Lesson Modules
 
Lesson Module 1:  Five steps to faster research:
 1.  Don't start on the Internet. For a big project, start by using print resources in the REFERENCE SECTION of the library.  Use Encyclopedias, Atlases, Almanacs, and specialized encyclopedias to get an overview and key words for further research.  You'll flip to the right page in a minute! (It sure beats wasting time sorting through web sites!)
2.  Don't use a search engine!  Why not?
3.  Open our databases. You'll find more reference materials and good articles already selected for your topic! See pink box below and choose the best database to start.
4.  Use the Library Catalog!  
5.  Always keep track of what resources you use as you go along.  (See orange "bibliography" section below to know what bits of information you need on each resource.)  That way you'll be ready to write your bibliography easily.
  Lesson Handout.
Lesson Module 2:  Writing a Bibliography
A bibliography (which is also called a "works cited" page) lists, or cites, the sources of information you used for a project.  It's an important for you to give credit to those sources, or else it's like you are stealing their work and calling it your own (something called plagiarism.) Use these sources to write a proper bibliography:
  Print out this collection sheet that you use to collect the data on each of your sources. Tip:  since the document is long, please give the printer instructions to print only the page(s) that you need.
5th graders have a manual called Writers Express which provides models for each entry on p. 231.
If you want help on how to list the resources retrieved from the databases, click to "How to Cite" or "Cite" on the bottom of the screen in those databases. Use the "help" menu-- the information is in there for World Book Online.
This Writer's Handbook  also provides instruction and models for creating a bibliography using MLA style. Scroll through it to see how to list a book, an article, and more!
  Look at this sample of what a bibliography looks like when it's done.
  This set of tools from Surfing the Net for creating a bibliography is outstanding.
  Questions about MLA style?  Go here to see "MLA Style Frequently Asked Questions."
  Use this checklist to make sure your whole bibliography is presented nicely.

 
 
Lesson Module 3:   What's a database?
It is a collection of information that is well organized and searchable. 

Electronic databases are sold by companies that collect information for researchers.  The company organizes the information, provides a directory, and builds in a search engine.
Our databases have...
  • no junk! no advertising!
  • high quality articles, images, maps and links
  • sometimes encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs
  • only things that are approved by the qualified people who collect these resources for libraries
  • a directory that lets you browse for the right category for information.  For example, they have collected many articles about animals and listed them in categories such as mammals, fish and reptiles.  Finding the category in the directory often works faster than using the keyword search engine. 
  • a search engine if you don't find what you want in the directory.
Pop quiz:  The school has spent money to use the databases listed above because they are very helpful to our researchers.  Why should you use them?
  • it saves time! 
  • there are no junk sites in them (MUCH BETTER THAN THE INTERNET!)
  • the information in the articles has been checked by an authority; in many cases, the authors are the same as the ones who have been supplying libraries with encyclopedias and journals for decades!
  • someone has put time and effort into organizing a directory so you can quickly find what you need
  • if you patiently use the directory, you can save a lot of time
  • compared to using an Internet search engine that might bring forth a million sites to muddle through, you'll have a shorter and more manageable list of sources that are all high quality
  • Internet Web sites are free, but the quality of the information might be very poor
  • ALL OF THE ABOVE 
  Lesson Handout.
Lesson Module 4:   Don't use a search engine?  Why not?
  Students in grades 3-5 often waste a great deal of time using a search engine as a first step to research.  But a Google search on their broad topic as they begin research will yield millions of hits, many of which will be off-topic, will lack authority, accuracy and currency, contain obnoxious advertising and will be bad matches to their reading level. Lots of time will be wasted weeding through the sites that don't suit them.

What's better?  Use the World Book Online or SIRS databases. We pay money for this service and its listings are superb. 

Another FANTASTIC option is to go to sites that have been selected for your topic and arranged in a directory.  At our library's web pages, we have listed a good number of Children's Directories in our Online Research Center.  A directory categorizes selected Web sites. Students need to use their critical thinking skills to browse and find the right category in which they'll find their topic. But the sites that are listed in directories have been reviewed by librarians and/or others and found to meet certain standards (in terms of reliability and reading level) so that students will much more quickly find suitable sites.

When is a Search Engine the best tool?

