Unit Plan 31 (Grade 1 ELA): Shared Research Project
Grade 1 research and writing unit: students plan questions, gather facts from books and guided web sources, record picture notes, name sources, and help publish a shared digital class page.
Focus: Plan questions; gather from books/web with guidance; simple notes
Grade Level: 1
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Writing • Inquiry • Digital Publishing)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Researchers start with questions, look for answers in books and safe web resources, and take simple notes before they publish together. This week, the class chooses a single topic (e.g., bees, weather, community helpers), plans wonder questions, gathers information from print and teacher-curated digital sources, and produces a shared class page/slide with labels, sentences, and a picture.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Plan 2–3 focused research questions about a shared topic (W.1.7).
- Gather and recall facts from books and teacher-guided web/media; record simple notes with words and pictures (W.1.8).
- With guidance, use a digital tool (class device for typing/dictation or a shared slide) to produce/publish a class page (W.1.6).
- Name a source (book cover/page or “class website slide”) when sharing a fact.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 1
- W.1.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects.
- W.1.8 With guidance and support, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
- W.1.6 With guidance and support, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can write or draw 2 questions about our topic.
- I can record 3 facts from books or web with a quick note or sketch.
- I can say where I found my fact (book page/photo or class website slide).
- I can help type or dictate a sentence for our class page.