Olliff 1

Information Literacy Lesson Plan

Jessica Olliff

FRIT 7136
Dr. Judi Repman
Fall 2010

Pathfinder URL
www.researchpathfinder.weebly.com
 Olliff 1

Title of Back it up! Grade 5th Grade

Lesson Level
Curriculum Language Arts Time 3 45 minute class periods
Area Frame
Overvie
w of
Back it
up!
Unit
This unit is
designed for a
5th grade
Language Arts
class. The
students are
working on
persuasive
writing in
their class
right now,
which presents
the perfect
opportunity
for them to
learn and
practice
performing
online
research. Most
of the fifth
grade students
at our school
have had very
little open
exposure to
the internet at
school (mostly
online
educational
sites and
Accelerated
Reader – NOT
internet – are
used at our
 Olliff 1

school). They
have very
little
knowledge of
how to go
about finding
information
on a computer
by themselves.
The classroom
teacher and
myself have
decided to
give them the
chance to
research and
back up their
persuasive
writings with
their findings
on the
internet. Our
school is
really pushing
for use of
Nettrekker, so
students will
be taught how
to use this
resource, as
well as
Galileo.

Because
Chatham
County
implements
district-wide
uniforms, we
chose this as
the topic for
the students to
focus on. The
class was
divided in half
(11 and 11),
and told which
side they were
to be
“arguing” –
 Olliff 1

either for
uniforms or
against.
(individual
opinion did
not matter.)
Stage 1
–
Desired
Results
Content
Standards:
Information
Literacy
Standards for
Lesson:
2.2.1
Demonstrate
flexibility in the
use of resources
by adapting
information
strategies to each
specific resource
and by seeking
additional
resources when
clear conclusions
cannot be drawn.
3.1.1 Conclude
an inquiry-based
research process
by sharing new
understandings
and reflecting on
the learning.
3.1.3 Use writing
and speaking
skills to
communicate
new
understandings
effectively.
1.1.8
Demonstrate
mastery of
technology tools
for accessing
information and
pursuing inquiry.
1.1.1 Follow an
inquiry-based
process in
 Olliff 1

seeking
knowledge in
curricular
subjects, and
make the real-
world connection
for using this
process in own
life.

5th Grade
GPS
Standards for
Unit:
ELA5LSV2
The student
listens to and
views various
forms of text
and media in
1. ord
er
to
gat
her
and
sha
re
info
rm
atio
n,
per
sua
de
oth
ers,
and
exp
ress
and
und
erst
and
ide
as.
2.
3. Wh
en
resp
ond
ing
to
visu
al
and
oral
text
s
 Olliff 1

and
med
ia
(e.g
.,
tele
visi
on,
radi
o,
film
4. pro
duct
ions
,
and
elec
tron
ic
med
ia),
the
stud
ent:
5.

6. a.
De
mo
nstr
ates
an
awa
rene
ss
of
the
pres
enc
e of
the
med
ia in
the
dail
y
live
s of
7. mos
t
peo
ple.
8. b.
Eva
luat
es
the
role
of
 Olliff 1

the
med
ia in
foc
usin
g
atte
ntio
n
and
in
for
min
g an
9. opi
nio
n.
10. c.
Jud
ges
the
exte
nt
to
whi
ch
med
ia
pro
vide
a
sour
ce
of
ente
rtai
nme
nt
as
well
11. as a
sour
ce
of
info
rma
tion
.

ELA5W3 The
student uses
research and
technology to
support writing.
The student:
a. Ackn
owle
dges
infor
 Olliff 1

mati
on
from
sourc
es.

ELA5W2 The
student
demonstrates
competence in a
variety of
genres.
The student
produces a
persuasive essay
that:
a.
Engages the
reader by
establishing a
context, creating
a speaker’s voice,
and
otherwi
se developing
reader interest.
b. States a
clear position in
support of a
proposal.
c.
Supports a
position with
relevant
evidence.
12.
Big Idea from
Lesson: Use
research from
the internet to
back up
persuasive
arguments.
Core Tasks
from Lesson:
Find articles
and facts on the
internet
relevant to your
own argument.

