Research Across Texts*
The Research Across Texts Big Idea applies to both 9th and 10th Grade ELA/ELD courses as the level of text increases across grade levels. Scaffolding should be provided as needed for 9th grade students.
Opportunities to engage in research contribute to students’ content knowledge and as research projects expand and become more complex, they contribute to students’ motivation and engagement (ELA/ELD Framework, Chapter 7, p. 710). While conducting research, students interpret a range of written, audio, visual, and multimedia sources, and communicate about findings. By integrating research findings and understanding various sources, students improve their analytical skills. Students also produce well-structured texts, preparing them for academic and societal participation (CA ELA/ELD Framework ch. 10, p. 965).
Big Idea Success Criteria
The categories and their related standards below unpack the success criteria of this big idea.
- RI. 9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RI. 9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- RI. 9-10.3: Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
- ELD.PI.9-10.6a Explain ideas, phenomena, processes, and relationships within and across texts (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, themes, evidence-based argument) based on close reading of a variety of grade-appropriate texts, presented in various print and multimedia formats, using a variety of detailed sentences and a range of general academic and domain-specific words.
- W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- W.9-10.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- W.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation including footnotes and endnotes. CA
- ELD. PI.9-10.10: a. Write longer and more detailed literary and informational texts (e.g., an argument about water rights) collaboratively (e.g., with peers) and independently using appropriate text organization and register. b. Write clear and coherent summaries of texts and experiences by using complete and concise sentences and key words (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers).
- ELD.PII.9-10.1 Understanding Text Structure Apply analysis of the organizational structure of different text types (e.g., how arguments are organized by establishing clear relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence) to comprehending texts and to writing clear and cohesive arguments, informative/explanatory texts and narratives.
- ELD.PII.9-10.2. Understanding cohesion a) Apply knowledge of a variety of language resources for referring to make texts more cohesive (e.g., using nominalization, paraphrasing, or summaries to reference or recap an idea or explanation provided earlier) to comprehending grade‐level texts and to writing clear and cohesive grade‐level texts for specific purposes and audiences.
Alternative Means of Expression
The following options give educators and IEP teams viable alternative means of expression a student could use when showing their understanding of this big idea. Much of the initiative team’s approach to identifying options centered on developing or adopting performance tasks to show what assessment might look like for this big idea.
Remember, LEAs adopt their own policies related to how a student meets the requirements for graduation. Educators and IEP teams should explore these resources with knowledge of these local policies.
Sample Coursework
Project Created Performance Task
Alternate Means of Expression Option 1 is a performance task created by the project team that represents a viable alternate means of expression a school, district, teacher, or IEP team could utilize as an assessment option for this big idea.
Performance Tasks
Alternate Means of Expression Option 2 represent either a single performance task or a set of performance tasks that have been curated from publicly available task repositories that can be used as a viable assessment option.
Bring Your Own Task (BYOT)
A Call to IEP Teams
We want students’ IEP team members to share their ideas regarding viable alternative means of expression pertaining to this big idea for students with disabilities, including those eligible for the CAA, these teams serve. IEP teams can define viable alternative means of expression for an individual student with an IEP, as long as these mediums meet the local requirements of the coursework.
A Call to Content-based Educators
In addition to IEP teams, we know secondary teachers and district curriculum leads have a wealth of experience and ideas related to innovative ways to assess students’ understanding of this content. We are interested in sample alternative means of expression this community sees as viable assessments of this big idea.
Please use the entry boxes below to share these ideas.
Important Note —These assessment tools will not be shared outside the review of the initiative team and will remain the intellectual property of the users who have made this submission. Furthermore, feedback or comments from the initiative team will not be given to uploaded content, nor does uploading materials imply that the alternative means of expression strategy is a viable option for this big idea.
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