Students choose from the various reference sources to find the most appropriate ones to answer their research questions.
Print and Electronic Library Reference Sources
Lesson:
· Discussion opener: When you go to the store, what different kinds of magazines do you see while you’re waiting in line to check out?
· Follow-up questions: Do all these magazines tell the truth? Are there some that you trust more than others? What makes the difference between an article that tells the truth and one that doesn’t? (Guide the discussion to help students understand that some publications use factual information that has come from reputable sources, while others print information that hasn’t been verified and can’t necessarily be trusted.)
· Say: Today we are going to learn more about how to find good information that is trustworthy. There’s so much information out there, and not all of it is reliable. One way to make sure that you find the quality and kind of information you need is to use a process called the Big Six. As you can see from looking at the poster here, the Big Six is called that because it breaks down the research process into six steps. The first step, which is called Task Definition, is the part where you decide exactly what information you are going to be searching for. Today I’ll be doing that step for you, since I’ll be telling you what facts to look for. That means we can focus on steps two and three:
Step Two: Evaluating the different sources and selecting the most useful one at the moment
Step Three: Finding the information you need once you decide what source you are going to use
· Ask: What are some of the sources that you can use to find information? (Possible responses include the Internet, encyclopedia, almanacs, yearbooks, atlases, dictionaries, and so on)
· Distribute the handout with information on what the various references sources do (attached). Go over it with the students and discuss real-life situations where the different sources might be helpful.
· Distribute the “Library Quest” handout. Explain: Here’s a handout with some facts that you will need to search for today here in the library. I know that your first impulse will be to use the Internet for all of them, but it’s good to learn how to use other sources as well. So, the catch today is that you can only use the Internet to access the World Book Online Encyclopedia. The other information you find has to come from one of the other sources here in the library that we just discussed. That’s where step 2 of the Big Six comes in: you need to be able to select the best source for the task you’ve defined. Use the information sheet to decide which source will be most helpful to you. Then step 3 is where you actually physically go and find that source. I (the librarian) and your teacher will both be available to help you find the resources you need. On your worksheet, you will see that the column on the right asks you to write down the source you choose.
· Are there any questions?
· You may choose a partner and work together.
· (Work time)
· Once students are done: Great work, everyone! I saw you showing a lot of creativity with how you found the facts you were looking for. I’m really proud of all of you for working so hard, even though this is kind of new to all of you. As we work on this, it will get a lot more routine for you.