Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose: Research, Argument, Story and Media

Research: Gathering and Synthesizing Information

D1.3 A2.3 A3.1 A1.1About 55 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan research with questions and keywords, and gather relevant information from a variety of sources.
  • I can take notes in my own words and sort them in a synthesis grid.
  • I can synthesize information from several sources into a new, bigger understanding, noticing where sources agree and disagree.
  • I can record the creator and source of everything I use.

Words to know

synthesize
To combine information from several sources to build a new, bigger understanding.
summarize
To give the main ideas of one text briefly, in your own words.
paraphrase
To restate one idea in your own words and your own sentence structure, about the same length as the original.
keyword
An important word you type into a search tool or look for in an index.
synthesis grid
A chart with your research questions down the side and your sources across the top.
plagiarism
Presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own without giving credit.
citation
The information that tells readers exactly where something came from: creator, title, publisher or website, date.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you gathered information from multiple sources, summarized it in your own words, verified sources by checking who made them, when and why, cross-checked facts, and recorded your sources.

In Grade 7 you add a powerful new skill: synthesizing. A summary tells what one source says. A synthesis puts several sources together to build a bigger picture than any one source gives on its own. In the next lesson you'll also learn to evaluate the quality, bias and accuracy of information.

The research process

  1. Ask research questions. Start with your inquiry question, then break it into 3 or 4 smaller questions.
  2. Choose keywords. Pull the important words out of your questions. Try synonyms too (monarch, butterfly, migration, milkweed). Putting a phrase in quotation marks in many search tools, like "swamp milkweed", looks for those words together.
  3. Find a variety of sources: library books, encyclopedias, reliable websites, news articles, videos, maps, charts, and people you can interview.
  4. Skim and scan. Skim headings and first sentences to decide if a source is useful. Scan for your keywords to find the right part.
  5. Take notes in your own words. Write short jot notes, not full copied sentences. Label every note with its source (A, B, C).
  6. Sort notes into a synthesis grid and look across each row: where do sources agree, disagree, or leave a gap?
  7. Write a synthesis statement that combines what you learned.
  8. Record every source as you go, not at the end.
Source ASource BSource Cmy synthesis:where allsources meet
A synthesis is found where your sources meet: you combine them into a bigger picture.

Three sources (written for this lesson)

Inquiry question: Why are monarch butterflies at risk, and how can people in Ontario help?

Source A (pretend web article from a nature centre, 2025): Monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed, and females lay their eggs only on milkweed plants. Eastern monarchs that spend the summer in Ontario fly thousands of kilometres to mountain forests in central Mexico for the winter. Monarchs face threats from habitat loss, pesticides and extreme weather. In Canada, the monarch is listed as a species at risk. Gardeners can help by planting milkweed species that are native to Ontario, such as common milkweed and swamp milkweed.

Source B (pretend interview with Mr. Okafor, who runs a pollinator garden at a community centre): "Adult monarchs need nectar from flowers to fuel their long trip in the fall, so we plant flowers that bloom late in the season, like asters and goldenrod. Milkweed is the key, though. Any milkweed you can get is good."

Source C (pretend library book about pollinators, 2023): Farms, roads and new buildings have replaced many of the fields where milkweed once grew. Some pesticides harm caterpillars as well as pests. Experts often advise planting native milkweed rather than tropical milkweed, which is not native to Canada.

A monarch butterfly with orange wings, black veins and white-spotted black edges feeding on pink milkweed flowers.
This is the plant the three sources keep mentioning: monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed. Synthesizing means connecting facts like this across all your sources. AI-generated image
Worked example

Let's fill a synthesis grid

Sort the notes from Sources A, B and C. Write jot notes in your own words.

  1. Write the research questions down the left side. Write the sources across the top.
  2. Read each source and put each jot note in the row of the question it answers.
  3. Leave a box empty if a source doesn't answer that question. Empty boxes show gaps.
  4. Read across each row and write what you conclude in the last column.

See the completed grid below. Notice the disagreement in the last row: Source B says any milkweed, but Sources A and C recommend native milkweed.

Research questionSource ASource BSource CWhat I conclude
Why are monarchs at risk?habitat loss, pesticides, extreme weather; species at risk in Canada—fields with milkweed replaced by farms, roads, buildings; some pesticides harm caterpillarsA and C agree: losing milkweed habitat and pesticides are big threats.
What do monarchs need?milkweed for eggs and caterpillarsnectar flowers for fuel, especially late-blooming onesmilkweedThey need milkweed for young and nectar flowers for adults.
How can people help?plant native milkweed (common, swamp)plant milkweed and late-blooming flowers (asters, goldenrod)plant native, not tropical, milkweedPlant native milkweed and late-blooming flowers. B disagrees on any milkweed; A and C (two written sources) recommend native.
A synthesis grid. Reading across each row shows agreement, disagreement and gaps.
Worked example

Let's write a synthesis paragraph

Use the grid to write one paragraph that answers the inquiry question, with credits.

  1. Start with a synthesis statement that combines the big idea: Monarchs are at risk mainly because the plants they depend on are disappearing, but gardeners can help.
  2. Combine facts from different sources, and credit them: According to a nature centre article, monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed...
  3. Show agreement: Both the article and a book about pollinators point to habitat loss and pesticides.
  4. Deal with disagreement honestly: One gardener said any milkweed helps, but the two written sources recommend native species instead.
  5. End with what it all means: Planting native milkweed and late-blooming flowers gives monarchs food at every stage of life.

Monarch butterflies are at risk mainly because the plants they depend on are disappearing, but gardeners can help. According to a nature centre article, monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed, and both that article and a book about pollinators explain that habitat loss and pesticides are major threats. Adult monarchs also need nectar to fuel their long fall migration to Mexico, so Mr. Okafor, who runs a pollinator garden, plants late-blooming flowers like asters and goldenrod. He said that any milkweed helps, but the two written sources recommend native species, such as common milkweed and swamp milkweed, instead of tropical milkweed. Planting native milkweed and late-blooming flowers gives monarchs food at every stage of their lives.

This is a synthesis: no single source said all of this.

Just for fun

Fun fact: No single monarch makes the whole round trip! The butterflies that fly south to Mexico in the fall are the great-grandchildren (or even great-great-grandchildren) of the ones that left Mexico the spring before. Talk about a family road trip.

Paraphrase, don't patchwrite

Patchwriting means copying a sentence and swapping a few words. It is still a kind of plagiarism.

  • Original: Farms, roads and new buildings have replaced many of the fields where milkweed once grew.
  • Patchwriting: Farms, roads and new structures have taken the place of many fields where milkweed used to grow. (Same sentence, a few words swapped.)
  • Paraphrase: As land is cleared for farming and building, monarchs lose much of the milkweed they need. (New sentence, same idea, still credited.)

If you want the exact words, put them in quotation marks and credit the creator.

OriginalFarms, roads and new buildings have replaced manyof the fields where milkweed once grew.PatchwritingFarms, roads and new structureshave taken the place of manyfields where milkweed used togrow.ParaphraseAs land is cleared for farmingand building, monarchs losemuch of the milkweed they need.(+ credit the source)same sentence, a few words swappednew sentence, same idea
Patchwriting keeps the original sentence's skeleton and swaps a few words, so it is still plagiarism. A real paraphrase rebuilds the idea in a new sentence and still gives credit.

Record sources as you go

For each source, write:

  • Creator (author, organization or person interviewed)
  • Title of the book, article, video or web page
  • Publisher or website name
  • Date published (or no date), and the date you viewed it if it's online
  • Where to find it: the web address, or interview, in person

Example for an interview: Okafor, Mr. Interview by the author. In person, March 3, 2026. Your teacher may ask you to use a style such as MLA or APA; the information you collect is the same.

Hands-on activity

Family synthesis: winter then and now

You need: paper, a pencil, a ruler, and three sources: two people from different generations (a parent, grandparent, neighbour or family friend; a phone or video call is fine) and one book or reliable website about winters in your area.

  1. Inquiry question: How have winters and winter activities in our area changed over time?
  2. Write 3 research questions, for example: What did kids do in winter? How much snow was there? How did people get around?
  3. Draw a synthesis grid: questions down the side, the three sources across the top, and a last column, What I conclude.
  4. Interview each person (ask permission to take notes). Then read your third source. Write jot notes in your own words.
  5. Read across each row. Circle one place where sources agree and one where they disagree or where there is a gap.
  6. Write a synthesis paragraph that credits each source.
  7. Record all three sources at the bottom of the page.

Remember: people's memories are valuable for their experiences, but numbers like snowfall amounts should be checked in a reliable source.

Your turn

1

What is the difference between a summary and a synthesis?

2

Break the inquiry question How do Canadian cities deal with heavy snow? into three research questions.

3

List four keywords for the question Why do loons dive underwater?

4

In a synthesis grid, what goes down the side and what goes across the top?

5

What does an empty box in a synthesis grid tell you?

6

Is this a paraphrase or patchwriting? Original: Adult monarchs need nectar from flowers to fuel their long trip. Student: Grown-up monarchs need nectar from blossoms to power their long journey.

7

Name four things to record about every source.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does synthesize mean?

2

Name three kinds of sources.

3

What is skimming?

4

What is plagiarism?

5

Should you record sources at the end of a project or as you go?

More practice: on your own

1

Source 1 says a lake usually freezes in December. Source 2 says the same lake usually freezes in January. What should you do?

2

Paraphrase: Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat.

3

Write a synthesis statement combining: Source A: Regular reading improves vocabulary. Source B: Students who read for fun tend to enjoy school more.

4

Why is it helpful to label every note with a source letter?

5

A student's research paragraph uses only one source. Why is that a problem for a synthesis?

Challenge

1

Sources A and C recommend native milkweed, but Source B says any milkweed is fine. Explain why you followed A and C in the synthesis paragraph, and how you treated B fairly.

2

Create a three-row synthesis grid (questions only, plus three sources you would use) for the inquiry question How do people in the North get fresh food in winter?

3

Explain why a synthesis can be more trustworthy than any single source.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is a synthesis?

2.

In a synthesis grid, reading across a row shows you…

3.

Which is a paraphrase of Snow insulates the ground and protects plant roots from deep cold?

4.

Two sources disagree. What should you do?

5.

Which is not part of recording a source?

6.

Why take notes in jot notes instead of copying sentences?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D1.3): Grade 7 students gather and synthesize information and content relevant to a topic, using a variety of textual sources and appropriate strategies, and record the creator and source of all content created by others. (Evaluating quality, bias and accuracy, the other half of D1.3, is the next lesson.) This connects to Strand A: research and information literacy (A2.3) and using literacy across subjects (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Do the family interview activity together; it shows that people are sources too.
  • When your child researches, ask: What does each source say? Where do they agree? Where don't they?
  • Visit the public library; librarians can help find books and databases.

Common difficulties:

  • Writing one paragraph per source ("Source A says... Source B says..."). That's a list of summaries. A synthesis is organized by idea, mixing sources within each paragraph.
  • Patchwriting. Have your child close the source, say the idea aloud, then write it.
  • Ignoring disagreements. Encourage honesty: noting that sources differ is a sign of careful research.

Please note: the three monarch sources and Mr. Okafor are pretend, written for practice. The monarch facts in them match information from Canadian nature and government sources. Supervise internet searches.