Arthur O’Shaughnessy in his 1874 poem “Ode” wrote: “Yet we are the movers and shakers/Of the world forever, it seems.” I love the term “mover and shaker” because it reminds me of dancing, but what it really lends is to people who make an impact on the world. It is no secret that one of my favorite units to teach is research. I love the choice, the process, and the hard work it takes to produce the product. I also love seeing middle schoolers wrap their brains around the formatting of this project (MLA), and how they get excited about solving problems. One of my favorite things, after all, is to solve problems.

The MLA Research Paper unit I do each winter going into spring focuses on activism. Students identify a problem in their school, community, or world and then research that problem, Inevitably, they see causes, effects, and hypothesize solutions as well. This post will walk you through some mentor texts and resources, strategies, and pacing of the overall unit.

The research unit is my favorite unit of study, but it is also the toughest for a variety of reasons. Students are granted the freedom to do their own research and not given all of the materials needed to produce a piece of writing (our curriculum is heavy novel based with literary analysis). In sixth grade, they get to choose from a list of topics that are focused on a theme. Choice is still an option, but with limitations. Students need freedom in their writing to make choices, yet restrictions to allow for structure with the assignment.

The main components of the checklist include lessons on:

1. Plagiarism

2. Source Evaluation

3. Resource Location

4. MLA Formatting/Other Format

5. Great Student Exemplars