Collaborative Unit on Digital Citizenship

Building Research Skills

Instructional Problem
Teaching research skills to young children is a difficult task. Allowing students to search
for information on the web can be daunting and make teachers uncomfortable. Teachers worry
that they cant control the content students encounter. Students can be overwhelmed with the
number of search results. The web is full of inaccurate information and inappropriate sites. All of
these reasons are valid points, but can not be used as a reason to avoid teaching young students
how to conduct internet research.
It is important that as educators we prepare our students for research using media that is
current for their times and will most likely be the primary way for gathering information as they
grow. According to Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, there are six main skills to master in
order to become a successful researcher. These are called the Big6. These skills include; task
definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and
evaluation. This unit will focus on the first 3 of the 6.
The teacher of this 5th grade class began a research project early in the year on the topic
of microorganisms and was concerned that her students did not have the skills necessary to be
productive in their research. Several students copied and pasted text from websites into their
presentations and others had difficulty locating any relevant information on their topic. She was
planning another research project on the topic of the civil war, but decided her students needed
specific lessons on research skills before diving into another project. We worked collaboratively
to develop the goals for the unit.
Instructional Goals:
Students will be able to
explain search engines and know where to locate kid friendly search engines
experiment with different keyword searches and refine searches using multiple words,
synonyms, and alternative word phrases
define plagiarism and explain how giving credit is a sign of respect for peoples work
explain the value of giving proper citations

Learner Characteristics
The target audience for this lesson is a class of fifth grade students at East Jackson
Elementary School in Commerce, Georgia. Their ages range from 10 to 11. There are 26 students
in the class. Eight boys and 18 girls. Six students are identified as gifted and an additional 5 are
in the accelerated content segments for math and reading. There are no ESOL students or special
education students in this class, and 8 students receive EIP support. 58% of the class qualify for
free/reduced lunch.
Students in the class are familiar with using devices in the classroom. Their classroom
has 12 laptops, 4 desktop computers, and 1 iPad available for the students daily use. They also
utilize Bring Your Own Technology which allows all students to have a device.

Subject Content
ELA Standards
ELAGSE5W7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge
through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
ELAGSE5W8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from
print and digital sources;summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and
provide a list of sources.
ELAGSE5W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
ELAGSE5RI7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the
ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
AASL Standards
1.1.1 Follow an inquiry based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects,and make the
real world connection for using this process in own life.
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity,
appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media,
digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions,
main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias.
1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.
1.3.1 Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and producers.
1.3.2 Seek divergent perspectives during information gathering and assessment.
1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information.

Instructional Objectives
Essential Questions:
What is a search engine?
What search engine should I use?
What keywords will give me the best results?
How can I show respect for peoples work?
How do I cite different types of online sources?
Students will understand:
the purpose of a search engine
keywords make a difference in online search results
copying the work of others and presenting it as ones own is called plagiarism
there are times in which it is permissible to use the work of others
why citations are important

Students will know:

what a search engine is and how it works
how to use keywords when conducting research
the meaning of plagiarism
how to site different types of online sources
Students will be able to:
explain search engines and know where to locate kid friendly search engines
experiment with different keyword searches and refine searches using multiple words,
synonyms, and alternative word phrases
define plagiarism and explain how giving credit is a sign of respect for peoples work
explain the value of giving proper citations

Content Sequencing
Pretest on Kahoot
Introduction to lesson 1: Search Engines
Watch Google Slides presentation
Work with a partner to design a poster explaining a specific vocabulary word
Share work
Watch videos: How Search Works and Ruff Ruffman: How Search Engines Work
Padlet Post commenting on new ideas learned from videos
Explore 4 different kid friendly search engines
Introduction to lesson 2 : Using Keywords
BrainPop Video Internet Search
BrainPop quiz
Search Shark online activity
Complete Keywords Activity form
Discuss similarities and differences in search results from keywords activity
Introduction to lesson 3: Plagiarism
Brainstorm times students are creators
Answer plagiarism question 1 (Google form)
BrainPop video Plagiarism
Answer plagiarism question 2 (Google form)
Discussion and view infographic on ways to avoid plagiarism

Instructional Strategies
Review check prior knowledge
Link new information to prior knowledge
Cooperative learning
Technology tools
Reflective activities
Provide examples to help transfer learning
Check for understanding
Discussion to deeper understanding

Designing the Message

The message will be delivered using a variety of visual aides, multimedia and interactive
activities to engage the learner such as:

Kahoot
videos
poster creation
collaboration and discussion with partner
posting on a Padlet wall
interactive keywords game on BrainPop
interactive quiz with immediate feedback on BrainPop
keywords activity
Google form questions and quiz

Evaluation
The students will participate in a pre-assessment on Kahoot.
Lesson 1: Poster creation to define vocabulary word and paddle post describing a new idea
learned
Lesson 2: BrainPop Quiz
Lesson 3: Responding to questions on Google forms
End of unit Google form assessment

Resources
Device for each student
Building Research Skills website
pencils
paper
Keywords Activity form for each student
headphones for each student
School BrainPop account access

Ongoing Process
Planning
Revising
Evaluation
Management