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Standard 4 : Researching
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • ELA.7.C.4.1 : Conduct research to answer a question, drawing on multiple reliable and valid sources, and generating additional questions for further research.
Cluster Information
Number:
ELA.7.C.4
Title:
Researching
Type:
Standard
Subject:
English Language Arts (B.E.S.T.)
Grade:
7
Strand
Communication
Cluster Access Points

This cluster includes the following Access Points.

  • ELA.7.C.4.AP.1 : Conduct research to answer a question, drawing on reliable and valid sources and generating an additional question, with guidance and support.
Cluster Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans
  • Save the Ducks: Using the case study, "Duck, Duck...Goose?" (CPALMS resource ID #222022), students will work together to analyze a community problem and write a proposal describing a solution from the perspectives of the local, state, and/or national level.

  • Love What You Do: Using the case study, “Career Choice Change,” students will explore the factors in choosing a potential career such as interests, skills, and education. While analyzing the career cluster and path they will also research a specific career position in preparation for a simulated job interview. The student will present durable skills and academic or trade skills that the interviewer would consider for hiring in that career position.

  • Education Levels in Healthcare: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Preparing for a Career in Healthcare" (See CPALMS Resource ID 220806) to discuss how to prepare for a career in healthcare. Students will compare education levels and research careers that correlate to each level of education. Then, they will determine education/training needed to pursue a career of interest and how they can start preparing for that career now.

  • Respiratory Therapists: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Breathing Problems," (See CPALMS Resource ID 220906) to introduce the career of a respiratory therapist. Students will read and research about the career and practice career tasks as they circulate through stations.

  • Home Health Aide: In this lesson plan, students will use the case study, "The Impact of Parkinson’s Disease" (see CPALMS Resource ID 220378) to introduce the career of a home health aide. Students will explore the career and practice several career tasks as they circulate through stations.

  • Therapeutic Diets: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Lifestyle Choices: Nutrition and Wellness" (Resource ID#: 218928) to discuss lifestyle choices, including proper nutrition, that can prevent illness. The lesson will introduce therapeutic diets as one treatment option for specific medical conditions. Student groups will research and present a therapeutic diet to the class.

  • Food Groups: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Lifestyle Choices: Nutrition and Wellness" (CPALMS Resource ID# 218928) to discuss lifestyle choices that affect wellness. Then, students will research U.S.D.A. food groups and complete a chart comparing the food groups and healthy vs. unhealthy choices within each one.

  • Dieticians and Nutritionists: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Lifestyle Choices: Nutrition and Wellness" (See CPALMS Resource ID# 218928) to discuss lifestyle and dietary choices that may affect health. Then, they will research and compare two nutrition-related careers: registered dieticians and nutritionists.

  • Water Intake & Wellness: In this lesson plan, students will use the Case Study "Water and Wellness" (See CPALMS Resource ID 219137) to discuss lifestyle choices that affect wellness. Then, students will work in groups to research and create a poster on the functions of water in the body.

  • Leaders & Discoveries in the History of Medicine: Using the case study, "History of Medicine," students will research historical figures in the history of medicine to discover their impact on modern medicine.

  • Researching Ancient Remedies: Using the case study "History of Medicine," students will research treatments/remedies used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and/or Rome for their health benefits.

  • Preventive Healthcare: Using the case study, "Risk Factors for Illness," students will consider the role of healthcare in preventing serious medical conditions. Students will research preventive healthcare examinations and screenings, and present their findings to the class.

  • Exploring Risk Factors for Illness: Using the case study, "Risk Factors for Illness" (CPALMS Resource #214980), students will be introduced to two conditions that result from a combination of genetic and lifestyle risk factors (high blood pressure and insulin resistance). They will research what causes life-threatening diseases and determine whether the causes of each disease are risk factors that are controllable or non-controllable.

  • Recognizing Safety Concerns: In this lesson, students will use the Case Study "Emergency Room" (See CPALMS Resource ID 221700) to introduce safety concerns related to the healthcare field. Students will analyze scenarios for potential occupational hazards and safety concerns. Then, students will research a medical career of interest for its potential hazards and safety habits to protect the healthcare worker.

