum                                                                Page 1 of 2
scope.oakland.k12.mi.us                                                                          7/24/09
Third Grade English Language Arts: Writing                                                 EW030700
Research: Creating a Research Project



Unit Abstract
During this unit, students plan research projects based on their own curiosity and passion for
knowledge. They create reports, articles, essays, podcasts, speeches, or other types of
informational writing or presentations based on a teacher-selected topic. They begin by asking
questions to clarify and focus an idea, and then use a variety of print and internet sources to gather
facts and information. They also use surveys, interviews, and their own observations to gather
data that answers their questions and supports their ideas. Students learn how to sift through
information and determine what is important, what is interesting, and what is irrelevant. They sort
and evaluate their facts to determine if they have the right information or enough information and
revise their questions as they learn more about their ideas. They pay close attention to visual
elements in texts and learn how to include them in their research projects to convey information.
Students paraphrase and organize information, collect quotes, create a bibliography, and consider
various ways to present the findings of their research. Then they plan, produce, and present their
research projects and share them with others.

Content Expectations
Students will:
W.GN.03.04: Writing Genre – Use the writing process to initiate research questions based on a
               teacher-selected topic, use a variety of resources to gather and organize
               information, and produce and present a research project.

W.PR.03.01:      Planning for Writing – Set a purpose, consider audience, and replicate authors’
                 styles and patterns when writing an informational piece.

W.PR.03.02:      Pre-Writing Strategies – Apply a variety of pre-writing strategies for writing an
                 informational piece in order to generate, sequence, and structure ideas.

W.PR.03.04:      Revising Drafts – Revise drafts by identifying sections of the piece to improve
                 sequence and flow of ideas.

W.PR.03.05:      Editing Drafts – Proofread and edit writing using appropriate resources and grade-
                 level checklists.

W.SP.03.01:      Spelling – In the context of writing, correctly spell frequently encountered words
                 and use structural cues and environmental sources to spell less frequently
                 encountered words..

Key Concepts
Bibliography
Interviews
Paraphrasing
Quotes
Research
Sources
Surveys
Visual elements
The Oakland Schools Curriculum                                                             Page 2 of 2
scope.oakland.k12.mi.us                                                                       7/24/09