Take a Look!

• Students will determine key words and look for answers using school library databases, books, media, and internet sites.
• When looking at internet sites, students should be aware of things that may determine if a site has good information.
• Students will need to take notes by writing facts using tools such as note cards or note sheets.
• Students will need to plan by thinking about how much time do I have to get facts and be ready to share what I found with others.
• By retelling, students are able to put the facts that they find into their own words .

Look for Answers

Search engines and search tools for kids and teenagers - Decide which search tool is best from Pandia's "Search Tutorial".

A Guide to Library Books: The Dewey Decimal System - Find books accurately on library shelves by understanding the logic of this system.

"Do We” Really Know Dewey? - Elementary-level ThinkQuest

Using the BCPL Kid’s Catalog Guide to using BCPL from home or school via the internet.

Ask Jeeves for Kids – Best Search Engine for Kids

Learning from Web Sites – Grades 1-2 -Here is an activity that gives you a chance to see and learn from Web sites.

Time for Kids - This fun, interactive news site from TIME magazine categorizes current events articles and activities by grade level and includes games, trivia, and a homework helper.

National Geographic Kids – A Parents’ Choice Recommended Winner 2008

Fema for Kids - This visually appealing government site teaches kids how to be prepared for disasters and prevent disaster damage. The site also tells teachers and parents what to do to help children after a disaster. It is appropriate for all ages.

NIEHS Kids’ Pages – National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences The site is appropriate for all ages.

Weekly Reader Kids - Weekly Reader Corporation has been helping students develop learning skills and gain an understanding of their world for more than 100 years.

Ivy’s Search Engine Resources for Kids - Here you will find search forms for the major Internet search engines for kids. Also included are Internet search engine links, links to web guides for kids, some specialized search engine forms and links of interest to kids.

Yahoo! Kids

KidsKonnect – A safe internet gateway for kids

Computers, Keyboarding, and First Grade Students – A first grade teacher shares her successes using computers and educational software to teach keyboarding in her classroom.

Using Technology with Kindergarten Students – A kindergarten teacher shares best practice examples of exciting activities she does using technology to enhance learning in her kindergarten classroom.

Web Poster Wizard - This FREE tool allows educators to create a lesson, worksheet, or class page and immediately publish it online. Teachers can also set up classes and assign projects to students. Students complete the assignments by creating their own online projects or reports. Teachers and students can even add images and links to their pages.

Ask an Expert Sources – experts in K-12 curricular related topics. You must have access to an email account.

Boolify – Using Basic Boolean Search Operators (and, or, not) This lesson will help teach students basic Boolean.  It is important that educators teach students about the use of Boolean to refine web searches.

Hints About Print -  Guided audio lesson on choosing the best print resources.

Evaluate Information

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids K-2 - Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is the educational component of GPO Access, the Government Printing Office’s (GPO) free online service of official Government information from all three branches of the U.S. Government.

Cyberbee - How do I find, evaluate, and cite information from the Web?

KidsClick – a web search for Kids by Librarians

2Learn.ca ‘NetCheck Website Evaluation Tool for Younger Students Grade K-3 - web site evaluation generators

Don’t Buy It: Get Media Smart - a media literacy Web site for young people that encourages users to think critically about media and become smart consumers. Activities on the site are designed to provide users with some of the skills and knowledge needed to question, analyze, interpret and evaluate media messages.

Co-Co’s AdverSmarts: An Interactive Unit on Food Marketing on the Web Ages 5-8

ALA’s Great Web Site for Kids Selection Criteria- How can you tell if a site you find is worthwhile?

Write and Sort Facts

Begin Your Research Process - Elementary tutorial on the research process from Oregon State Library Information System

MLA Elementary Citation Maker - elementary tutorial on the Research Process from Oregon State Library Information System

How to Take Notes: Plagiarism - elementary research process tutorial from the Oregon State Library Information System