Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fatima Sitson
University of Maryland, University College
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
Learning Objectives for 5-Day Unit: Students will be able to research a given topic and
write an informational paragraph based on facts gathered.
Information Literacy Objectives:
Define the information need: Students will research important information on one
animal.
Locate information: Students will navigate through PebbleGo and Britanica Kids
to find research on their animal.
Process the information: Students will take notes using a graphic organizer to
determine important facts about the animal. They will use a graphic organizer to
sort important facts and interesting details.
Create and communicate results: Students will create a page for the class ABC
Animal book using Build A Book program (free online, and included in our
schools computer network).
Assess process and product: The teacher will assess the final product. The teacher
will check for completion of a paragraph with important facts about an animal and
correct use of grammar and punctuation.
Prerequisite Student Skills:
Students will need to know how to type and demonstrate basic keyboard skills
Students will need to have a basic understanding of the structure of a paragraph
Materials:
PebbleGo
Britanica Kids
Build A Book (presentation software)
Determining Important Facts worksheet
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The class will spend two days in the lab (during the writing block) for publishing
their paragraph
Students will be able to use Publisher or Build a Book Software to create their
final draft (for second graders, this may take more than two days of typing on the
computer. Students may continue to work of their project during center time)
Students will need to include a picture of the animal in their final. The teacher will
model an example of using Pics4learning to add to their final paragraph
The teacher will support students to include the image onto their page and print
the page for the class book
Each student will print their animal page
The teacher will put the pages together for a completed class book
To close the lesson, once the book is finally put together, the teacher may read out
loud to the class, or students can individually read their pages
learning in science or social studies) and create a presentation (either through PowerPoint,
handmade posters, creating a movie, etc). Therefore, this lesson is a great start in teaching
students how to conduct and analyze research.
This lesson is appropriate for the students I work with in second grade. Students
are beginning to develop deeper comprehension and critical thinking skills. In this lesson,
supports and organizational aids are used to analyze and organize facts for their paragraph.
In addition, students are limited to two sources for research as to not overwhelm them in
the research process. As the year progresses, the goal is for students to expand their
knowledge in a variety of technological resources for information literacy.
Explanation of the Information Literacy Component:
Informational literacy is the ability to know how to research and analyze
information. At even the primary levels, students begin to develop research skills, though it
may be modified to fit their developmental needs. When creating research lessons, teachers
need to consider how to implement research strategies that are appropriate for the levels
they teach. For example, a second grader would not be required to cite and list references
in APA form, but rather would need to include the website and title of the article they
used. In this lesson, students develop skills in research while using technology. They are
required to find information on a specific topic.
At the second grade level, this is an appropriate plan to begin skills in research.
When students use the online research programs, it encourages them to learn new
information by conducting research and note-taking. For this particular lesson, students
are only using two different sources for facts on their animal. At a young age, teachers do
not want to overwhelm students by giving too many options and resources. This lesson is
structured so that a second grader will feel challenged but also feel capable of completing
the assignment. The structure of the lesson begins with more support and guidance by the
teacher and then eventually leads to student independent work.
This project requires students to analyze their notes and determine which facts are
the most important to share. Graphic organizers and templates support student learning by
mapping out and making sense of what they find. By doing so, students build their
comprehension skills. Additionally, this lesson also requires students to collaborate and
respond to each others work. They are asked to share ideas and work together to peeredit each others paragraphs. This lesson integrates a variety of effective instructional
strategies teaching research skills, incorporating technology, promoting collaboration,
and developing writing skills.
C. Reflection on Unit Lesson Plan
Your Learning about Information Literacy:
When creating this lesson plan, I wanted students to be engaged, to collaborate,
and to create an informational literacy product that is creative but demonstrates their
knowledge. I have used a few of these instructional strategies before creating this lesson
plan such as the use of graphic organizers for note taking, and allowing students to use
PebbleGo and Britanica Kids for research. Also, students are taught to peer-edit and
provide feedback for each other. However, a new aspect in this lesson plan is creating the
class ABC book and using the Build A Book software. This is a new software program
installed in our school just last year, and both teachers and students are still familiarizing
themselves with the program. One aspect that may be challenging is having each student
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(or pairs) research a different animal. Though the class is working on the same objective,
each student will be researching different facts and details.
