Activities

1. Identify sources that you may use for research and tell what information you would find in each.
   
   
2. Determine where you would look to find information about each topic given.

3. Compare two given sources and determine which is a better research source and why.
   
   
4. Organize your research findings logically, using a graphic organizer, outline, or other method.

5. Assess your research sources to determine if they are reliable.
   
   
6. Investigate a topic and draw conclusions to create new ideas or to inform further research.

Answer Key/Rubric

1. The student will identify sources that may be used during research, and will tell what sort of information may be found in each. Acceptable answers may include, but are not limited to:
   
   
   1. Newspapers – facts and opinions about local topics
   2. Magazines – facts or opinions about topics in a specific genre.
   3. Almanac – facts and statistics about a variety of topics
   4. Encyclopedia – in depth information on a single topic

     Note: “the internet” is not an acceptable answer. The student may give specific examples of online versions of
     the above examples, which would be acceptable (e.g. Encyclopedia.com), but, due to the wide variety of types
     of information available online, for this exercise, they should provide answers about the types of publications
     available online.

2. The student will, for a given list of topics, determine a reasonable place to look for information. Student answers should be specific. “The internet” would not be acceptable, although the name of a website related to the topic would be. The student may also supply offline answers, and should strive to be specific here as well. For example, “a magazine” would not be acceptable, but the title of a specific, related magazine would be.

3. The student will compare two possible research sources and determine which is better. You may wish to have them find the sources for a given topic and then compare them, or you may wish to give the students the sources to compare. Look for evidence that the student can determine if the source is reliable and if it is robust enough to provide good information.

4. The student will organize their research in a logical manner, using a graphic organizer, outline, or other method. Look for the student to separate their findings out by subject, sub-heading, or another method that allows the research to be usable, whether for informing future research, writing a research paper, or creating a project or presentation.

5. The student will assess the sources he/she intends to use for the research to determine if they are reliable. The student should look at the sponsor of the material, the author or editor, and the bias of the information provided. Look for the student to understand that sponsored material may inherently contain bias, that reputable sources are more likely to contain good information, and that this information may not be clearly posted. In particular, students should show a good understanding that information found on the internet may not be as reliable as it appears at first look, and should be able to critically assess the merit of the information presented on a website.

6. The student will use reliable sources to obtain information or conduct research on a topic. He/she will draw conclusions from the research to create new ideas based on what he/she learns or to inform further research. Look for the student to select appropriate information from his/her sources, discriminating between important facts and additional details that may not add anything to the conversation about the topic.