Information Literacy Lesson Plan

Mary Frances Van Houten

FRIT 7136 Dr. Stephanie Jones Fall 2010

Pathfinder URL
http://maryfranvanhouten.pbworks.com/w/page/27603033/FrontPage#

GRADE: 4th

TEACHER(S):

Mary Frances Van Houten Tammy Mitchell Sandy Adams

CONTENT TOPIC: Explorers and Exploration of North America

Standard: Standard 1 Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge

STANDARDS FOR THE 21 -CENTURY LEARNER GOALS

ST

Skills Indicator(s): 1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry. 1.1.9-Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. Benchmark(s): Search an online catalog to locate materials. Use selected websites and periodical databases to find appropriate information. Use selected search engines to find appropriate information. Use software or online tools to record and organize information. Work in teams to produce original works or solve problems. Respect others opinions through active listening and questioning. Dispositions Indicator(s): 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions. 3.2.3-Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others. Responsibilities Indicator(s): 1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly. Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s): 1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.

Scenario:

The fourth grade students are studying about exploration in North America. The media specialist and the teachers collaborate on an assignment in which students will be taught how to use the internet and media resources to research this topic. Students will evaluate websites based on their credibility. Students will use a web site evaluation guide. The media specialist will plan a sixty minute period of time to allow students to complete research on a particular explorer with guidance as needed. A pathfinder will be made available for the students to use. Afterwards, the class will combine information collected into a wordle to describe the different explorers. Students will also complete an interactive timeline for each exploration with the aid from the media specialist. Students will be given a sheet to guide their research and a rubric to assess the completed project. CONNECTION TO LOCAL OR STATE STANDARDS SS4H2 The student will describe European exploration in North America. a. Describe the reasons for, obstacles to, and accomplishments of the Spanish, French, and English explorations of John Cabot, Vasco Nez de Balboa, Juan Ponce de Len, Christopher Columbus, Henry Hudson, and Jacques Cartier. b. Describe examples of cooperation and conflict between Europeans and Native Americans. ELA4W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing. The student a. Acknowledges information from sources. b. Locates information in reference texts by using organizational features (i.e., prefaces, appendices, indices, glossaries, and tables of contents). c. Uses various reference materials (i.e., dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, electronic information, almanac, atlas, magazines, newspapers, and key words). OVERVIEW: Students are given the task of researching a North American explorer. Students will use a variety of tools to locate information on their explorer. Students will complete a wordle for their explorer after writing their reports and complete an interactive timeline together as a group. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How did trade affect the routes chosen by explorers? What contributions were made by the explorers?

What effects did exploration have on Europe and the New World?

FINAL PRODUCT: Students as a group will produce a wordle using key terms describing their chosen explorer and create an interactive timeline for their explorer. LIBRARY LESSON(S): Students will learn to use the internet and understand what it means to be a credible website. An evaluation guide will be given to each student. A pathfinder will be made available to assist students in their search. Once the reports are written, the media specialists will conduct another lesson teaching the students how to use wordle and the interactive timeline. ASSESSMENT Product Students will work in groups to locate information for that groups explorer and write a report. Students will work in groups to create a wordle and an interactive timeline for their explorer. A rubric will be used to assess the product produced. Process The media specialist and teachers will monitor students as they search for information. The students will use exit passes at the end of the research session to briefly describe successes and concerns. Student self-questioning How will I find out about this idea or topic? What is my plan of research? How will I locate these sources? How do I evaluate the information that I find? How have I contributed to the learning of others? How have I shown responsibility in finding and using information in an ethical way? INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN Resources students will use: Online subscription database(s) http://www.galileo.usg.edu/kids/links/

Web sites http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/primary/index.htm http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/indexc.shtml http://www.factmonster.com/ http://www.academickids.com/ http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Explorers/ http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/nominations.html http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Explorers.html http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/dsxphome.html http://www.gisnet.com/notebook/comprose.php http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~feegi/rose.html?s=8&q=1 http://wordle.net http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/index.html Books Reference Nonprint Periodicals/newspapers Other (list): Instruction/activities DAY ONE o Direct instruction: The media specialist will show the students how to search for information on the internet using Google, GALILEO KIDS, etc. The pathfinder for this lesson will be introduced. Students will see its usefulness when searching for information about explorers. The media specialist will introduce the 5 Ws of Web Site Evaluation handout. The media specialist will demonstrate who to evaluate a web site using GOOGLE. The media specialist will also show the students how to use Destiny (our schools search interface) to search for resources in the media center.