Developing research skills can be difficult. Therefore, by introducing those skills
through this lesson plan, the process is guided and supported. I believe that teachers need
to create authentic lessons that relate to the real-world. When students are completely
immersed and engaged in their work, the end result is a high quality product. I did not
want students to do research and complete a question-answer worksheet. Students are
proud of their efforts.
Future Explorations:
As the school year progress, I plan to continue teaching research and note-taking
skills. Each quarter, students work on a long-term project. Research and gathering facts is
an important component in the process. It is important that students continue to practice
and apply note-taking skills in order to analyze their research and create a product for
presentation. I also would like to broaden the different resources students can use when
conducting research. I would continue to explore different modes of research- books,
magazines, and online resources. This way, students will eventually choose which
resources they want to use to locate information independently. They can use a resource in
which they feel comfortable using and know how to navigate through.
Annotated Citations:
Baumgartner, E., & Zabin, C. (2008). A case study of project-based instruction in the
ninth grade: A semester-long study of intertidal biodiversity. Environmental
Education Research, 14(2), 97-114. Retrieved
from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost/detail?sid=806dd7a41ee2-4f69-b88b-28b360ae0ddb
%40sessionmgr15&vid=22&hid=17&bdata=JmxvZ2luLmFzcCZzaXRlPWVob3N
0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=ehh&AN=31519140
This article explains the process ninth graders went through when researching and
observing the environment of the tidal basin. This project-based learning assignment
required students to research different species and scientific tools. They then applied their
findings during their field trips.
Johnson, D. (1999, March). Implementing an information literacy curriculum: One
district's story. NASSP Bulletin, 53-61.
This article discusses how teachers planned to integrate research skills into their
school curriculum. In collaboration with teachers, administrators, and parents, they
developed a combined library and technology curriculum that encourages student learning
but also appropriate for the resources they have available at school.
Montgomery County Public Schools (2010). Grade 2 integrated weekly planner.
Retrieved from: https://mymcps-instruction.mcpsmd.org/
Teachers from Montgomery County Public Schools use this curriculum resource
for planning lessons. The site is broken down by grade level, subject, and weeks for each
quarter. The site provides teachers with instructional guidelines for each week. This source
was used to find an objective regarding research as well as instructional strategies to
implement in the lesson.
Robinson, K. (2006). Do Schools Kill Creativity? Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
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Ken Robinson discusses the need for encouraging creativity in todays schools. He
shares examples of personal stories as well as a discussion on the multi-intelligence. In
addition to the focus on academics, students are able to express their knowledge through
other modes. Technology has been a big impact in changing and enhancing education.
In the future, my goal is to work with my team members and staff to develop
lessons that challenge students in order to build their critical thinking skills. Our media
specialist is knowledgeable in informational literacy, so I plan to collaborate with her when
we work on research projects. When students see that both their homeroom teacher and
the media specialist reinforce these research skills, they realize the importance of applying
these skills in different settings.
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Where does the animal live? What kind of environment does the
animal need in order to survive (snow, water, desert)?
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Name: ____________
Animal Research
What I want to learn:
Important Facts:
Name of author:
Title of article:
Source used (Britanica Kids/Pebble Go)
Paragraph Organizer
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Introduction
Body
Detail 1-
Detail 2-
Detail 3-
Conclusion
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Criteria
Topics- Facts
Topics- Details
Proficient
-has at least 3
important facts
-supporting
details
-organized well
In Progress
-explains facts
about the animal
-some supporting
detail
-uses effective
descriptive words
-interesting to
read
-strong word
choice
-correct spelling
-all complete
sentences
-all capitals and
punctuation in
the correct spot
-most spelling
Conventions
correct
(capitals,
-all complete
periods,
sentences
complete
-most capitals
sentences,
and punctuation
spelling, etc.)
in the correct
spot
-cites the title of -cites only the
Bibliography
the article
title of the article
(bottom of the -cites the author or
paragraph page)
-cites only the
author
-uses Publisher or -uses Publisher
Build A Book
or Build A Book
-includes a
-includes a
complete
paragraph and
Presentation
paragraph and
image of animal
image of animal
-adds colors and
visual design
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Not Yet
-does not
describe main
facts about the
animal
-most spelling
mistakes
-incomplete
sentences
-does not use
capital letters or
punctuation
-does not include
a citation
-uses Publisher
or Build A Book
-incomplete
paragraph and no
image of animal
-no additional
colors and visual
design