Fourth+Grade+Research+TEKS

Fourth Grade

(23) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to: (A) generate research topics from personal interests or by brainstorming with others, narrow to one topic, and formulate open-ended questions about the major research topic; and (B) generate a research plan for gathering relevant information (e.g., surveys, interviews, encyclopedias) about the major research question. (24) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to: (A) follow the research plan to collect information from multiple sources of information both oral and written, including: (i) student-initiated surveys, on-site inspections, and interviews; (ii) data from experts, reference texts, and online searches; and (iii) visual sources of information (e.g., maps, timelines, graphs) where appropriate; (B) use skimming and scanning techniques to identify data by looking at text features (e.g., bold print, italics); (C) take simple notes and sort evidence into provided categories or an organizer; (D) identify the author, title, publisher, and publication year of sources; and (E) differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism and identify the importance of citing valid and reliable sources. (25) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to improve the focus of research as a result of consulting expert sources (e.g., reference librarians and local experts on the topic). (26) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to draw conclusions through a brief written explanation and create a works-cited page from notes, including the author, title, publisher, and publication year for each source used.