Unit Plan 31 (Grade 2 ELA): Shared Research Project
Second graders become curious researchers, learning how to plan focused questions, gather facts from books and safe web pages, and take simple notes in their own words. With teacher guidance, they publish a collaborative digital project that shows what they discovered together.

Focus: Plan questions; gather from books/web with guidance; simple notes
Grade Level: 2
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Writing • Research • Technology)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Second graders can do real research when the task is small, the sources are curated, and the note-taking is simple. This week, the class conducts a shared research project on a kid-friendly topic (e.g., pollinators, community helpers, weather safety). Students will plan questions, gather information from books and teacher-guided web sources, take short notes in their own words, and publish a clean, collaborative page/slide.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Plan focused research questions and carry out a shared research project with peers (W.2.7).
- Gather and recall information from provided books/web sources and answer a question using simple notes and their own words (W.2.8).
- With guidance, use a digital tool to produce/publish writing and collaborate with classmates (W.2.6).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 2
- W.2.7, W.2.8, W.2.6
Success Criteria — student language
- I can ask a research question about our topic.
- I can find 2–3 facts in books or on a class website and write short notes.
- I can answer the question in my own words using my notes.
- I can help publish our class page/slide.