Information Literacy Objective

The student will recognize and identify the differences between scholarly and popular articles.

The student will evaluate the appropriateness of scholarly and popular articles for their individual research needs.

Student Objective

The student will describe and distinguish between scholarly and popular articles.

Materials--Teacher:

Scholarly, popular, & professional/trade journals (enough so each group can look at at least one of each)

Chalk or white board markers

“Scholarly v. Popular” Handout

Computers or laptops (optional)

Materials—Student:

Pen or pencil

Paper

Preparation

• Assign students to complete LOBO section(s):  Evaluating Resources – Evaluate Articles prior to class.
• Review applicable section in LOBO: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=122
• Read lesson plan.
• Arrange the room for small groups if possible.  Provide each grouping with examples of scholarly and popular articles.            

Introduction (Time = 10 minutes)

·        Explain that by the end of the lesson, students should be able to determine the difference between scholarly and popular journals based on the characteristics they have read about in LOBO and today’s activity. They should also understand the purposes of each. Emphasize the importance of articles for students’ upcoming assignment. 

·        Ask students to summarize or give a definition for “scholarly” articles and “popular” articles.  Write their definitions on the board.  Explain that later the class will see how accurate they were in their definitions.

Procedure (Time = 30-40 minutes)

1.      Put students in small groups.

2.      Give each group different examples of scholarly and popular articles. Some should be full-text printouts from an online source.  Make sure each group has more than one, although you can mix and match the types of articles in each group.

3.      Explain that in small groups, students will examine the sources in front of them, evaluate whether they think they are scholarly or popular, and give at least 3 reasons for their decision. Students will need to convince their classmates that they were correct in their decision to call an article scholarly or popular.

o       Students should also briefly read one of the articles and describe a way that the reader could use the article (e.g., for entertainment, for a persuasive speech, for a research assignment, for how-to advice, etc.).

4.      Each group should have a reporter who will then briefly present their findings to the class. As students report on their articles, write down the characteristics they find for the articles they label "scholarly" or "popular" in chart form on the board. 

5.      Ask students what made determining their type of articles difficult in some cases (e.g., online print versions that may have fewer clues).

6.      Give students the “Scholarly v. Popular” handout and see how accurate their descriptions and definitions were. Go over briefly.  Point out any aspects students may have missed. Be sure to constantly refer back to the actual journals to show scholarly or popular characteristics.

7.      (Optional) If possible, show students an example of a database (e.g., Academic Search Premier, PsycInfo, or other) which would be helpful for their upcoming assignment. Explain the types of articles they will need for their assignment and allow them to do some searching. 

8.      Review the requirements of students’ upcoming assignment.  Discuss the need for scholarly articles.

Closure (Time = 5 minutes )

Ask students if they have any questions.  Have students summarize the major differences in scholarly and popular articles to check for understanding. Ask why they wouldn’t want to just use articles from Time or Newsweek for their research.  Reinforce what they need for their upcoming assignment.