Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Lesson 4: Introduce Independent Research
Case Studies
Food Choices
Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Lesson Overview
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, students are introduced to their independent research project
and read their first related text.
CCS Standards
Focus Standards
These are the standards the instruction addresses.
W.8.7, W.8.8
Supporting Standards
These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this
lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the
focus standards.
RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.4, RI.8.10, SL.8.1, L.8.4
Daily Learning Targets
I can conduct research to answer a question about factors that influence
our access to healthy food. (W.8.7, W.8.8)
Ongoing Assessment
Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 (W.8.7)
Work Time B: Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-
catcher (RI.8.1, W.8.7, W.8.8)
Agenda
1. Opening
A. Engage the Learner – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
2. Work Time
A. Introduce Case Study Research Project – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
B. Jigsaw Activity – W.8.8 (30 minutes)
3. Closing and Assessment
A. Whole-Class Share – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
4. Homework
A. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes
in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt
and write a response in their independent reading journal.
Guidance and Supports
Teaching Notes
Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson
W.8.7 – Opening A: In the entrance ticket, students review how they
generated and used additional related focus questions as they conducted
research on GMOs in previous lessons.
W.8.7 – Work Time B: Students work in groups to read texts about
factors that influence our access to healthy food.
W.8.8 – Work Time B: Each group of students shares the information in
their assigned article with the class using a Jigsaw protocol. As students
listen to each group, they jot down additional related focus questions
each group can use in their research.
W.8.7 – Closing and Assessment A: Students share possible additional
related focus questions students may use to guide their research.
Opportunities to Extend Learning
Students may read all four articles and choose which case study they
want to research.
Students may begin to conduct internet research on their case study and
gather their research findings in their note-catcher.
How It Builds on Previous Work
In previous lessons, students worked in pairs to conduct research on the
influence of GMOs on our access to healthy food. This lesson builds upon
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
that work by introducing students to a new case study that they research
independently.
Support All Students
For students who need support with reading and taking notes within the
allotted time in Work Time B, assign this group of students the high-
fructose corn syrup reading in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Students are
already familiar with the text, and it contains less unfamiliar vocabulary
than the research texts.
Note there is a differentiated version of the Access to Healthy Food:
Independent Research note-catcher used in Work Time A in the separate
Lesson Plan section of this lesson. ▲
In Work Time B, provide choice in how to carry out the reading portion
of the lesson: some students may prefer to read independently and
silently, while others (especially ELLs) may wish to read aloud in groups.
Still others may wish to read silently for a few pages and then process
with a group. This format of choice could potentially be built into the
reading time within each lesson. ▲
In Work Time B, some of the text choices have a high level of Lexile®
and may be complex for students. ELLs and other students who are not
reading at or above grade level should receive additional support.
Provide annotated texts, a glossary of terms, or, for the heaviest support,
texts translated into home languages for students to use alongside the
English-language versions. ▲
In Work Time B, students may need additional support with collaborating
with their peers. Some students may struggle to share their ideas in their
groups. Predetermine grouping to place struggling students in groups
with the most peer support. ▲
To support ELLs, this lesson provides clear instructions for carrying out
independent research, autonomy in selecting research topics, and
collaborative work in understanding new texts. Students are introduced
to three new case-study topics and work together to navigate their
content. By the end of the lesson, students will have narrowed down a
preference in articles; this choice of which case study to focus on is
especially important for ELLs, as it is essential that they work with a text
and subtopic that they feel they can readily understand and analyze.
ELLs may find it challenging to understand the independent research
prompt. In order for ELLs to succeed in the series of tasks in this lesson
and the ones ahead, it is imperative they understand the topic choices,
the purpose of the independent research project, and the prompt they
are being asked to address. Lead small group discussions, and get
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
written input to ensure that students are well oriented to this
information before introducing them to case-study texts in Work Time B.
Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.B.6 and 8.I.B.8.
Assessment Guidance
Review students’ Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-
catchers to ensure they understand the influence that pesticides, food
deserts, high-fructose corn syrup, or organic foods have on our access to
healthy food.
Down the Road
In the next lesson, students will independently research their case study.
Students will cite and analyze these research findings in an informative
essay in upcoming lessons.
Materials and Preparation
In Advance
Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 at each
student’s workspace.
Review the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher
(example for teacher reference) to see what students are working toward
in this lesson.
Review the directions for the Jigsaw protocol that was introduced in
Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B.
Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials
list).
