Title: Interacting with Information Resources: Communicating with Tribune Reporters

Standards:
NETS
2. Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to
communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual
learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media

I-SAIL:
Standard 5: Understand and practice Internet safety when using any electronic media for
educational, social, or recreational purposes
Practice strategies that promote personal safety and protect online and offline reputation
Recognize that networked environments are public places governed by codes of ethical
behavior
Practice positive digital citizenship

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the
relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with
others.

Objectives:
Students will be able to search for, select, read and articulate the main ideas of a news
article published in the Chicago Tribune
Students will formulate questions about their chosen articles and produce professional e-
mail communications to send to Chicago Tribune reporters

Grade Level/Learner Population/Grouping Arrangements:
8
th
grade

Time:
Five 45-minute lessons

Environment:
Learning will take place in the Upper Library

Materials & Resources
Computers
Smartboard/whiteboard
Tribune newspapers & selected articles
Example e-mails

Instructional Roles:
Librarian will
Tribune reporters will respond to students inquiries

Activity and Procedures for Completion:

Week 1:
Librarian asks students how they go about finding information about current events,
facilitating a discussion about news sources, brainstorming on board
Librarian introduces the project and explains the parameters of the assignment
Students will have the opportunity to explore the sections of the newspaper in groups
Returning to the whole class, the librarian will lead a discussion about the organization of
a newspaper, and students will contribute their findings from looking through the paper
Students will log onto computers in order to investigate the newspapers online interface,
practicing different search methods independently or in pairs
As a class, students will discuss how the two methods of seeking information are
different

Week 2:
Librarian re-caps what the class discussed the previous week
Librarian demonstrates searching for an article on the online interface
Librarian demonstrates searching Tribune archives, accessible through CPL-students
brainstorm how they could use these resources
Librarian leads students in reading an article from the newspaper, modeling active
reading skills for comprehension, and taking notes for questions to ask later
Students select an article to read

Week 3:
Students finish reading their selected articles and write summaries
Students conduct searches on databases/open internet to find related information, increase
background knowledge, learn more about topics in the article
Students begin formulating their e-mails

Week 4:
Students finish their e-mails, sending them to the librarian for evaluation before sending
them to the journalists

Week 5:
Students receive responses and write thank-you e-mails

Modifications/Differentiation:
Students will be in groups to allow for students of different ability levels to help one
another.
Librarian will be available while students are working in groups to provide more
individualized help

Evaluation/Assessment:
Students e-mails will be evaluated by the librarian according to the attached rubric.

Extension/Follow-up:
Students will complete a survey about their experiences with this project, as will the journalists
involved.

Exceptional
3
Satisfactory
2
We need to talk
1
Participation Student actively
participated in all parts
of the project.
Student would
participate when called
upon.
Student did not
participate and/or was
disruptive.
Group Work Group members divided
the work equally, and
everyone contributed to
the project.
Every group member
was involved, though
not necessarily
equally.
The group was
dysfunctional and
required adult
intervention.
Professionalism Students used correct
grammar, polite
language, and correct e-
mail conventions to
create a well-organized
communication.
There may have been
some errors, but the e-
mail was mostly in
keeping with correct
conventions.
Students e-mail was
not ready to send,
containing too many
errors or a lack of
organization/understan
ding.
Summary Students summary of
the chosen article is
clear, concise, and
demonstrates a masterful
understanding of the
article. It is nearly error-
free.
Students summary is
mostly clear, and
demonstrates a general
understanding of the
article. There are few
errors in grammar, etc.
Students summary is
inadequate
demonstrating very
little understanding of
the article and/or is full
of errors.
Questions Students questions
demonstrate an
understanding of the
article, and the ability to
apply situations to their
own lives.
Students questions are
related to the article,
but may have been
vague or lacking in
depth.
Students questions are
unclear or insufficient.
They may be off-topic
or inappropriate.