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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 13

Research Skills

Primary sources, credibility and citations

What your child practices

Children practice primary and secondary sources, conflicts of interest, focused searches, checking AI answers and online images, quoting, paraphrasing and citing.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 7.2.7.2; 7.2.8.1 · research from many sources, and quoting, paraphrasing and citing them

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Check credibility: what are the author’s qualifications? Is there a conflict of interest?
  2. Keep a research log of questions, sources and findings.
  3. Quote and paraphrase carefully, check AI answers and list all sources on a works cited page.

Example: An article reviewing a product was written by the company that sells it. What is this? The writer gains if you buy. That makes the review less fair. Answer: conflict of interest

Research Skills in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 11 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Roots & Word Parts and before Framing the Message.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which sentence correctly credits a source in a report?

    • According to the National Park Service, the park has over 200 bird species.
    • The park has over 200 bird species, I think.
    • Everybody knows the park has birds.
    • Some people say there are birds.

  2. Question 2

    What is the main benefit of using a library database instead of a general web search?

    • it never needs citing
    • it has more ads
    • its sources are usually checked and credible
    • it is always shorter

  3. Question 3

    A chatbot answers your history question with a date. What is the best next step?

    • change the date
    • use it without checking
    • ask the chatbot if it is sure and stop there
    • verify the date in a reliable source

  4. Question 4

    When should you quote instead of paraphrase?

    • always
    • never
    • when you forgot the source
    • when the exact words are important or powerful

  5. Question 5

    What is the purpose of a works cited page?

    • to list key words
    • to give your opinion
    • to summarize the report
    • to list the full details of sources used

  6. Question 6

    What should you do if your research changes your thinking?

    • ignore the new facts
    • revise your question or thesis
    • copy someone else
    • delete your research

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