Technology and Multimedia
Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous
modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record
students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with
students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and
annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.
Vocabulary
N/A
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Required Texts
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Materials from Previous Lessons
Teacher
Researcher’s Toolbox (one for display; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 1,
Work Time A)
Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (example for teacher
reference) (from Module 1, Unit 2, Lessons 4–5, Work Time D)
Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from
Module 1, Unit 2, Lessons 4–5, Work Time D)
Student
Researcher’s Toolbox (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 1,
Work Time A)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma (text; one per student in Group D; from Module
2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)
New Materials
Teacher
Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 (answers for teacher reference)
Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher (example
for teacher reference)
Student
Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 (one per student)
Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher (one per
student)
Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher▲ (optional)
Research Text: “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Pesticides” (one
per student in Group A)
Research Text: “Food Desert” (one per student in Group B)
Research Text: “Organic Food” (one per student in Group C)
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Classroom Materials
Independent reading journals (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit
1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)
Chart paper (one sheet per group)
Lesson Plan
Opening
A. Engage the Learner – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance
Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4.
Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to
review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding
students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous
lessons.
Work Time
A. Introduce Case Study Research Project – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
Remind students that they researched how GMOs influence our access to
healthy food in previous lessons. In this lesson, they will research
another topic that influences our access to healthy food. Students will be
assigned one of four case studies, on pesticides, high-fructose corn
syrup, food deserts, or organic foods. Tell students that they will work in
a small group to read a text about one of these topics and identify the
influence on our access to healthy food. They will conduct independent
research on their case study in the next lesson, then use their research
findings to write an informative essay about their topic.
Distribute and display the Access to Healthy Food: Independent
Research note - catcher. For ELLs and students who require additional
support, the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note -
catcher ▲ can be used to help guide students’ thinking with preselected
articles for each topic.
Read the directions aloud. Explain that this note-catcher is the same as
the one that students used to research GMOs, and they will use this to
cite evidence from their research that supports how their food topic
increases and decreases our access to healthy food.
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Display the Researcher’s Toolbox handout, and instruct students to
retrieve their copies. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the “Quote
Accurately” section to review how to cite evidence in a text. Also, review
how to paraphrase information to prepare students for the jigsaw in
Work Time B.
For Lighter Support
N/A
For Heavier Support
In Work Time A, invite students who need heavier support to use the
Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher ▲. This
resource includes prefilled information about sources for pesticides to
help students navigate the analysis required.
Work Time
B. Jigsaw Activity – W.8.8 (30 minutes)
Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this
section of the lesson:
“I can conduct research to answer a question about factors that influence
our access to healthy food.”
Explain to students that scientists often present their ideas at
conferences to give the science community and the public information
about their research. Tell students that they will pretend to be scientists
at a conference who have been selected to share their research to inform
the public about access to healthy food. In the form of a jigsaw, they will
read and analyze a text to become emerging experts on the topic, and
present their findings to their audience. Remind students that they used
the Jigsaw protocol in the previous unit to analyze paragraph structures
in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Organize students into four groups: Group A, Group B, Group C, and
Group D.
Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor
chart. Remind students that it says at the top that effective learners are
people who develop the mindsets and skills for success in college, career,
and life.
Ask a volunteer to read aloud the habit of character: “I collaborate. This
means I can work well with others to accomplish a task or goal.”
Ask students to Think-Pair-Share to review the following questions:
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
“What does collaboration look like? What might you see when people are
collaborating?” (See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart
[example for teacher reference].)
“What does collaboration sound like? What might you hear when people
are collaborating?” (See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor
chart [example for teacher reference].)
Explain that this activity requires everyone in the class to collaborate in
order to be successful.
Distribute Research Text: “ The Advantages and Disadvantages of
Pesticides ” to Group A, Research Text: “ Food Desert ” to Group B,
and Research Text: “ Organic Food ” to Group C. Instruct Group D to
read pages 94–96 and 121–122 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, beginning
with “There’s more corn in the meal . . . ,” and ending with “ . . . field of
corn and soybeans,” to analyze the subject of high-fructose corn syrup.
Instruct students to read the text assigned to their group. Students may
read independently, in pairs, or take turns reading aloud as a group. Give
students several minutes to read.
Refocus the whole class.
Focus students’ attention to the top section of the Access to Healthy
Food: Independent Research note-catcher. Instruct students to write the
central research question they will answer in their research. The
research question should mirror the GMO research question from the
previous lessons of this unit (i.e., How do[es] _________ influence our
access to healthy food?).
