Lesson Plan #2

Shannon Chermak
Sarah Hobson
ENG 307
March 26, 2015

Unit Plan Description for Lesson #2

1

What is your definition of informational literacies?

My definition of informational literacies is the skills you need to find, gather,
analyze, and how you use or organize that information and present your
findings. Having these skills is the foundation for being lifelong learners,
especially in the twenty first century. Having the ability to know what
information is necessary, and knowing how to pick the sources critically, then
knowing how you should share the information is a crucial skill to be used
both inside, and outside of the classroom.

Please explain the multiple dimensions of informational literacies as they

pertain to the extensive research project you have designed:
(How will you help your students)
a Establishing a research problem:

To help my students establish a research problem, I would help them decide what
they believe is important to find out, and have the problem be something that they
dont know and what they would have interest in finding out. They can also get help
from others to come up with popular questions that people have about that topic.
The students can set up an online survey with their classmates to ask from a list,
what problem interests them most. Specifically for lesson two, this project is
connected to the first lesson where the students were introduced to the false history
that is portrayed during the Native American and Colonization conflicts of the
1800s. They discovered some events in American history that they either were not
taught traditionally in textbooks, or information that had drastic differences from
the actual event that occurred. From there, the children will be able to target one
specific event that interest them, that they would like to do further research on. For
example, if they were really interested on story of Pocahontas, or what really

happened when the Native Americans were forced to move onto land out west, etc.
They will come up with a compelling research question they would like to find the
truth behind, and that will be the focus of their research projects.
b

Defining a research question:

To help my students define a research question, I would have them look
up what makes a well composed question. I found a website that explains
this, published by Duke University:
http://twp.duke.edu/uploads/media_items/research-questions.original.pdf .
Some important points to define a research question is to make it not to
broad, but to be sure it is a question that cant be answered by a simple
internet search. Also, the students would need to do some research
beforehand, to see what others were trying to research They will have to
opportunity to see what their classmates are researching about Native
Americans. It is important when creating a research question to keep in
mind who is your target audience, which will be their classmates and what
they may be interesting in finding out too. Lastly, they will need to begin

by asking who, what, where, when and why.

Establishing relevant data bases:
To teach students how to use or find relevant data bases, I would first
show them one of the most helpful and reliable sources, which is their
schools data bases. I would show them how on their librarys website,
there are many different types of data bases depending on the type of
research question. For example, some databases that they may want

to use are American: History and Life, American History in Video,

EBSCO Host, Historical Abstracts, etc. They will click on the source

of their liking and read to decide if they would like to use it to help
d

them in their research

Establishing effective search techniques:

To help my students establish effective search techniques I can show them
how on the data bases, they can type in specific keywords to get the
results they want. When using the library databases I will show the
students how they can pick specific database based upon subject, like
American History. Also, I would show them how they can put quotes
around specific words so that they can only get those results without
Google trying to alter their search. The other features of Google are very
important when trying to get effective search results, for example using

the date range search to only get sources published during that time.
Locating credible and relevant sources:
In order to teach my students how to locate credible and relevant sources,
I would teach them about how just because something it posted on the
internet does not make it true. It is crucial for them to be skeptics on
almost everything they read and find. They can chose whether or not they
want to use that source when they are analyzed who it was written and
published by. I would encourage them if they have found a source they
would like to use, to search who wrote it, and they would possibly give
them more insight on if it is something that is biased. For example, if it
was on a popular news site like Fox News or New York Times, or if is from a
personal blog or tabloid site. Also, they will be able to find the author and
see if they are reliable to site their information based upon if they have a
formal education in that specific area. The students can search for the

authors information for credibility through search engines, like Google or

Google Scholar.
f

Creating a digital data base for student research:

How I would teach my students to create a digital data base for their
research, I would encourage them to create an account on an annotation
website like Zotero. Zotero is great for anyone who is using many sources
for a project and can greatly help them organize their information. When
the students create an account, they can save any source they use on it,
and create notes, tags and save all the information for their works cited or
reference page. This allows them to keep everything in one place and

access it later on to construct their final project.

Collecting and organizing information:
To teach my students how to collect and organize the information they
would like to use during their research project, I would introduce them to
sources such as Feedly and Zotero. Feedly can be used for the students to
search for more information and collect sources for research. Once they
gather these sources, they can save them onto Zotero to organize their
information. The students can use Zotero to save any source, write notes
on it, create the citation, and create tags and folders to organize
everything.