  1. When you have a very specific site your want to find (example: I need the homepage for the Boston Red Sox)
  2. When you are seeking an image or a sound or a video clip (using the "advanced" features of www.AltaVista.com or www.Google.com is quite helpful!)
  3. When your term or person is so incredibly obscure that there might only be a small number of sites mentioning it.
  4. When the researcher is sophisticated enough to evaluate sites efficiently by herself.
  5. When the other suggested tools and school databases just don't work.
 
Lesson Module 5:  Finding Biographies
What is a biography?  It is a story of a person's life.  View our 3-minute video that explains what a biography is.

To learn about a PERSON, we suggest you use these resources in this order:
   Look on our Reference Shelves right below the windows to see if there is a short article in an encyclopedia.  Remember that we also have the World Book Online encyclopedia available if you are on a school computer.
   If the person is not in the encyclopedia, there might be a short description of the person and why she/he was important in the Biographical Dictionary on the Reference Shelves.  
   Entire books dedicated to the study of one person are located in the non-fiction section under Dewey Decimal # 921 ___ <-- the call number includes the first three letters of the person's last name.  For example, a biography on Abraham Lincoln will be found at Dewey Decimal #921 LIN 
   

 
Lesson Module 6:  Using an Atlas
The librarians have prepared a powerpoint presentation and a follow-up activity sheet to instruct grade 3 and 3/4 students on the use of an atlas.   Access them from the P drive in the CarpenterM folder.  The 40 minute lesson addresses these learning objectives of the India/Hinduism unit:
  
  • reading an atlas index page
  • using grid locations (like G-5) listed in an index to locate places on a map  (good lead-up to lat. and long. in 4th grade)
  • interpreting a map by focusing on title, legend, compass rose (this was brief)
  • introducing students to diversity of landforms in India
  • brief intro of terms the following terms:  diversity, urban, rural
  • exposure to different kinds of maps (best to click through World Book Online for population density, political, physical, rainfall)
  • teaching where to find atlases in library and in World Book Online
 

 
Lesson Module 7:  Facts and Opinions studied with Current Events
Child-friendly news sources for the study of current events can be found in our Research Center.
 
Suggestions for parents (can be adapted by instructors):  Choose one evening a week to read the news story before coming to the dinner table.  Dinner time conversation can reinforce vocabulary and and extend understanding of the important concepts.  Extensions:
 
  • Use the discussion of the piece to underscore the difference between fact and opinion. 
  • Point out to the child that many news organizations are including opinion polls associated with their news coverage (such as the opinion poll that is provided on the main page of Current Events.)  However, there's an important difference between reporting facts and sharing opinions.  (How well informed are those opinions?  How can surveys be written to elicit certain opinions?)
  • When viewing the television's news coverage, help students discern between facts and opinions, and point out instances where there may be biased reporting. 
  • Show students the Editorial and Op-Ed Pages of your newspaper and explain that these are pages where the reader knows she is reading OPINIONS. 
Scroll down to Newspapers to learn more!
Lesson Module 8:  

Learn basics about the Internet
  When we use the Internet, we use these vocabulary terms:  browser, URL, hyperlink, menu, toolbar, web address.  (Vocabulary modeled.)

After learning the vocabulary above, take this simply quiz (uses PowerPoint.)
  This diagram shows what the Internet and the World Wide Web are.
Lesson Module 9:  

Taking Notes
When you take notes properly, you avoid plagiarism.  Plagiarism is "copying someone else's writing without giving them credit."  

Tips:  When you take notes...
 
  1. Write down source right away!
  2. Pick out main ideas from source.
  3. Stick to your research questions. Skip extra information!  Don't get off track!
    4. Skip "weenie" words like "a" and "the"
  4. No complete sentences.
    5.
  5. If you want to copy the exact wording of your source, YOU MUST put it in "quotation marks."
  6. Abbreviate! Use symbols!

 
This Powerpoint presentation and accompanying handout have examples and tips that help the librarians to teach note-taking to classes when they are involved in research projects.

 

 
Lesson Module 10:   Newspapers, facts, Opinions and Why they are Vital to Democracy! 
Click through this newspaper lesson (Power point) to learn how newspapers...
  • present both fact and opinion
  • are vital to the functioning of democracy
  • are valuable and popular when they present news that is not biased
  • function differently in a democracy vs. a dictatorship
  • are businesses (in most countries) and need to attract customers
  • are divided into different sections to present content
  • have content that is both newsy and entertaining!

 

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