Fourth grade students are learning how important it is to evaluate a website for authority, currency, purpose, and accuracy before using the site for information. As students begin to search for information on their own they need to realize that while much on the Internet is helpful and useful, many sites can also be misleading, useless or annoying. And nobody is policing the web for accuracy. It is up to the user to determine which sites they can trust for information and which they should not. Students learned how to find the 5 W's: who is the person or organization that is responsible for a site, when was it created or updated, and to determine what is the information by carefully reading the facts on the site, checking the links, and thinking about why the author created the site - to sell, to inform or to persuade? Student's had time to practice on their own using a checklist and will continue to practice and use the 5W's as they search on their own for information on the Internet.
WHO? WHEN? WHY? WHERE? WHAT?
Fourth grade students are learning how important it is to evaluate a website for authority, currency, purpose, and accuracy before using the site for information. As students begin to search for information on their own they need to realize that while much on the Internet is helpful and useful, many sites can also be misleading, useless or annoying. And nobody is policing the web for accuracy. It is up to the user to determine which sites they can trust for information and which they should not. Students learned how to find the 5 W's: who is the person or organization that is responsible for a site, when was it created or updated, and to determine what is the information by carefully reading the facts on the site, checking the links, and thinking about why the author created the site - to sell, to inform or to persuade? Student's had time to practice on their own using a checklist and will continue to practice and use the 5W's as they search on their own for information on the Internet.
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Comparing and contrasting two or more versions of the same story, such as a folktale, and recounting fables and folktales is included in the Common Core standards for reading literature in 2nd grade. Last week second graders learned about how the many variations and versions of folktales came to be told orally and changed over many years. This week students heard a new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears called The Three Bears Halloween by Kathy Duval and then listened to a video of the "classic" story. We discussed the similarities and differences of these tales as a class, and then each student compared and contrasted the stories using a Pixie template. Finally they studied their comparisons and answered the question, "Are the two tales more alike or more different?" For the past few weeks, second grade student's have been learning about the features of nonfiction or "informational" books that help the reader find or understand information. This week they completed a Scavenger Hunt using QR Codes in which they were given 10 QR codes to scan with an iPad app. Each QR code revealed a different text feature, such as the table of contents, glossary, bold words, photos with captions, charts, maps, index or the copyright page and in order to answer the questions students had to understand and use the text feature that was revealed. Third grade classes have begun their first short focused research project for the school year. Pursuant to the Common Core reading and writing standards and the science curriculum, students are reading and taking notes on one planet after first generating a list of questions about the planets. Students are using one book as their anchor resource and supplementing with websites for some more information. As student's completed their research we told them about The Solar Awards! Most Amazing Moons, Weirdest Orbit, Wildest Weather, Spectacular Land Surface or Most Dangerous are some of the categories a planet can win. Each planet group will enter their planet for two awards. They must examine their planet information carefully in order to decide which category to enter, based on which they believe their planet can win. Next they need to back up their choice with evidence, two or three good facts, and write a script for a speech or commercial supporting their planet. Finally, the whole class will vote on each Award. Watch this space for their commercials and for the results of The Solar Awards! We are also reading one of the Monarch nominated titles, Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz to Kindergarten, First and Second grade classes. This is the true story of the author's dogs and the jobs and responsibilities they have on the farm where he lives. It is a wonderful look at several types of dogs, their varying personalities, and the different ways that each dog has found way to help out and be useful. It also allows for opportunities to "make a prediction". |
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December 2021
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AuthorI am the Library Media Center director at Patton School in Arlington Heights where I help students from kindergarten through 5th grade find terrific independent reading for enjoyment and information, and teach students the skills to use information and technology safely and productively and to connect, communicate and share with others. I have four grown children, a large black dog, (flat coat retriever) and a small striped cat. I am an obessive Chicago Cubs fan and I love to run. Patton LMC Summer Reading Blog |