Retrieving information:
To help my students with the process of retrieving information, I would
remind them of the two most important things that everyone needs to do
when researching and gathering information: cite and annotate! When you
are gathering information from another source, whether it is direct or
indirect, and the students need to make note of where that information
came from so that person can receive credit. Also, they need to cite their

sources, so that if they need to go back to those sources, they know

where to find them. It is crucial for when they are composing their final
projects that their audience knows where they are getting the information
from and backing up their statements and findings. Using Zotero for their
project will really help them create their works cited or reference page
because it create it for them in their desired format and annotate all their
i

sources.
Establishing criteria for annotating texts:
In order to help my students establish criteria for annotating texts, I would
advise them to highlight or make notes on the texts while researching.
They can make notes on words that they need to look up, or what they
would like to further research on that specific subject. Also, I will help
them to create a research based project, if they can make note while
reading through their sources what may be biases, or what is considered
true and proven facts. To annotate on design elements the students can
either highlight, take notes of tag the sources for the elements. For
example, they can highlight the design element in the text, make a note
marking their ideas, and then after, they can tag that source with the

labeled element.
Interrogating texts:
To help my student interrogate texts, I would teach them about the
different design elements that an author or source may be using. For
example, when a source highlights one single sentence or quote and
places it in large, bold print on that page, the students will realize that it is
there for a reason, and they should look into it more. Also, the colors used
the type of pictures that may be placed on the page, might be used to
change the readers interpretations of the given text. The students can

also interrogate the text by looking into the source that create it. They can
ask questions like, why did this author want to write about this, what is
their main focus, what does the author want the readers to walk away
k

with after reading it, etc.

Representing findings:
In order to help my students represent their findings, I would help them as
we go through the research process. All the different ways they gathered
and organized their sources will contribute to the final product of this
research project. I will advise them to construct and organize the
information they would like to share in a way that is neat, and easily
interpreted to others. The way they might want to represent their findings
might be based upon the type of research question they picked and the

sources they used.

Assessing research processes:
I will help my students assess research process by how the types of
sources are written, and who wrote them. They can look at who the author
or publisher is and be able to identify the types of perspectives being
used. Also, they need to analyze if their peers research multiple
perspectives of a topic, to see if the information the students wrote is

bias.
m Assessing research strategies:
In order to teach my students how to assess the research strategies that
have been used, I would instruct them to see if only one type of source
was used, or if multiple sources were taken into consideration. For
example, was only newspaper articles used, or were their strictly scientific
n

articles used.
Assessing research efficiency:
To teach child how to assess the research efficiency I would advise them
to look at how many sources were used to create the final answer to the

research question. They would have to look at what were the types of
sources, also if there was enough variety and interrogation used to create
this research conclusion.
o

Assessing research analyses:

In order for my students to assess research analyses I would teach them
to critically analyze what types of information was gathered and being
used. They have to look what the conclusion that was made and to see if
it was supported with strong evidence and how the people, events and

findings are represented.

Assessing research representation of findings:
To teach my students how to assess research representations of findings,
they would have to look at the question being asked, the types of sources
being used and how all of that information is being constructed into a final
product. It is important to see if the information/conclusion of the research
is being displayed appropriately through the representation, and if the
conclusion is stated clearly, and being supported with plenty of sources.

Author
Shannon Chermak
Subject
English language Arts
Grade
7th Grade
Time Frame
Approximately one hour
Learning Context
The students will do this lesson in the beginning of the unit, as the students
begin to start their own research projects.
Background Knowledge/Skills
In order for the students to do this lesson, they have to have some
background with using computers. Also, they have to have some knowledge
about what exactly they would like to research for this project.
Essential Questions
What are some ways we can research information?
How do we know if we have found a credible source?
What does it mean to annotate?
How can we annotate while researching?

Long and Short Term Learning Objectives and Understandings

The students will be able to demonstrate their ability to retrieve

research information
The students will be able to locate information on a database by
using multiple databases based upon subject and the type of
source they need. They will used the databases the library
provides and search based on what they need like a scientific
source, or an opinionated source, etc. They will learn what
keywords should be used to find desired results.

The students will be able to distinguish what sources are credible to

use for research
The students will be able to identify what it means to be credible.
By using the school's databases, it is hoped that reliable sources
will be found in the searches, but the students will be able to
identify who or what created the source. The students will look
into where the information was published. For example, if it was
on a popular news site like Fox News or New York Times, or if is
from a personal blog or tabloid site. Also, they will be able to find
the author and see if they are reliable to site their information
based upon if they have a formal education in that specific area.
The students can search for the authors information for
credibility through search engines, like Google.

The students will be able to demonstrate their abilities to annotate the

sources
The students will be able to construct notes, paraphrase, and
draw conclusions from sources. The students will use annotation
websites like a.annotate, Diigo, and evernote, Zotero etc. to
annotate the sources. They can use these sites to add specific
notes in the paragraphs of the sources, organize and save the
sources they would like to use, create works cited or reference
pages, and tag the sources for easy searching and retrieving.