o Modeling and guided practice: The media specialist will ask the students to work together in a group using the internet to evaluate the web site Fact Monster using the 5 Ws handout. After the evaluation lesson, the media specialist will have students use the internet or Destiny to find information for questions about past presidents. Students will then explain how they found their answers and was it a credible source. o Independent practice: Each group will be assigned a different explorer. They will be given an internet explorer fact sheet. They can decide as a group which facts each person must locate. The students must locate that information from three different sources and document the sources. o Sharing and reflecting: After all groups have completed the assignment for that day, they will complete an exit pass before changing class. Students will complete their reports on their explorer and create a wordle and interactive timeline and present it to the class. The media specialist will introduce the wordle web site and the timeline web site at a later class working session. DAY TWO o Direct instruction: Once the students have completed their explorer reports, the media specialist will introduce the website wordle.net. A brief explanation of what wordle is will be conducted by the media specialist. o Modeling and guided practice: The media specialist will create a wordle on the explorer Marco Polo (since he is one the students were not assigned but studied). Students will list key words that define him and his exploration. o Independent practice: Students will then create their own wordle as a group for their explorers.

o Sharing and reflecting: Students will share their finished products with the class using the Smartboard. DAY THREE o Direct instruction: The media specialist will introduce the READWRITETHINK web site. The media specialist will point out helpful tips in creating an organized timeline. o Modeling and guided practice: The media specialist and class will create a timeline for Marco Polo together. o Independent practice: Students will create a timeline in their group for their explorer. o Sharing and reflecting: Students will print their timelines and display them on the bulletin board in the hall.

THE FIVE WS

OF

WEB SITE EVALUATION

WHO

Who wrote the pages and are they an expert? Is a biography of the author included? How can I find out more about the author? WHAT What does the author say is the purpose of the site? What else might the author have in mind for the site? What makes the site easy to use? What information is included and does this information differ from other sites? WHEN When was the site created? When was the site last updated? WHERE Where does the information come from? Where can I look to find out more about the sponsor of the site? WHY Why is this information useful for my purpose? Why should I use this information? Why is this page better than another?

20012009. Kathy Schrock. All rights reserved. Page may be reproduced for classroom use. http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/primary/index.htm

Research Report Rubric

. Beginning 1 Developing Accomplished 2 3
Summarizes report

Excellent 4
Concise, wellwritten introduction All appropriate topics covered well. Also includes interesting facts.

Score

Introduction

Disorganized, Gives too no information little on what is to information. come Does not cover all appropriate topics Covers some of the appropriate topics.

Research Part 1 (describe the explorer's routes, important events and dates, vehicles used) Research Part 2 (explains the importance of the trip, who sent the explorer, describes the life of the explorer (if known), includes map of the route)

Covers most of the appropriate topics.

Does not cover all appropriate topics

Covers some of the appropriate topics.

Covers most of the appropriate topics.

All appropriate topics covered well. Also includes interesting facts.

Spelling/Grammar

Many spelling and grammatical errors

A few errors

Only one or two errors

Spelling and grammar perfect Well organized presentation, typed or written using a word processor, accompanying illustrations Many references, listed in appropriate format

Presentation

Illegible, messy

Almost illegible

Legible writing, accompanying illustrations

References

A single reference, No references incomplete citation

Several references with incomplete citations

Internet Explorer Rubric Research Fact Sheet

(You will need to verify the information by finding it on 3 (three) different sites.)

Explorer Name

_______________________________________________________ ______ Geographic Area - Where in the world did they live? Who sponsored their expedition? Be Specific.

What country were they trying to find? How did they go about locating it? Did they find it? If not, where did they end up?

What route did they take? I.E. What waterways, countries, rivers, etc did they cross to get to their destination? You will draw a map of this information.

Natural Resources - What was around them (rivers, oceans, forests, deserts, grasslands, animals, plants, etc.)? BE SPECIFIC.

How did the natives use the natural resources to help them live? What did they do and/or make?

