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PlayOwl

English · Grade 8

Research Ethics, Citation and Independent Inquiry

Learners follow a fictional eighth grader's independent inquiry into students' sleep and design their own. They plan questions, sub-questions, methods and a timeline; collect information from people ethically with consent, privacy and adult approval; report results honestly without plagiarism, fabrication or cherry-picking (and disclose any AI help); and cite articles, websites, interviews and their own survey in a standard format.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 110 minutes
  • Research ethics and citation check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order, sort into groups and true or false
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Design an independent inquiry with a focused question, related sub-questions, suitable methods and a timeline.
  • Collect information from people ethically: informed, voluntary participation, privacy, respectful questions and adult approval.
  • Report research honestly and give credit, avoiding plagiarism, fabrication and cherry-picking, and disclosing and checking any AI assistance.
  • Cite sources, including interviews and original surveys, using in-text citations and a standard works-cited format.

Lessons

  1. Plan an independent inquiry 6 steps3 practiceabout 26 min
  2. Ethics when you collect information from people 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  3. Honest reporting and giving credit 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  4. Cite every kind of source 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  5. Research ethics and citation check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

More 8th grade reading

Guide for grown-ups