  • Conflict Resolution Strategies: Using the case study, “Family Game Night: Fun or Fury?”, students will discuss the cause of conflict within the family that occurred throughout the night. They will research different types of conflict resolution strategies using valid and reliable digital resources. They will use the information gathered to work collaboratively to compare conflict resolution strategies and create a digital infographic with strategies they would recommend to the family to use to resolve their conflicts.

  • Dena's Daycare: Using the case study, “Dena’s Daycare,” students will discuss the best practices for learning environments and develop guidelines for establishing classroom activities, routines, and transitions. Students will discuss child development and collaborate to brainstorm ways to improve classroom activities, routines, and transitions.

  • The Skills Required to Become a Successful Entrepreneur: Using the case study, "Janet's Real Estate Success," students will identify examples of the skills required of a successful entrepreneur or small business owner and discuss what qualities of an entrepreneur or small business owner were most important to their success.

  • Is the Customer Really Always Right?: Using the case study, Is the Customer Really Always Right, students will identify examples of ineffective workplace skills and brainstorm strategies to prevent similar incidents. They will conduct research to find a real-world example of a business with poor communication or customer service and use their knowledge to propose solutions to enhance customer satisfaction and prevent financial losses.

  • Energy Friendly Homes: Using the case study, "Energy Friendly Homes," students will work in small groups to research and analyze various home features and their impact on energy conservation. They will create a poster presentation to make a recommendation for which home a family should purchase.

  • Creating Sustainable Grocery Stores: Using the case study, “Creating Sustainable Grocery Stores,” students will identify methods or practices of the conservation of natural resources within grocery store chains. Working with a partner, they will research an assigned sustainability recommendation (from the case study) and will develop a pitch to the company’s board of directors that will demonstrate specific methods or practices of conservation that address their assigned sustainability recommendation.

  • Duck, Duck, Who?: Using the case study, Duck, Duck, Who? (resource #215700), students assume the role of a the team of lawyers, researching the difference between copyright infringement and fair use to map out their case, including the evidence they will present.

  • Orientation to Career Clusters: Education and Training Career Research Part 2: Students will choose a career within the Education and Training Career Cluster to research. Student research will focus on training and education requirements for the career, the skills, abilities, and talents needed to be successful in the career and showcase a business or organization that employs individuals within the career. Students will compile their research as they create a poster presentation.

  • Too Much Testing?: Using the case study TOO MUCH TESTING?, the students will discuss value of playtesting games. They will continue to create a written strategic plan for their testing process (i.e., who should be in the test group, testing procedures & rules, questions for the playtesters about the game). A guide will be provided to them to help them outline each of these components. They will create the strategic plan as a team, so will be using digital tools as they share and create the plan.

  • What’s Next? Making a Plan.: Using the case study, “What’s Next?”, students will conduct research to investigate the relationship between educational achievement and career choices/postsecondary options. Students will utilize digital tools to collaborate with their peers to summarize their findings and create a presentation.

  • Career Crossroads: Navigating the Path to Purpose: Using the case study, “Career Crossroads: Navigating the Path to Purpose,” students will explore various career clusters to gain insight into different industries and job roles, and ultimately make informed decisions about their future career paths.

  • Exploring Technology Part 1: Inventions & Innovations:

    Students will complete a graphic organizer to record information from their online research on various technological inventions and innovations as an introduction to technology. After completing their research, students will reflect on the relationship between people and technology in this lesson plan.

  • Leadership Part 3: Leaders- A Closer Look:

    In groups, students will conduct additional online research and write a profile on the characteristics and responsibilities of two leaders. Students will design a slide for each leader’s profile to add to their leadership presentation in this lesson.

  • Leadership Part 2: Leaders- Who are they and what do they do?:

    In groups, students will conduct online research and complete a graphic organizer on the characteristics and responsibilities of leaders from various industries in this lesson.

  • Protecting Florida Forever- Part 2: Students will explore and research populations living within a Florida ecosystem. Students will identify limiting factors that may pose a threat to native populations. Students will examine the goals of the Florida Forever Act, recognizing the government’s role in protecting lands, and relating the goals to limiting factors affecting wildlife populations in this integrated lesson plan.

  • Errors in Code: The Three Branches of US Government - Part 1: Students will research the three branches of government and analyze the importance of each branch’s responsibility. Students will also complete an unplugged evaluation of the logical flow of a step-by-step Scratch program by cutting up and rearranging printed code. This is the first lesson in a three-part integrated civics and computer science mini-unit.