How did the country sponsoring the expedition use the resources to help them live? Customs and Culture - Give at least two descriptions. Some examples are religion, beliefs, ceremonies, artwork, clothing, music, dance. NEW WORLD/NATIVE PEOPLE OLD WORLD/COUNTRY EXPLORER CAME FROM

Group Work Rubric

Names of Students in Group: ________________________________________________________________________

Requirement

Attempted
0 1

Acceptable
2 3 4

Admirable
5 6 7 8

Awesome
9 10

Contributions

-Seldom cooperative -Did not do any work -Rarely offered useful ideas

-Sometimes cooperative -Could have done more -Sometimes offered useful ideas
2 3 4

-Cooperative -Did their part of the work -Usually offered useful ideas

-Always willing to help and do more -Did more than others -Routinely offered useful ideas

10

Working with others

-Rarely listens to, shares with, or supports the efforts of others. -Often is not a good team member
0 1

-Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. -Sometimes not a good team member
2 3 4

-Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. -Does not cause problems in the group
5 6 7

-Always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. -Tries to keep people working together.
8 9 10

Focus on the task

-Does not focus on the task and what needs to be done. -Lets others do the work.

-Sometimes focuses on the task and what needs to be done. - Other group members must prod and remind to keep this person on task.
Points Possible:

-Focuses on the task and what needs to be done most of the time. -Group members can count on this person.

-Almost always focused on the task and what needs to be done. -This person is very self-directed.

Points Earned: ________

30

Grade :

__________

EXIT PASS
QUESTIONS 1. Write one thing you learned today. RESPONSE

2. What area gave you the most difficulty today?

3. Something I still don't understand is ...

4. Did working with a partner make your work easier or harder? Please explain.

Personal Reflection
I felt fortunate to be able to collaborate with these two teachers. I recently moved to Pre-K after teaching 4th grade for the past 8 years. I was teamed with Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Adams when I taught 4th grade. Mrs. Mitchell teaches Science and Social Studies (and English Language Arts when class sizes are large), and Mrs. Adams is the Special Education Teacher. This year, Mrs. Adams is teaching an inclusion class with Mrs. Mitchell. I asked Mrs. Mitchell first about this assignment because she teaches a large unit on explorers every year, and I thought this would be a way to introduce new technology to the students and to the teachers. I have co-taught before but not in the role as a media specialist. This was a little intimidating to me because we are fortunate to have an amazing media specialist at our school. Since I no longer share planning period with these two teachers, we met after school to plan lessons. When the three of us first sat down to plan, we looked at the GPS standards for Mrs. Mitchells explorer unit. I then introduced ideas of how to enhance those plans. We needed to look at the time frame of each lesson because Mrs. Mitchell has limited amounts of time that she can spend on one topic because of the other subjects that she teaches. I wanted to focus on the web site evaluation because so many of our students take information at face value and do not know of the other reliable sites on the internet. I thought a wordle would be a quick and easy way for the students to create a 2.0 example of learned information and a quick and easy way for teachers to assess. The timelines were more interesting (and neater) than the traditional timelines students usually create. Both Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Adams were receptive to the idea of these additions. We all worked together to form the rubrics that would be needed for the lessons. Since both of the teachers were unfamiliar with a wordle, I took the lead role of teacher for that lesson. Mrs. Adams was familiar with the timeline concept, and she led that lesson. Mrs. Mitchell was unfamiliar with both, so prior to the student lessons, I gave a quick tutorial of both the wordle and timeline sites. During the research and evaluation lesson, all three teachers felt comfortable to teach the lesson. We each took a portion of the lesson and led the instruction. Since so many special education students are in this class, Mrs. Adams worked primarily with those students. She helped to modify and change instruction to fit those students needs. It was helpful to me as a teacher and as a media specialist to learn how to modify for students as a lesson is being taught. Many of those teachable moments can not be planned.

The lessons were student friendly and the students were engaged throughout the lesson. Our school does not have a computer lab, so the direct instruction, modeling and guided practice were conducted on the Smartboard in the media center. Students then broke off into groups and rotated through the computers in the media center. The students and the teachers liked the exit passes at the end of each teaching session. The teachers and I found the passes to very informative and entertaining. Some students took this opportunity to tattle on fellow group members. The passes allowed the teachers and me the opportunity to evaluate our instruction and how we could improve instruction in the future. Mrs. Mitchell had never heard of exit passes and planned to use them in the regular course of the day. The students enjoyed making the wordle and asked if they could make them for other classes. It was interesting to see what students thought was key information that should be included in the wordle and timelines. The teachers and I feel more time and direct instruction was needed for the timeline activity. Observing Mrs. Adams with the special education students, I would try to plan in advance for those students before the lesson and try to anticipate their needs better. I felt confident in the lessons that were delivered and would make the modifications in the future. This opportunity allowed me to see how important collaborative teaching is as a media specialist. I would plan on trying to meet with all grade levels as a media specialist to try to incorporate technology into classroom lessons. In-service meetings and faculty meetings would be a good starting point to get interest peaked.