Rationale
At the end of the lesson the students will gain more knowledge that will help
them as future researchers. They will learn how to retrieve texts for their
research projects by using sources such as databases. Also, while doing this
they will learn to distinguish what sources are credible to use for their
research. Lastly, the children will learn about the skill and purpose of

annotating the texts the find. They will be able to draw conclusions from the
readings, add notes to help them in their research, and organize their
findings.
Standards
Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a
question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related,
focused questions for further research and investigation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and
digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions
of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.
Text Types and Purposes:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1.c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence
Academic Language Needs (key vocabulary)
Annotate- To add notes or comments to
Credible- Worthy and capable of being believed or trusted
Procedure (sequence of activities)
After the students decide what specifically they would like to research for this
unit. They will construct a research question, which they will be striving to
conclude by the end of their projects.
This project is connected to the first lesson where the students were
introduced to the false history that is portrayed during the Native American
and Colonization conflicts of the 1800s. They discovered some events in
American history that they either were not taught traditionally in textbooks,
or information that had drastic differences from the actual event that
occurred. From there, the children will be able to target one specific event
that interest them, that they would like to do further research on. For
example, if they were really interested on story of Pocahontas, or what really
happened when the Native Americans were forced to move onto land out
west, etc. They will come up with a compelling research question they would
like to find the truth behind, and that will be the focus of their research
projects.
We will all log on to our computers at the library, and they will watch on my
screen some of the ways that we will be finding sources. I will show the

children how to log onto the library database, and choose the databases
needed, and search their topic keywords. Some databases that may want to
use are American: History and Life, American History in Video, EBSCO Host,
Historical Abstracts, etc. They will click on the source of their liking and read
to decide if they would like to use it to help them in their research.
By using the school's databases, it is hoped that reliable sources will be
found in the searches, but the students will be able to identify who or what
created the source. The students will look into where the information was
published. For example, if it was on a popular news site like Fox News or New
York Times, or if is from a personal blog or tabloid site. Also, they will be able
to find the author and see if they are reliable to site their information based
upon if they have a formal education in that specific area. The students can
search for the authors information for credibility through search engines, like
Google
Next, if they want to use that source for their projects, I will then show them
how to use an annotation site. The children will upload the source to either
a.annotate, Diigo, evernote,or Zotero etc. or whichever one they prefer.
Using these sites, I will show them how they can highlight, add notes, and
tags etc. For example, as the children are reading they can click on a
sentence or paragraph they like and add a note to it or highlight it and save
that mark to go back to it later. Also, if they are focusing on specific
keywords they can tag the sources with key words and search for them later.
These annotation sources will help them gather, organize and access their
information in the end. All of their researched sources can be saved on the
website so they can access them at the end of the research phase, so that
they can conduct their research conclusion.
Differentiation of Students with Special Needs
Students will special needs can research a topic that suits them best, and
they can select different types of sources during the research phase. For
example, video clips, pictures, movies, songs, etc. Also, with the annotation
sites, they give you many options on how you would like to annotate the
texts so they can pick whatever is easiest for them. I will create a handout
for the students to use as a hard copy to take notes on, and they can print
out sources and highlight the hard copy if they would like to. For sources
such as videos, I would instruct the students to copy the link to a Word
document and annotate it on Microsoft and save it to access later. This way,
they are still able to annotate the videos they watch. To annotate videos,
they can pause at specific times and write down the time and type and note
next to the time, this is the same concept as highlighting a sentence and
adding a note to a paragraph.
Materials/Resources/Handouts

The materials and resources that will be used during this lesson are the
library computers and databases. Also, the students will subscribe to the free
version of a.annotate.com.
Assessments/Rubrics
The students will be assessed by their ability to find valuable sources from
their research and their ability to annotate those sources. It will be
determined by how many credible sources they picked for their research that
will contribute to answering their research questions. Also, they will be
assessed on how much effort was put into annotating on a.annotate.com.
Since the sources are saved, it can be viewed how much highlighting was
done while reading, if they added in notes to the texts, and if they added
tags to connect the texts.
Reading/Writing Assignments
The students writing assignment will be fulfilled by their annotations of the
texts. The students are going to be required to annotate all of the sources
they are going to be using in their research. The children will be using an
annotation website like a.annotate, easybib, Diigo, Zotero etc. and they will
be required to add in notes as the read the texts, highlight important details,
and add in tags if necessary. By creating a account with one of these sites,
their sources are saved and they can access them whenever they would like,
even at home!