Design thinking makes clear the systematic process that allows innovators to learn and apply techniques to solve critical problems in a creative way. In Module 2, students read the true story of William Kamkwamba in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Readers edition) and how he used design thinking to confront the devastating effects of famine in his country, Malawi. In response to this seemingly insurmountable problem, William spent countless hours in the local library, reading science textbooks and searching for a possible solution. Through careful research, and after many rounds of trial and error, William used available materials and scraps from the local junkyard to construct a windmill that brought electricity to his community, allowing kids to study into the evening, adults to recharge their mobile phones, and water pumps to irrigate the fields and produce more abundant harvests. Propelled by unshakable perseverance, a keen awareness of his community’s needs, and compassion for those suffering around him, William models how innovative thinkers can leverage design thinking to address critical problems in their own communities. Inspired by this concept, students work towards a performance task in which they research and present another innovative solution designed to address a critical issue. For this Solution Symposium, students interact with their audience to explain how design thinking and habits of character led to the development of a successful solution.

In Unit 1, students read the first nine chapters of the anchor text, building background on William Kamkwamba and the problems William’s community faced in rural Malawi, in a village with limited resources and access to education. Through two Language Dives using key sentences in the anchor text and a close read of a supplemental text, students practice identifying the central idea, citing textual evidence, analyzing how individual sentences contribute to the development of a text’s central ideas, and determining the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

In Unit 2, students finish reading the text, and demonstrate their continued reading-skill development in the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, which uses an excerpt from the text to assess students’ abilities to interpret the figurative and connotative meanings of unfamiliar words, analyze information portrayed in various media formats, and explain how a small portion of a text contributes to the central idea. By clearly delineating the many problems William faced, students see how each was addressed through science, research, and habits of character, like perseverance. With the support of explicit mini lessons on research skills, students then begin independent research on an innovator who, like William, designed a product to solve a critical problem. These research skills are assessed in the End of Unit 2 Assessment.

Through writing a collaborative informational essay about William in the first half of Unit 3, students deepen their understanding of the design thinking process and explore how William Kamkwamba used this process to solve a problem. The unit builds towards the performance task, a Solution Symposium, at which students present and share interactive displays of their research on an innovative solution to a critical problem. The Solution Symposium engages audience members in a conversation in which the student shares his or her answers to the following questions: (1) how was design thinking used to solve this problem and (2) how were habits of character used to solve this problem? Following the symposium, as the End of Unit 3 Assessment, students will collaborate to discuss how habits of character help people like those featured in their research solve critical problems.

Students begin the unit researching to answer the questions generated while reading A Long Walk to Water during Unit 1, including questions about Lost Girls. While researching, students determine two or more central ideas in informational texts and provide objective summaries of them. Students also watch clips of the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, about the Lost Boys of Sudan, analyzing the main ideas and supporting details and explaining how the ideas clarify what they have been researching. In the second half of the unit, students use the Painted Essay® structure to write an informative essay comparing and contrasting how the novel and an informational text deal with the subject matter of the Lost Children of Sudan.

For homework, students continue to read chapters of A Long Walk to Water in preparation for reading and discussing them in class. When they are not reading the anchor text, they should continue their independent research reading for at least 20 minutes and respond to a prompt. Additionally, students should continue independent research reading over the weekends.

What can we learn from those who have survived the greatest tragedies and become even more determined to help others? How can we share these kinds of stories to inspire and educate? In this module, students develop their ability to analyze narratives and create their own stories as they learn about the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan and the lessons revealed through their journeys.

Students begin Unit 1 reading the novel A Long Walk to Water. The focus of the reading is on how the setting shapes the characters and plot, how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters in the text, and how themes are developed throughout the story. As they analyze and discuss the text, students also create discussion norms in order to have productive discussions about the text at the end of the unit.

Students begin Unit 2 researching to answer the questions generated while reading A Long Walk to Water during Unit 1, including questions about the Lost Girls of Sudan. While researching, they determine two or more central ideas in informational texts and provide objective summaries of them. Students also watch clips of the documentary God Grew Tired of Us about the Lost Boys of Sudan, analyzing the main ideas and supporting details and explaining how the ideas clarify what they have been researching. In the second half of the unit, students write a compare and contrast essay looking at how an informational text about the Lost Children of Sudan and the novel treat similar subject matter.

Students begin Unit 3 comparing A Long Walk to Water to the audiobook version of the text, exploring how authors and readers develop tone, mood, and expression. Students draw on this exploration as they start the second half of the unit, planning and then writing a narrative children’s book about a Lost Boy or Girl of Sudan. Through mini lessons and independent planning work, students focus on developing characters, settings, plot points, and narrative techniques such as pacing, description, and dialogue. For their performance task, students refine their narratives and convert them into ebooks to publish and share with others, especially elementary school children.

In Unit 2, students transfer the knowledge about how scientists think about and investigate medical epidemics to the study of social epidemics. Students are introduced to the topic of social epidemics through various articles that describe the basic terms and theories behind social and emotional contagion. They practice summarizing the central ideas of the articles as well as delineating and evaluating their claims. In small groups, students engage in discussions in preparation for the mid-unit assessment, a text-based discussion in which students evaluate whether the authors of an article have provided sufficient evidence and reasoning for their claims connecting social and disease epidemics.

In the second half of the unit, students learn and practice the skills necessary for completing their end of unit assessment, an informative essay that answers the question: How do social scientists use ideas from the study of epidemics to understand and explain human behavior? Students engage in the full writing process, from planning to drafting to peer critique to revision. By the end of the unit, students will be able to think critically about the latest research about how emotions, ideas, and behaviors spread. This will prepare them for further investigation of the topic in Unit 3, as they engage in their own research and develop a podcast script related to a social or disease epidemic.

In this unit, students continue to read nonfiction texts at their level as they choose independent research reading texts. Students should complete 20 minutes of independent research reading for homework when they are not reading a chapter from the anchor text. Students should also continue independent research reading over weekends.

In Unit 3, students work in triads to create a podcast about a social or medical epidemic that concerns them or their community. Over the course of the unit, students will choose an epidemic topic, conduct research, write a script for their podcast, and use technology to record and sound edit their podcast. Students begin creating this podcast by listening to an exemplar podcast and reading a model podcast script. Students analyze what makes these model podcasts strong and build a criteria for success from their observations. Students then begin researching to gather information for their podcast, participating in a series of mini-lessons as needed to review research skills learned in Module 1, such as refining research questions, creating a research note-catcher, generating search terms, and evaluating the relevance and credibility of sources. Additionally, students consider how individuals, events, and ideas in their epidemic interact as they research. For students who may wish to research the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a chapter in Patient Zero that will support this research, as well as a lot of information available online. Encourage students who wish to research this topic to be sensitive to other students in the class who may have lost friends or family members in the pandemic or were significantly impacted in other ways. For the mid-unit assessment, students first read an article and answer questions to analyze the interaction of individuals, events, and ideas in a text. In the second part of the mid-unit assessment, students then conduct their own research to answer a question prompted by the article read in the first part of the assessment.

In the second half of Unit 3, students work in their triads to plan, write, and create their podcast. First each member of the triad drafts a narrative lead, being sure to include narrative elements such as a hook, characters, and the important events of the epidemic. Then triads spend time combining and refining these narratives into one strong lead for their podcast script, being sure to include narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description. Students then divide the rest of the script-writing among the members of their triad to write the remaining three sections of the script: the social and scientific ideas, the tools/mindsets/habits of character, and the message or lessons learned. Based on peer feedback from a tuning protocol, students revise their script to present their research findings in a coherent and engaging manner, using formal English when appropriate and eliminating wordiness and redundancy when necessary. Students also practice presenting their scripts in their triads and then for another triad of classmates to receive feedback on their presentation skills of adequate volume and clarity. For their end of unit assessment, students present their script to their classmates, focusing on all the skills they practiced and tuned throughout the unit: coherence and organization of information, volume, clarity, and formal, conventional English. During the performance task lessons, students turn their podcast presentations into actual podcast recordings with music and sound effects. Students must learn and use sound-editing skills as well as collaboration within and across triads to produce a high-quality podcast to publish for their classmates, community, or even the world by posting it online.

