Sources and Shortcuts: relevancy, credibility, and efficiency oh my!
The first lesson teaches the idea of Boolean logic in conjunction with finding credible sources online. Most search engines, such as Google and Duck Duck Go, include the feature of narrowing or broadening a search using “AND” and “OR,” respectively. This is an instance where English and computer technology seamlessly flow into each other. The standards supported in this lesson come from the "Research to Build and Present Knowledge” category in writing and “Select and use appropriate technology research tools” standard in computer technology.
The SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To) Objectives for this lesson include: Use search engines effectively, hone searches using Boolean logic, find reliable sources, and critically examine sources.
The SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To) Objectives for this lesson include: Use search engines effectively, hone searches using Boolean logic, find reliable sources, and critically examine sources.
Standards Achieved
English Language Arts: Writing
7.W.RBPK.8 “Use search terms effectively; integrate relevant and credible information from print and digital sources; quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.”
7.W.RBPK.9 “Support interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with evidence found in literature or informational texts, applying grade 7 standards for reading; assess whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.” |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. |
Computer Technology
TN CTS 7.5.2a:
“a. Apply appropriate electronic search strategies in the acquisition of information including keyword and Boolean search strategies.” |
ISTE Standard 3
Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others |
Step 1: EngageDescription of activity: The students will read through the Harvard and Yale “studies” about setting goals and then discuss the paper's validity. The teacher will then reveal that they were both made up and how it was discovered when readers wanted to see the data and how it was done. This may also be an ideal time to discuss some assumptions and biases that mislead many to believe these "studies" (ie. “I believed it due to the reputation of Harvard and Yale” or “I believed it because it supported beliefs I already had about the importance of goal setting. So it was confirming my own opinions.”)
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Higher Order Questioning Prompts:
- What do you think of these pieces?
- What do you notice is similar between these two pieces?
- What do you notice is different between these two pieces?
- Do you think the study is valid? Why or why not?
Resources:
Step 2: Explore
Description of activity: Students will play a game that will help them explore and practice efficient search techniques. Game example: The teacher will give a scenario and ask students to craft a search query that returns an appropriate source as the top result. This can be done using the techniques given or by using precise words. Before you play this, make sure that your examples still work on the new algorithms.
Higher Order Questioning Prompts:
- What type of site might have reliable information?
- Would certain sites be better for different topics? (Example: for a medical paper on lung cancer would a cigarettes company website be a good source? Probably not due to bias)
Resources:
Step 3: Explain
Description of activity: Explain how to strengthen search techniques by using language properly. Some points to hit on include:
- Using quotation marks to get precise words or strings of words. “Coconut Octopus” (will give you those words together) vs Coconut Octopus (which will give you a website that may talk about coconuts and octopuses separately)
- Narrowing your search using AND to require both topics in the resulting websites (Source: https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1158594)
- Note: By default some search browsers will put an invisible AND between each word
- Broadening your search using OR so the results include pieces about both (a practical place for this would be a topic with multiple terms or related ideas: Octopus OR Octopodes)
- Explain stop words (Source: https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1158907). Typically students should leave them out. If they are important than quotation marks should be used around the phrase: “Republic of Congo”
Evaluative Questions:
- When should we use an OR? (to broaden a search)
- When should we use an AND? (to narrow a search)
- What is the effect of stop words? (it bogs down your search with unnecessary terms)
Step 4: Elaborate
Description of activity: Next students will consider the content of the sources themselves. Bring some specific or general examples of sources and discuss their credibility. The class should cover primary sources vs secondary sources and the appeal to authority fallacy in which an authority from a different field comments on this topic despite it not being their expertise. Students should team up and brainstorm examples of these. They should critically examine each of their ideas and ask: Were they a witness to it or are did they learn from another person or source? Are they an expert in that field?
Prompts:
- Would all articles in the news be a primary source? (Nope)
- Would a YouTuber reviewing a new game be a primary or secondary source on why the creators made the game? (Secondary)
- Give some examples of a primary source on the internet
Resources:
A quick introduction to fallacies is linked below
Step 5: Evaluate
Description of activity: Students will use devices (anything that can access the internet), to play a Kahoot game that tests their understanding of primary vs secondary sources. This Kahoot was found already made online. It may beneficial for you to make a more updated one for your classroom.
Evaluative Questions:
- What if the source is a friend of the eye witness? Would that be primary or secondary?
- What if a scientist did not work on a specific project but were in the same lab as the scientist who did. Would that make them a primary or secondary source on information about the project?
Choose the most reliable resource for a reader researching how people train to climb Mount Everest:
F) a newspaper article title "Mount Everest: Hidden Gem of the Himalayas"
G) an eyewitness account for a person who climbed Mount Everest
H) an interview with a person writing a book about mountian climbing
J) an Internet site titled How to Climb a Mountain in Ten -- or a Thousand -- Steps