Remind students that the central research question has been refined, so
they will answer the question by identifying how their topic increases our
access to healthy food in the first chart in their note-catcher, and how it
decreases our access to healthy food in the second chart.
Focus students’ attention on the additional related focused questions and
read them aloud.
Instruct students to fill in the blanks with the name of their case study.
Explain to students that these questions are similar to the additional
related focus questions they used in their GMO research and that they
will begin using these questions to guide their research and generate
additional questions as they conduct their research independently.
Tell students to leave the section for search terms blank for now.
Instruct each group to work independently, in pairs, or as a whole group
to complete the two charts in their note-catcher, citing evidence from the
text that supports how their food topic both increases and decreases our
access to healthy food. Explain to students that they may not find
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
evidence that supports both increases and decreases of their topic’s
influence on our access to healthy food (e.g., food deserts, high-fructose
corn syrup).
Circulate as students gather their evidence, and support students who
may struggle with identifying evidence that answers the research
question. Refer to the Access to Healthy Food: Independent
Research note - catcher (example for teacher reference).
Refocus the whole class.
Instruct each group to select scribes to record two rows from their
chart(s) on chart paper to present to the class, and a spokesperson to
share the group’s ideas with the class. Give students one minute to
assign the scribe and spokesperson roles.
Instruct students to work in their groups to identify two of the strongest
quotes and/or paraphrases from their text that they recorded in their
note-catcher, and copy the evidence, explanation of evidence, citation,
and explanation of credibility on their chart paper. As students share
ideas in the group, the scribes will record their responses on chart
paper. Give students at least 5 minutes to complete their chart paper.
Circulate as students work in their groups to ensure they are on track,
and support struggling students.
Refocus the whole class.
Display the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher.
Invite Group A’s spokesperson to display their group’s chart paper and
share the evidence they found that supports their research topic. As
Group A’s spokesperson shares, instruct students in groups B, C, and D
to jot down questions they have about Group A’s topic that they can use
as additional related focus questions to guide their research. Repeat this
process with Group B, Group C, and Group D. Circulate as each group
shares to ensure the students who are listening are jotting down
potential additional related focus questions for the group that is sharing.
For Lighter Support
At the beginning of Work Time B, in preparation for reading the research
texts, help students recall strategies for reading unfamiliar texts.
Examples:
Chunk the text into manageable amounts, e.g., sentences or
paragraphs.
Circle unfamiliar words.
Use context or a dictionary to define unfamiliar words.
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
Annotate unfamiliar words with synonyms.
Underline important people, places, and things.
Read aloud.
Read repeatedly.
Silently paraphrase the chunks.
Summarize what you read for someone else, perhaps first in your
home language.
In Work Time B, as an alternative to using the Access to Healthy Food:
Independent Research note-catcher ▲, distribute additional copies of the
Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher with the
prefilled information for each category on cut strips of paper to create a
tactile matching activity. Students can work in groups to glue the
appropriate information to each row in the note-catcher based on what
they learn from their classmates during the jigsaw activity and then
transfer the information to their individual note-catchers, which will add
further reinforcement and opportunities for additional processing.
For Heavier Support
In Work Time B, for ELLs who require heavier support, provide a
summary of each research topic in students’ home languages prior to
reading the texts. This will orient ELLs to the content they will
encounter, helping them to balance the cognitive and linguistic demands
of navigating new information.
Closing and Assessment
A. Whole-Class Share – W.8.7 (5 minutes)
Refocus the whole group.
Turn and Talk:
“What are some potential additional related focus questions Group A can
use as they conduct their research on pesticides?” (Responses will vary,
but may include: what is the sustainability of pesticides?)
“What are some potential additional related focus questions Group B can
use as they conduct their research on food deserts?” (Responses will
vary, but may include: what are some ways people in food deserts can
access healthy food?)
“What are some potential additional related focus questions Group C can
use as they conduct their research on organic foods?” (Answers will vary,
but may include: what is the sustainability of organic foods?)
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Food Choices Grade 8: Module 2: Unit 2: Lesson 4
“What are some potential additional related focus questions Group D can
use as they conduct their research on high-fructose corn syrup?”
(Responses will vary, but may include: what are some ways people can
access healthy alternatives to high-fructose corn syrup?)
Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the
learning target.
Homework
A. Independent Research Reading
Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research
reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their
independent reading journal.
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