“Researching a Topic”

August 4, 2015

Research Project/Paper

How students feel……………

How teachers feel…………………….

To help alleviate stress on both parties, we can teach our students

where to find appropriate and reliable sources.

Teaching our students to find reliable sources

begins with learning their A,B,C’s of website

evaluation.

AExample:

Does 2 + 2 = 4Accuracy

Does the site contain valid information?

B Example:

Is there an “Oh Please!” feel to

the site?

Bias

Are there opinions on

the site?

Opinion vs. Bias vs. FactOpinion:“I think the Cubs are a better baseball team than the White Sox because their uniforms are the same colors as the American flag.”

Bias:“The Cubs are a superior team to the White Sox because their uniforms are more patriotic.”

Fact:“The Cubs have won more games than the White Sox.”

C Example:

Is there an author or entity

to take ownership?

Credibility

Does the site appear

reputable?

Websites ending in .edu and .gov are good places to begin a research project/paper. Sites ending in .org are also good places, but be careful! Anyone can call themselves an organization. Be sure to teach students to use their A,B,C’s.

Good Websites to use:

Elementary

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/https://kids.usa.gov/http://www.citationmachine.net/

Middle School

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

http://www.countryreports.org/

http://www.ipl.org/ (The Internet Public Library)

High SchoolReference Books

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usalpha/usaalpha.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/

http://www.oxfordjournals.org/en/

Once students find the information, what are they going to do with it?

Here are some graphic organizers we can use with our students.

5 Minutes

Share and talk about ideas with the person sitting next to you.

References

Google Images. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2015.