How do epidemics begin and spread? How do human responses help or hinder during trying times? Can the way we think about medical outbreaks tell us anything about how we should think about human behavior? In this module, students explore epidemics in many forms: historical and current, medical and social. While students learn about the scientific investigation and medical intervention in these outbreaks, they also focus on the social and cultural responses to develop a model of how best to respond to challenging circumstances. Students also examine the ways that the concept of “contagion” is applied to human behavior and ultimately explore the question of why we behave the way we do.

In Unit 1, students begin exploring the history of medical epidemics and focus on people’s mindsets and contributions, and how they behaved differently from those around them. Students define what a medical or biological epidemic is, answering questions such as: what characteristics do the large-scale disease outbreaks that we refer to as epidemics have in common, and how do they spread? Exploring these foundational questions about epidemics and the people who “fought” them provides the conceptual scaffolding and some of the terminology necessary for extending the study of medical epidemics to social epidemics in Unit 2. Students read three chapters from the anchor text, Patient Zero, examining the wide variety of text features and structures incorporated in each chapter of Patient Zero, as well as how major sections contribute to the whole text and the development of ideas. Students also practice determining the meanings of words and phrases, especially technical terms associated with epidemiology. In the second half of the unit, students focus more on the interactions between the individual epidemiologists or scientists, the events during the epidemics, and the ideas about disease at the time, as well as consider the mindsets, tools, and character traits that enabled the scientists to solve these medical mysteries. Students also practice determining the impact of word choice on meaning and tone.

In Unit 2, students transfer the knowledge about how scientists think about and investigate medical epidemics to the study of social epidemics. Students are introduced to the topic of social epidemics through various articles which describe the basic terms and theories behind social and emotional contagion. They analyze the articles both for central ideas and argument in order to evaluate whether the authors of an article have provided sufficient evidence and reasoning for their claims connecting social and disease epidemics. Students respond to the broader question of how learning from social epidemics is applied to medical epidemics both in formal discussion and informative writing.

In Unit 3, students begin by listening to exemplar podcasts and reading a model podcast script about epidemics and how people responded to them. They analyze what makes these podcasts strong and build criteria for success based off of their observations. Using these models as a template, students embark on researching an epidemic of their choosing. They gather research around the epidemic stories, toolkit, character traits, and message. In triads, students plan, write, and revise a narrative nonfiction podcast script. For their end of unit assessment, students present their script, focusing on coherence and organization of information, volume, eye contact, clarity, and formal, conventional English. Next, they find sound effects, and then finally, they record and splice together the podcast. In the end, they have a podcast created with craftsmanship to publish for their classmates, school, or even the world.

Please note that students do not read about the COVID-19 pandemic in the assigned reading in this module; however, there are references to this pandemic in some of the chapters in Patient Zero. For those students who may wish to research the COVID-19 pandemic in Unit 3, there is an entire chapter in Patient Zero dedicated to this topic.

In Unit 2, students are introduced to new research skills as they work together to research how GMOs impact access to healthy food. Students choose a second topic about access to food—pesticides, organic food, food deserts, or high-fructose corn syrup—and begin to conduct internet research independently. This prepares students for their mid-unit assessment, in which are given a new research question and are assessed on their research skills.

In the second half of Unit 2, students plan and draft an informative essay using the Painted Essay® structure, explaining how the topic they chose to research impacts access to healthy food. For their end of unit assessment, students prepare a short lesson to present their findings to their classmates and include visuals in their presentations.

