Title of activity: Research Methods for Expository Writing

Concept covered in activity: What kinds of sources are valuable for expository writing? How can a researcher
find useful and reliable sources? How can students utilize databases for scholarly research in the composition of
expository pieces?
Grade level or other prerequisites for activity: 9th grade English class
Standards:
1. 1. Informational materials, including electronic sources, need to be collected, evaluated, and analyzed
for accuracy, relevance, and effectiveness for answering research questions. (CCSS: WHST.9-10.7-9)

Learning objectives:
1. Students should be able to demonstrate their understanding of finding reliable sources by locating 3 reliable
sources regarding their expository writing topic in class.
2. Students should be able to demonstrate their skill of using databases by using scholarly databases to locate 2
of the 3 reliable sources from objective 1.
Materials: Teacher will need: whiteboard, markers, computer lab, or extra laptops for students. Students will
need: paper, pen/pencil, tablet or other device with Internet capability.
Instructional planning: Provide students with link to Purdue Owl website for information on reliable sources.
Provide students with link to schools library database for scholarly works.
Procedure/activity
Student Activity

Teacher Activity

Engage

Participate in whole-class discussion on

interesting stories in the news, and how those
stories are proven to be true. Discuss the
questions of source reliability.

Lead class in a whole-class discussion on

proving stories through the use of reliable
sources.

Explore

Paired work on comparing source materials

(found online) to the reliable source
guidelines on the OWL website. Locate a few
stories/pieces of evidence that can be
considered reliable.

Pair up students, and have them search for

reliable sources. Sources do not need to be
focused on a particular topic, but they
need to be verified by the OWL website.
Assist students with extra learning needs
in comprehending the OWL guidelines.

Explain

Present findings of the paired work to the

class. Discuss difficulties in finding reliable
sources, and share insights on how to find
reliable, useful sources.

Facilitate in class discussion, and guide

student discussion on finding reliable
sources. Answer any outstanding
questions regarding what makes a source

Balgopal, 2014

reliable, per the OWL website.

Elaborate

Return to original pairs, and use the librarys

database system to locate scholarly
articles/sources regarding a particular subject,
again making sure that these sources adhere to
the OWL websites standards for reliability.

After demonstrating how to access the

school librarys database system, break
students back into pairs and instruct them
to find scholarly articles/sources using the
database.

Evaluate

Students will document three of the reliable

sources they found in class with their partners
on a sheet of paper, and turn it in at the end of
class.

Instruct students to write lists of 3 reliable

sources they found in class, 2 of which
that were found using the library database.

Assessment
Formative: Informal: Students will participate in a fist-to-five assessment regarding their understanding
of what is needed for a source to be considered reliable. Formal: Students will turn in a sheet containing 3
reliable sources they found in class.
Anticipated misconceptions/ alternative conceptions: Students might believe that a source might be
reliable simply because it is linked to a large/professional organization.
Accommodations/modifications of activity: As stated above, students needing extra assistance in finding
reliable sources, or in using the OWL website to determine the reliability of sources, will receive extra help
from the teacher during the paired work time.

Balgopal, 2014