Research Task Workshop

Overview

In this second research workshop, students complete and refine their investigation for the Biomes and Food Futures unit. They use the marking guide to check that their response describes, discusses, explains and outlines relevant geographical processes, evidence and sustainability connections before submitting or preparing the final task.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• draft and refine a coherent geographical investigation about biomes, food production and sustainability
• select and use accurate evidence, including visual data, to support geographical claims
• apply geographical terminology and link food production with environmental sustainability
• respond directly to task criteria through peer review and self-assessment
• strengthen evaluation by considering counterarguments and uncertainty.

Success criteria

• I can communicate a coherent geographical investigation.
• I can use evidence accurately and explain what visual data shows.
• I can use geographical terminology and link production to sustainability.
• I can respond to each task criterion and improve my work using feedback.

Curriculum links

• Human wellbeing and development: explaining how features and characteristics of places and environments change over time.
• Environmental change and management: assessing approaches to managing and protecting places and environments.
• Processes and interactions: analysing how people, places and environments are transformed.
• Geographical tools: applying and evaluating tools to acquire and process geographical information.
• Science environmental sustainability: analysing the impact of human activity on the natural world.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Reconnect and focus. Open with the hook and workshop goals and display the question, “Can food production be both productive and sustainable?” Students reread their task question, identify their current stage and name one section they need to improve.

2. 5–13 min · Decode the criteria. Use the marking-guide reminder slides to clarify the command words describe, discuss, explain and outline, plus expectations for evidence, visual data, terminology and sustainability links. Students annotate the research task refinement worksheet by highlighting where each requirement appears in their draft; the teacher checks understanding through targeted questioning.

3. 13–28 min · Individual drafting and revision. Model one improvement using a claim–evidence–explanation structure and an example of linking a production practice to environmental change. Students independently draft, revise or complete their response, using the checklist and paragraph frames on the research task refinement worksheet. The teacher conferences with students who need feedback, checking that evidence is attributed accurately and that visual data is interpreted rather than merely inserted.

4. 28–42 min · Structured peer review. Display the peer-review instructions and pair students with a reviewer. Students exchange drafts and complete the evidence, structure, geographical terminology, visual data and sustainability sections of the research task refinement worksheet. Reviewers give two precise strengths and one actionable improvement, using respectful language and referring to a specific sentence, statistic, map, graph or image.

5. 42–53 min · Refine and quality-check. Students return drafts, discuss the feedback and make targeted improvements. They use the final checklist on the research task refinement worksheet to verify that their response answers the question, includes accurate evidence, explains change or transformation, and makes a clear connection between food production and sustainability. Students who are ready to submit complete the submission requirements; others prepare a polished final version for the next lesson.

6. 53–60 min · Submit or prepare and reflect. Use the submission checklist and exit reflection to remind students to include their name, bibliography or source list, captions and completed components. Students submit their task where possible, or place it in the designated preparation folder, then complete the reflection on the research task refinement worksheet: “The strongest evidence in my investigation is…”, “I improved…”, and “My next action is…”.

Resources

• the Research Task Workshop Two slide deck
• the research task refinement worksheet
• Students’ research-based task drafts and source material
• Marking guide or assessment rubric
• Students’ maps, graphs, images and other visual data
• Devices or exercise books for drafting
• Headphones or read-aloud access where required
• Submission folder or learning-management system

Assessment

• Confer with students during drafting to check accurate evidence, explanation of geographical processes and links between production and sustainability.
• Review peer-review sheets for meaningful feedback on evidence, structure, terminology, visual data and task criteria.
• Use the completed reflection and submitted or prepared draft to identify students requiring further support before final submission.

Differentiation

• Provide paragraph frames such as “The data shows…”, “This changes the place by…”, and “This approach is sustainable because…, however…”. Use the checklist in small steps for students who need executive-function support.
• Offer read-aloud access, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, enlarged digital text and a quiet working space for students with literacy, processing, sensory or language needs.
• Pair EAL/D learners with supportive peers and provide a displayed bank of geographical terms, connectives and verbs such as describe, explain, transform, manage and evaluate.
• Give brief teacher conferences or a partially completed model paragraph to students needing additional guidance, without rewriting their response for them.

Extension

• Add a counterargument to the evaluation, acknowledging who may disagree and why.
• Identify one limitation or uncertainty in the evidence, such as data age, scale, sample size or differing stakeholder priorities.
• Compare two management approaches and justify which is more sustainable in the selected place, using evidence and geographical reasoning.