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English · Grade 8

Explain and Synthesize Research

Learners explain how coral reefs bleach and recover by synthesizing four fictional sources, including two that disagree about coral restoration. They write a controlling idea and organize notes by subtopic, integrate evidence by quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing with signal phrases, explain disagreements between sources fairly, and draft a synthesized explanatory essay.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 110 minutes
  • Synthesis check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order and sort into groups
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What learners will discover

  • Develop a controlling idea for an explanatory piece and organize information from several sources by subtopic.
  • Integrate evidence by quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing, using signal phrases with precise reporting verbs.
  • Explain differences and conflicts among sources accurately and fairly within an explanation.
  • Write a synthesized explanatory essay with a formal style and a conclusion that follows from the information.

Lessons

  1. From summary to synthesis 6 steps3 practiceabout 27 min
  2. Integrating evidence 5 steps3 practiceabout 27 min
  3. Explaining disagreement 5 steps3 practiceabout 27 min
  4. Draft the synthesized explanation 4 steps3 practiceabout 29 min
  5. Synthesis check 9 questions at the end

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Guide for grown-ups