Lesson
Understa
ndings
Students will
 Olliff 1

understand
that:
● The
interne
t is a
valuabl
e
resourc
e that
offers
endless
inform
ation.
● Inform
ation
and
resourc
es
found
on the
interne
t can
be
used to
suppor
t
persua
sive
writing
.
● There
are
several
ways
to
conduc
t
researc
h on
the
interne
t.

Related
Misconceptio
ns:
● There
is one
answer
to
 Olliff 1

every
questio
n on
the
interne
t.

Lesson
Essential
Questions

Overarching
Question:

Why is
knowing how
to use the
internet to
conduct
research an
important life
skill?

How can
research found
on the internet
help to
support
arguments in
our writing?

Lesson
Knowledg
e and
Skills
Knowledg
e
Students will
know:
● That
they
can use
the
 Olliff 1

interne
t to
conduc
t
researc
h
relevan
t to
their
writing
.
● That
there
are
several
differe
nt
search
engine
s
availab
le.
● That not
all sources
offer the
same
informatio
n.
Olliff 1
 Olliff 1

Lesson
Materials
and
Equipmen
t
● LCD
Project
or
● Access
to
Nettre
kker.
● Compu
ter lab
with at
least
22
compu
ters.
● Studen
t
writing
materi
als.
● Access
to
Galileo
.
● Compu
ter lab
 Olliff 1

promet
hean
board.
● Pick
the
Right
Source
s
Activit
y

Lesson
Procedure
s/Activitie
s
Day 1:

MS will come
in to the
regular
classroom as
students are
beginning
their
persuasive
writing
assignment.
The MS will
read two
persuasive
papers; one
with personal
opinions on
why outdoor
recess is
important
during the
school day (as
if convincing
teacher or
principal to
continue
outdoor
recess), and
this one with
research
supporting the
opinion that
outdoor recess
 Olliff 1

is important.
The class will
listen to each
and discuss
which one is
more
influential to
the audience,
and what
makes it that
way. The MS
will list some
of the
students’
points on the
board about
why the paper
that included
research was
better for
making an
argument.

Next, the MS
will ask what
places on the
internet
students can
go to find
information.
Their answers
will be
recorded on
the board.
(expected
answers:
Google,
Yahoo,
Bing….maybe
a couple
others).
Students will
be asked if
they have ever
heard of or
used
Nettrekker.
On the LCD
projector,
students will
 Olliff 1

watch the
Nettrekker
“key word
search”
tutorial video,
the “advanced
search”
tutorial video,
and the
“understandin
g search
results”
tutorial video.

The MS will
call on
students to
come to the
front and help
“demonstrate”
using
Nettrekker as
a search
device to find
different
articles on
topics. The
MS will show
students how
the first few
results are
usually the
best, and how
some results
really are not
relevant for
what is
needed.

MS will share
the pathfinder
resource page
at
www.research
pathfinder.wee
bly.com .
Each student
will be given
their
Nettrekker
 Olliff 1

username and
password. For
homework/ass
essment,
students will
be told to visit
Nettrekker,
find one
article that
interests them,
and write a
brief summary
and the link of
the article to
share with the
class the next
day. (if no
internet access
is available at
home, the MS
and teacher
will
collaborate to
find a time
either later
during this
day or the next
morning for
the child to
visit the
Media Center
to complete
this
assignment.)

Day 2:

MS will go
over the
students’
homework
assessments to
see what the
students found
using
NetTrekker.
Students will
discuss their
findings. Class
will do a
 Olliff 1

quick
“refresher” on
what was
learned
yesterday, by
logging into
NetTrekker
and
performing a
search.

