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 lesson provides an interactive presentation that instructs students on how to determine whether resources are reliable for their research. The interactive shows the importance of text features to determine resource reliability. Teachers can use this plan as a validity of resources lesson within their research unit.

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

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

STUDENT 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

Helpful Hints

Printouts:

  • Selecting Sources activity sheet 
  • Nonfiction Book Evaluation 
  • Nonfiction Book Review

Preparation:

  • Before completing this activity, students should have experience with developing a topic and targeting keywords.

References

Contributors: 
Casey Gellerman
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation