Today you start the piece you will actually publish over the next few lessons: a short piece presenting your own views on something that matters in your life.
That comes later and is bigger. This piece is the rehearsal: smaller, finished in this unit, and a chance to use the safety, consent and crediting habits you already have.
You will have a plan and the first entry in a research log.
A research log is a running record of how your piece took shape: what you decided, what you looked up, where it came from, and any help you used, including AI. It is not a diary of feelings. It is evidence of your process.
| A log entry has four parts | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date and label | When, and a short name for what you did. |
| Source or decision | What you found, or what you chose: topic, audience, format. |
| Why it matters | One line on how it changes the piece. |
| Credit trail | Creator, link, and whether you are allowed to use it — a page you may quote with credit, or a photo you need consent for. |
Two invented entries for the same piece, a post arguing that school lunch menus should list allergens more clearly:
| Entry A (thin) | Entry B (useful) |
|---|---|
| “Looked stuff up about school food. Found a good article. Going to use it.” | 12 March. Audience decision. Audience is other students and the student council, not parents. Keeps the argument about clarity for students, not inventing rules for home. Plan decision only; next entry will name the first page checked. |
With a partner, name one thing Entry B does that Entry A does not.
Before you pick your own topic, watch a plan and its matching log entry take shape on the board. Those two together are exactly what you produce next.
| The plan | The log entry that goes with it |
|---|---|
| Working title: Why our town’s evening bus times should stay on the app after 9pm | Date/label: 14 March. Plan decisions |
| Viewpoint: keep the late times; cutting them leaves younger teens stuck or relying on lifts | Source or decision: chose late-bus times, and councillors plus other late-bus users as the audience; checked the current timetable |
| Audience: local councillors and other students who use the last buses | Why it matters: the timetable confirms the 9pm cut-off is real, so the piece argues about a fact, not a rumour |
| Format: short illustrated post, shared to the class publishing space only | Credit trail: evening timetable page, transport operator, public information page — may quote with credit |
As a class, answer these out loud:
- Who is this really for, and what should they understand by the end?
- Why is this format a fair fit for that audience?
- What is one source or check the maker still needs?
- What is one consent or class-rules risk if they rush?
Then you write your plan, not this one.
Now plan your piece: the short publish task for this unit, not the Student Project.
School Wi-Fi rules or access · PE kit rules · Bus or app times in your area · Canteen allergen labelling · Phone locker rules — or use your own.
- Choose a topic relevant to your life and a clear viewpoint: what you want the reader to understand or consider.
- Name your audience and your format (a short illustrated post, an audio clip, a video, a simple page), and one line on why that format fits that audience.
- Write one research-log entry for those plan decisions, using the four-part shape.
A topic and viewpoint, an audience and format with a reason, and one four-part log entry. Today is plan shell plus one log entry only — the first source entry comes next lesson.
If your device wipes at the end of class, the class way is what protects the plan.
When you have a draft shell, spend two minutes with a partner: they check whether your audience and format actually match. Then tighten your own version.
A publish plan is not extra admin. It is the first safety and honesty check: who this is for, what you will claim, whose consent you need, and how you will prove where your material came from.
Your research log starts today so you are not reconstructing the story at the end. Next time you build the piece itself, credits and decisions should already be in the log as you go.
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