MS will ask
students if
they have ever
heard of or
used Galileo.
MS will
explain the
similarities
between
Galileo and
NetTrekker,
and the
differences.
On the LCD
projector, MS
will pull up
the Galileo
site and
demonstrate
how to sign
on. (from
school
computers, it
is an
automatic
sign-in). MS
will walk the
students
through the
Galileo
tutorial
powerpoint
found here
(or, if that
doesn’t work,
found here).

Now that the

class has
 Olliff 1

practiced
using both
NetTrekker
and Galileo,
we will work
on our
weeding
abilities. The
MS will
demonstrate
how to look
through search
results to
identify
relevant and
irrelevant
resources.
Students will
then complete
the “Pick the
Right
Sources”
activity.

Day 3:

This lesson
will be taught
in the
computer lab.
The class will
review what
we have
learned about
using
NetTrekker
and Galileo.
Before we get
started
conducting
our research
for the day,
the students
will write
down 5 points
that they
remember
about how to
use the two
sites, and how
 Olliff 1

to choose
resources once
they are on
them.
Once this is
completed, the
MS will
quickly show
the students
(using the
Promethean
board in the
computer lab)
how to set up
their own
Delicious
account, so
that they can
save their
findings and
retrieve them
from another
location, since
much of this
paper writing
will be done
in the
classroom or
at home.

Students will
begin using
the two search
engines to
conduct their
research,
saving their
favorite
findings in
their Delicious
tab. They will
be reminded
that they need
to reference at
least two
articles in
their writing
assignment.
At the end of
their computer
 Olliff 1

lab research
time, students
will write a
paragraph
briefly
describing
their “research
experience”,
highlighting
which search
engine they
preferred, how
good they felt
like they were
at finding
results, what
they liked
about the
engines and
what they did
not like, etc.

Lesson
Assessme
nts
1. Night 1
homework –
assesses
whether
students are
able to use the
NetTrekker
resource on
their own to
find
information,
and record
where they
found the
information.

2. Pick the
Right
Sources – this
will assess
how well the
students are
able to
evaluate
 Olliff 1

resources for
their purpose.

3. List 5
things
activity – this
will assess
whether
students have
retained
information
learned over
the past
lessons.

4. Describe
your research
experience –
this will allow
students to
self assess
what they
liked, didn’t
like, were
comfortable
with, and
uncomfortable
with in their
research.

4. The final
product! –
Persuasive
papers will be
assessed to see
if students
included
research
findings in
their papers to
help back up
their point. In
the rubric that
the classroom
teacher used
to assess their
writings, there
was one area
worth 20
points based
 Olliff 1

on their use of
research
findings in
their paper.
They had to
reference at
least two
different
articles in
their paper to
earn these
points. Of the
22 students,
18 of them got
the whole 20
points in this
section.
(yay!!), and
the other 4
students got
15 points, for
only correctly
referencing
one article in
their writing.

Reflection
This was a
challenge!!
When I first
read the
assignment, I
was thinking
“piece of
cake! I can
write a lesson
plan in my
sleep..”. But
this was way
different – I
started about 6
different
lesson plan
ideas before
sticking with
this one, it
was tough to
come up with
an information
 Olliff 1

literacy unit
for elementary
students where
they could
actually be
interactive,
not to mention
that I could
assess! (I’m
sure there are
dozens more
ideas, my
mind just
wasn’t
thinking of
them.) Our
school/district
really is trying
to enforce the
use of
Nettrekker, so
I decided to go
with that. I
immediately
decided to go
with 5th grade,
since they are
the most
capable of
internet use
out of the
elementary
grades.
Luckily, one
of the fifth
grade teachers
here was
happy to have
me come on
board to help
out with their
persuasive
writing lesson.
And so began
the journey…