  • Political Cartoons as Commentary on Supreme Court cases: Students will research and review a landmark Supreme Court case, evaluate the effect the case had on society, and plan and create a political cartoon based on the case, in this integrated civics and visual arts lesson plan.

  • So You're Running For President - Lesson 2: This is Part II of III in a civics and computer science series on bias, propaganda and symbolism. In this lesson, students will be shown primary source political ads (both print and video) and will evaluate them for bias, symbolism, and propaganda. The students will then be asked to research past political ads themselves and find two examples of each (bias, symbolism, and propaganda).

  • A Long Walk to Water: Lesson 1: Citizenship: This lesson is part of a text unit for A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Students will examine the meaning of citizenship, using the text and research. Students will examine the 14th Amendment and citizenship in Sudan and the 14th Amendment’s influence on individual actions and social interactions.

    This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.

  • Freedom Walkers Lesson 1: The Importance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: In this lesson, students will research events related to and depicted in the informational text, Freedom Walkers, compiling their research on a timeline of events that occurred before, during, and after the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the 1950s. Students will examine the impact of two key amendments on the fight for equality in this integrated lesson plan.

    This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.

  • International Conflicts: In this lesson plan, students will be introduced to international conflicts, examples of international conflicts in which the United States has been involved, and the various ways governments can respond to international conflicts. Students will break into small groups to research background information on the international conflict they have been assigned and to analyze primary sources related to their conflict. Students may present their findings at this point as part of a shorter lesson or can utilize different class periods to conduct deeper research. If the latter, students will produce a visual aid (presentation slide(s), poster, video, etc.) they will use to teach the class about their assigned conflict.

  • U.S. Participation in International Organizations: In this lesson plan, students will learn about different international organizations in which the United States plays a role. Students will use different methods of media and communication to investigate benefits and drawbacks of international participation and persuade their classmates about impacts on the United States gained from participation in these international organizations.

  • America's Roman Roots: In this lesson plan, students will view and anaylze an image of Cicero giving an address to the Roman Senators using teacher led questions. Students will divide into groups to research the influences that Rome had on the creation of America’s constitutional republic. Finally, students will share their findings to the class through short presentations.

  • Cyberbullying Awareness: Using the case study, “Suffering in Silence: The Effects of Cyberbullying”, students will identify elements of cyberbullying and the effects on both the victim and the bully. Students will research ways to respond to cyberbullying, ways to report it, and organizations that prevent/monitor cyberbullying. This research will be used to create a public service announcement (PSA) to inform the public about cyberbullying.

  • Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: In this lesson, students will use previously conducted research to create a conflict resolution plan to use in the workplace.

  • A Search for Central Ideas: Examining Florida Wildlife: In this four-part series, students will read informational texts in the form of brochures created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Students will work in groups to complete a graphic organizer to identify text features, determine the meaning of selected vocabulary, and compare central ideas. Students will also conduct research about Florida wildlife to create an original brochure with a variety of text features.

  • Child Soldiers Lesson 3: Research Paper: This is part three of a three-part lesson on child soldiers. In this lesson, students will conduct research and write a formal paper on child soldiers. Students will learn about primary and secondary sources and how to determine the credibility of their sources. The teacher will provide support on how students should record their citations and how to take notes on note cards.

  • Is My Backpack Too Massive?: This lesson combines many objectives for seventh grade students. Its goal is for students to create and carry out an investigation about student backpack mass. Students will develop a conclusion based on statistical and graphical analysis.

  • Recycling: Are We Doing Our Part?: Students will explore their understanding of human impacts on the environment, then relate it to how we must reuse, reduce, recycle. Next students will conduct a survey on recycling habits, create data displays using their collected data, draw conclusions, and present group's findings to the class.

  • Incursion of the Lionfish: Text Features, Text Structures: In this lesson, students will conduct research using informational texts to answer a question related to the invasion of lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Students will work to analyze how the use of text features convey purpose in text. A research graphic organizer for research and text features cards have been included with the lesson.

  • Community and Me: Students will discuss various ways to get involved in their community and will research current organizations and their roles in supporting community needs. Students will use their research to write a well-developed essay explaining the types of community organizations that are currently involved in supporting community needs and will determine how they might want to become involved.