Students will learn research skills while researching one notable person of Hispanic descent. Students will research one person, of their choice, and write a biographical sketch. Students can choose politicians, musicians, athletes, actors, etc., as long as they are of Hispanic descent.

Students will:

-organize information, draw conclusions, and summarize information.

-develop note taking skills.

-evaluate websites.

-select and use various resources to research one notable person. 

-Handouts and worksheets distributed by the teacher librarian (Note Taking Worksheet, How to Cite, and Website Evaluation Sheet)

-Pens and paper

-Dry erase board and markers

-Book truck

-Computers

-Library online resources (for example: Wilson Bios and Gale Junior Reference Collection)

-Internet

-Library books – specific books include:

-Great Hispanic-Americans by Nicolas Kanellos

-100 Hispanic-Americans who Changed American History by Rick Laezman

-America's Latinos : Their Rich History, Culture, and Traditions by Julie Amparano

-Beisbol! : Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends by Jonah Winter

Library Visit 1: Overview of Resources and Research Process

 

Part 1: Class discussion and assignment introduction

Allow 40 minutes.

 

The teacher librarian will tell students that they will research one notable person of Hispanic descent.  Their job is to learn as much as possible about one person and share what they learn with the class.  Students will research one person and write a biographical sketch.  Students can choose politicians, musicians, athletes, actors, etc., as long as they are of Hispanic descent.

 

Ask students if they know of any notable people of Hispanic descent.  Keep a list of suggested names on the dry erase board.

 

Ask students what kind of resources they might use to research people.  After the students have shared their ideas tell them that they can use biographies, encyclopedias, the Internet, and library databases for their research.

 

After this discussion, allow students to come to the library book truck at the front of the room to look at biographies of Hispanic people (the books were selected prior to the class visit).  Allow the students to take the books back to their tables.  Encourage students to share the books and suggest that they look at as many books as possible.  Allow the students to get up and move around the tables. 

 

Students will be required to select a person at the end of this activity.  The teacher librarian will have a list of Hispanic Americans and a brief description of the person in case any student is not able to make a selection based on the class list and resources provided.   

 

 

 

Library Visit 2: Note Taking

 

Part 1: Note taking discussion and practice

Allow 25 minutes.

 

Ask students how they take notes.  Keep a list of the different note taking methods on the dry erase board and encourage students to write the list in their notebooks.  Remind students that there is no right or wrong way to take notes, that each person has a personal preference.  Discuss outlines, concept maps, abbreviations, bullets, paraphrasing, lists, and summarizing.

 

Divide students into groups of four.  Each group will receive a book on Hispanic Americans.  The four books that will be used for this activity are:

• Great Hispanic-Americans by Nicolas Kanellos
• 100 Hispanic-Americans who Changed American History by Rick Laezman
• America's Latinos : Their Rich History, Culture, and Traditions by Julie Amparano
• Beisbol! : Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends by Jonah Winter

 

Have the groups take notes using the “Note Taking Worksheet.”  Each group will select a leader who will report the group’s findings to the class.   

 

*Each student will receive copies of the “Note Taking Worksheet” to use for their own research.      

 

 

Part 2: Citations

Allow 15 minutes. 

 

Ask students why it is important to cite information.  Ask students what they know about plagiarism.  Explain to students that there are honest and ethical practices related to researching.  Explain to students that they will be honest users of information if they use their own words and citations when they use someone else’s words.  Also describe to students the importance of using more than one source.  Distribute to the class the “How to Cite” handout.   

 

 

Library Visit 3: Website Evaluation

 

Part 1: Discussion

Allow 10 minutes.

 

Ask students what makes a website good or bad, reliable or unreliable, truthful or biased.  Keep a list of their answers on the dry erase board and encourage students to keep a list in their notebooks.  Discuss any reasons that may not have been mentioned.  Some possible answers are: personal page, type of domain, date, credentials, and documented sources.

 

 

Part 2: Activity

Allow 30 minutes.

 

Provide students with addresses of the following three websites:

Hispanic Americans – US Department of State

http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/history_geography_and_population/population_and_diversity/hispanic_americans.html  

*Reliable

 

Hispanic Americans in Congress http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/

*Reliable

 

Hispanic Heritage Month

http://www.archaeolink.com/hispanic_heritage_month.htm

*Unreliable

                       

The students will work in teams of two for this activity.  Give each team three copies of the “Website Evaluation Worksheet.”  The worksheet contains a checklist and discussion questions to determine the credibility of each of the websites.  When all groups have completed a worksheet for each of the websites, the entire class will discuss the results.  Ask students what specifically about each website made it reliable or unreliable.  Have students list reasons why they would or would not recommend each website to a friend.

 

 

Library Visit 4: Research

 

Part 1:

Allow 30 minutes. 

 

Students will independently research their selected person.  The teacher librarian and classroom teacher will circulate throughout the media center and help students with their research. 

 

Part 2:

Allow 10 minutes.

 

Students will reflect on the research process. 

Students will be assessed on the activities completed, skills mastered, and group collaboration using the assessment rubric.