Let me just
say that these
plans were
initially to be
 Olliff 1

3 30 minute
lessons (so
that I would
not have to
take up my
entire
planning
period for 3
days to teach
them), but,
after the first
day I realized
I needed to go
in and change
that to 45. The
lessons could
have been an
hour if I had
had the time.
Basically,
doing each of
these things
took a
whiiiiile…in a
good way
though, I felt
as if the
questions and
problems that
arose were out
of true interest
and need to be
thorough, not
confusion. We
ended up
spending
some of time
each day just
sort of
“playing
around”
together on
these sites, so
that the kids
could become
familiar with
them. Teacher
me wants to
say that this is
wasted time –
 Olliff 1

get back to the

lesson! But
MS me knows
better, the
time the
students spend
familiarizing
themselves
with these
sites was one
of the most
valuable parts
of the lesson.
The students
were very
excited and
eager to learn
about places
they could use
on the internet
- gasp -
without adult
supervision! I
mean, they
really acted
like I was
giving them a
gift when I
showed them
how there was
a tab just for
elementary
students, and
that was “their
space” they
could use
freely.

I found that
the kids really
enjoyed using
NetTrekker
the best out of
the two
engines (I
think they
really enjoyed
the “read
aloud”
feature) – it
 Olliff 1

seemed to be
more kid
friendly. They
LOVED
delicious, and
have since
told me how
much they’ve
been using it
at home.

I really
enjoyed
collaborating
with the fifth
grade teacher
on this
assignment. It
felt odd
writing this
lesson plan,
because again,
teacher me is
just geared to
focus on the
writing
instruction
part of this. I
had to keep
reminding
myself that
this time it
was not MY
job to make
sure they were
capitalizing
and
punctuating
and
referencing,
etc. Once I
was able to
remind myself
(a lot) that I
was not
responsible
for this part of
it, I actually
kind of
enjoyed
 Olliff 1

relinquishing
those areas to
the teacher
and being able
to take care of
the “fun part”
of the lesson. I
felt like I was
in there to
really help
enrich their
lesson, which
was a good
feeling.
Obviously the
students could
have written
persuasive
papers without
using
NetTrekker or
Galileo, but
integrating
these things
into their
papers really
raised their
level of
interest in
their writings,
and
subsequently
improved their
writings.

Overall I
would say the
unit was a
success! The
students
enjoyed it, I
learned a lot,
and the
teacher
expressed to
me how much
she enjoyed
my help with
them, and how
effectively
 Olliff 1

they were able

to use what
they learned in
their papers.
The main
thing I am
taking away
from this –
and I should
have known
better – is that
like any
classroom
lesson,
teaching
information
literacy takes
TIME. I wish
I had had
more time to
spend with
these students
on this unit,
but with how
things worked
out, I was not.
Next time I
will plan
accordingly.
Olliff 1
 Olliff 1

Pick the Right Sources Activity

Name: __________________________ Date:_____________________

I am writing a paper on immigration to America and have conducted some research to use. This is the first page
of search results that I got. Which of these resources would be useful to me and which would not?

1. Michigan State University: LETSNet: Immigration Explorations

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/letsnet/noframes/ ... cts/ss/b6pop2.html

Students will take a virtual tour of the Ellis Island Museum and peruse some other websites in this fun
activity. From the information they obtain, they will conduct group discussions and record their findings in
chart form.

USEFUL NOT USEFUL

2. Coming to America: Immigrant Voices (Thinkquest)

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212700/final_website/?tqskip1=1
This Thinkquest site includes actual interviews with immigrants. They tell their stories and share their
immigration experiences. Also included in the site are immigration laws, immigration history, recipes, and
more.

USEFUL NOT USEFUL

3. Celebrating César Chavez

http://celebratingcesarchavez.homestead.com/index.html
Learn about the hispanic leader César Chavez by discovering the many valuable links and resources
Señora S. has gathered together. Here you will find music,learning activities and standards in both English
and Spanish. Most of the lesson plans are for 3-6 grade levels.

USEFUL NOT USEFUL

4. NYC 100: Immigrant Stories and Information

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/nyc100/html/imm_stories/index.html
Read immigration stories of families enduring the hardships to start a new life in America. The site
contains stories as well as links to immigrant resources.

USEFUL NOT USEFUL