Where does our food come from? How do we analyze arguments about how food should be grown and processed? What factors influence our access to healthy food? How do we research this? What factors should we prioritize when making choices about our food? How do we share these recommendations with others? In this module, students develop their ability to research, weigh different aspects of complex dilemmas, and formulate opinions supported by evidence and reasoning as they explore the topic Food Choices.

In the beginning of Unit 1, students discover this topic by examining multiple artifacts and being introduced to the guiding questions of the module and the culminating performance task. Throughout the module, students read excerpts from their anchor text, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and they analyze video clips of the Nourish: Food and Community documentary. Students learn how to analyze the author’s purpose and point of view, as well as structural elements he uses to convey key ideas. In addition, students learn how to delineate and evaluate the author’s arguments by tracking his central claim, supporting points, evidence, and reasoning. Students evaluate whether the author’s evidence and reasoning are sufficient and sound and consider if and how he addresses conflicting viewpoints. Students then evaluate an author’s motives for conveying information and consider the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to do so. All of these skills further students’ abilities to be critical consumers of information and to be thoughtful about what is presented to them.

In Unit 2, students research GMOs and a second topic of their choice (pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, organic food, or food deserts) that bring to light influences on Americans’ access to healthy food. Students learn new research skills as they explore ways in which access to healthy food can be increased or decreased. After researching GMOs as a whole class, students choose their own topic and utilize the research skills they learned in the first half of the unit to research their topic of choice. Students then write an expository essay on how their research topic impacts access to healthy food. At the end of Unit 2, students participate in a Desktop Teaching Activity that will allow them to teach a mini lesson on the topic they research, and to participate in their classmates’ mini lessons on other case studies.

In Unit 3, students analyze language used in The Omnivore’s Dilemma to better understand the author’s intended meaning. Students begin to consider the food choices at play in the many texts and topics they have examined and begin to formulate their own opinions about which food choice would be the most beneficial for themselves and those in their community. For the final assessment, students write an argument essay defending this recommendation. In preparation for this, students analyze a model essay, plan and draft a practice essay, and plan and draft their assessment essay.

For their performance task, students create an infographic and talking points to defend their argument. Students will present to an audience of community members in roundtable presentations.

In this lesson, students will be able to gather information from provided resources to answer a question. Using the book "Owls", the teacher will read the book while asking guiding questions. After the book, the students will have to opportunity to examine a real owl pellet and classify items they find inside. A link to a company where owl pellets can be purchased is provided. Pictures and videos of this lesson in action are included.

In this scaffolded lesson, students will independently gather information about elephants and then compile this information with their peers. This lesson is part of a unit that will culminate with an expository writing assignment.

Students will conduct a short research project about a topic. This lesson focuses on how to find the information needed on their chosen topic.

Links to 75 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources, take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

In this lesson, students write summaries of researched information in their own words and quote text accurately.

In this lesson, students will be able to gather information from provided resources to answer a question. Included is a video of the introduction of this lesson, pictures of students' completed work, and examples of books on the subject of animals in the polar regions.

Delve into this wonderfully illustrated and comprehensive picture dictionary. Research up to 1,905 illustrated entries. Each word is used in a meaningful sentence.

Hints about Print demonstrates the process of evaluating a nonfiction print resource to determine its appropriateness for a research project.

The INFOhio Citation Guide includes a variety of websites, tutorials, documents, and videos for grades 6-12 to support students as they cite sources and provide attribution for resources and images used during the research process.

This site from the Medieval Sourcebook answers the question: Why Study History Through Primary Sources? It provides complete information, a list of review questions, and bibliography information.

Welcome to Research 4 Success! The content within this course has been selected to supplement the instruction of research and information literacy skills for students in grades 9-12. Educators can use the content from the lessons and units in conjunction with a research project.Content within this course was selected to support the development of research skills. In this course, students will learn how to develop a research topic and generate questions to guide research. Students will learn how to find, evaluate, and organize information. Students will learn how to use information ethically by publishing and presenting their research.