Tatum Middle School Library

Emphasize Process Over Product
One of the results of the Internet is that locating information is usually not a problem. However, finding information that is relevant, precise and authoritative can be a challenge. Before the Internet, students had the advantage of having their sources of material pre-screened by a librarian who carefully chose books for the library. With electronic information, students must often take on this evaluative task themselves. Evaluating sources of information is just one of the many aspects that go into a quality research project. To help students work on the building blocks for life-long learning, consider focusing on only one or two skills.

• Annotated Bibliography-- Students find and then cite specific sources of information. Each citation includes a description of the resource and information found at that source. This is also a good exercise to use to help students learn to evaluate sources of information.
• Search Comparison -- For electronic research, have students look up information on a topic using two different search engines and then compare the results. Students should come up with a strategy for searching prior to beginning the search so that they focus on framing their questions and analyzing the results.
• Primary vs. Secondary Source -- students analyze both a primary and secondary source of information on the same topic. This helps students recognize the difference between primary and secondary information and the strengths and weaknesses of each.
• Claim - Evidence - Evaluation -- For a persuasive topic, students list arguments for or against a position and then locate resources that offer evidence in support of each claim. An excellent resource to help with this assignment is the Showing Evidence Tool from Intel.
• Read In -- Collect several different sources of information (books, web sites, etc) and then ask students to sped 5-10 minutes reading a resource, then jotting down a few items about what they have read. They then switch and move onto another resource. This approach can also be used to help students gain valuable background information prior to beginning a longer research project (sometimes called a presearch).
• Blogging or a Research Journal -- Students create a print or electronic journal in the form of a web log (called blogging) that describes their research process. A checklist or rubric can help guide students on what to write in their blog.
• KWL Format -- Students use a paper divided into thirds. The first column lists what they already know, the second lists what they would like to know and the third lists what they learn in their research. This is a good exercise in teaching very basic research skills.
• Note-taking Drills -- See Mrs. Turner for ideas on how to help students take better notes from their research. Ideas include drills that ask students to locate main ideas, paraphrase and summarize information.

Ask Students to Use Information, Not Just Report It
Make research more meaningful and interesting to both yourself and your students by asking them to use information, not just regurgitate it. Using information in a new way also helps alleviate another danger of electronic information -- cut and paste plagiarism. It also helps them develop critical and creative thinking skills.

• Create Something -- Students use information from their research to create something new. For example, in a science class students could all research the importance of water and each could then be asked to write an article for a newspaper describing the importance of water in some particular aspect of life.
• Compare and Contrast -- Students compare some aspect of life in history to today or compare one type of symbiotic relationship with another. Either of these examples would be a good alternative to simply reporting on some historical incident or one type of animal interdependence.
• Classify Information -- Ask students to group information found in their research into categories that they construct. This could even be done with something as mundane as defining vocabulary terms. The act of organizing information helps students engage with the material in more meaningful ways.

The library media center and Mrs. Turner are here to collaborate with you on any of these projects.