Research Building Blocks: Hints about Print

Children are naturally curious—they want to know "how" and "why." Teaching research skills can help students find answers for themselves. "Hints about Print," taken from a research skills unit, is a step towards students completing a written research report. Here, students examine abstracts on selected books to determine their relevance and helpfulness. They brainstorm characteristics they would use when looking for a book as a research tool. They then carefully examine an information text, using their brainstormed criteria. Finally, after viewing an online demonstration, students practice evaluating resources. This online tool demonstrates the process of evaluating a nonfiction print resource to determine its appropriateness for a research project.

Weblink address (URL): 
Research Building Blocks: Hints about Print

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

Students will:

  • use a variety of graphic organizers to connect important ideas in text to prior knowledge and other reading.
  • demonstrate an accurate understanding of information in the text by focusing on the key ideas presented, linking them to previous experience and knowledge.
  • interpret concepts or make connections through analysis, evaluation, inference, and/or comparison.
  • use text structure to determine the importance information.
  • use text aids to locate information in a book.
  • use an organizational system to locate information.
  • analyze information.
  • discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information.

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding

References

Contributors: 
Paula Cox
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation