Secondary Library Media (6-12)
Lesson Plans

Strand 5:

Engaging with and extracting information.

Standard 1

Engage with information by reading, listening, and viewing sources in a variety of formats.

• "Just the Facts, Ma'am": Evaluating Sources
  

  In the Library Learning Center, students will learn searching strategies to find valid and relevant articles in EBSCO, Gale and Google Scholar.

  • Using the 5 Ws of website evaluation (Who, What, When, Where and Why), students will evaluate 7 websites and complete a Website Evaluation graphic organizer.
  • Students will be given 8 resources about a common current event topic (in our case, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union), and are required to evaluate and rank the websites according to credibility and write a short defense of the ranking. (The sources used are from Wikipedia, EBSCO, Google Scholar, Gale, Newspapers, Blog Posts).

  Note: This assignment is part of a weekly exercise done every Friday in an AP class.

• Gale Reference Introduction
  This is the first lesson in a series of two introducing the Gale Reference Library The library teacher will explain the rationale for using online databases. Students will explore the data base and answer questions on the handout.
• Puzzles, not Pieces: Using Sources (Day 5 of 5)
  This is Day Four of a Five­ Day unit teaching students strong research skills for a "white paper" style research paper (can be modified for any pro­con research assignment). For the purpose of this assignment, the white paper is an argumentative piece which introduces a problem and argues a solution to that problem.

  In this team­ taught lesson, students will learn how to incorporate sources in their paper. Focus will be on treating previous discussion of their topic as a "conversation" they are taking part in.

• Rules of the Game Print vs Digital
  Students are to compare the rules of the game between what is online and in print. Students will use the World Book Encyclopedia in Utah's Online Library and the print materials that the library has on sports.
• Using Gale Reference to Analyze Opposing Claims
  This is the second lesson in a series of two introducing the Gale Reference Library. Students will browse the Opposing Viewpoints in Context on Gale Reference Library. After choosing a debatable topic, students will read the overview to summarize the argument and identify opposing claims. Next, students will choose two resources (one representing each side of the debate) and evaluate the claim and argument for each resource.

---

http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Davina  Sauthoff and see the Library Media website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.