Title III Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

OVERVIEW

This unit was developed from a book entitled, The Mysteries of Research by Sharron Cohen, ISBN 0-917846-76-1. This book is filled with mysteries students can solve by using a variety of resources found in the Library Media Center. These sources can range from print to electronic and from an encyclopedia to the Internet. I designed this unit for sixth graders whom I have one period everyday for ten weeks. The unit is used to reinforce the student's prior knowledge on how to access and use a variety of sources for research. The culminating activity is the actual learning experiences. One could also have the learning experiences be the actual teaching instruction on how to use various research materials and then have the culminating activity be the solving of the research mysteries. A different mystery is given to each student in the class. This way all students are working independently at their ability level.

The students have to read a mystery and then determine which information they will have to research. Some of the information in the mysteries is incorrect. The students are to make this determination so they can eventually solve the mystery. This thought process is a skill that students sometimes have a difficult time developing. Once the students have determined what to research then they have to decide which source(s) to use to find the information. When those steps have been taken, students sometimes feel as if they have no use for this information. This unit helps them make the connection between logical thought and research in order to solve a given problem.

This book, The Mysteries of Research, (or one like it) is needed if you want ready-to-use materials for this unit. If you are creative, it would be fun to create your own research mystery.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS

(List Standard # and Key Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicators or Benchmarks.)

ELA Standard #1 – Language for Information and Understanding.

*Students will gather and interpret information from children’s printed sources and electronic sources.

*Students will select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another.

*Students will use strategies they have been taught for note taking, organizing and categorizing information.

*Students will present information clearly both orally and in writing.

(Connected to Learning Standard MST #2 but not assessed.)

INITIATING ACTIVITY

This unit will begin by having the students taking on the role of a Detective Recruit. Their assignment will begin by having them listen to The Secret of Old Zeb by Carmen Agra Deedy, ISBN 1-56145-115-0. While listening to the story, they will listen for people, places, things, events, dates, and words for which they do not know the meaning. A discussion will take place after the story when, at this time, all things that they were asked to listen for will be written on the board.

Take some time to quickly review when one would use an atlas, encyclopedia, almanac, etc. – just to make sure everyone is going in the right direction.

Using the information on the board, they will have to decide what information would be found in an atlas, almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia, etc. To organize this information they will fill out a graphic organizer (see Sample A). When this is completed, discuss their decisions and also discuss if their answer isn’t found in one place, where else might they look? Example – Mount Kilimanjaro can be found in an atlas, almanac, encyclopedia, Internet.

The students are assigned one piece of information to look up in a source, be it print or electronic. When finished, discuss their findings.

Now we are ready to continue on.

CULMINATING PERFORMANCE

(Include rubrics, checklists, etc.)

The students, working independently, will take on the role of a detective and set out to solve a research crime. They will have to use their prior knowledge in order to access and use different research sources needed to solve their crime case. Students will be given explicit written and verbal instructions at the beginning of the unit as to the steps they are to take in order to successfully complete the unit. Forms to be used during the unit will be handed out at the beginning and throughout the unit when needed. Rubrics will be handed out at the beginning so students will know exactly what is expected of them. They will also get daily feed back, verbal and written, from the instructor, also known as the Senior Detective, to keep them on track throughout the unit.  

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

(In chronological order including acquisition experiences and extending/refining

experiences for all stated declarative and procedural knowledge.)

Day 1- Day 2 - Initiating Activity / When doing research, one must build on prior knowledge in order to access and use needed information. This unit will prove their research knowledge as they take on the role of a Detective and set out to solve a case. As Recruit Detectives, they will engage in the initiating activity – a review of the sources and introduction to the forms they will be using in the unit.

Day 3 – The initiating activity is completed and the recruits have all been promoted to Detectives and assigned their first case. The detectives are given a manila folder which will contain all their important papers they will gather as they work on their case. This folder will also help them keep their research organized. The folders will be kept at the "station", the Library Media Center, and new instructions, forms, comment sheets, etc. can be add by the "Senior Detective" (teacher). This way the detectives are ready to get to work at the beginning of class and kept on track.

One of the first papers found in their folders is a memorandum giving specific directions for them to follow in order to solve their case (dates due, rubrics, etc.). This memorandum is read together so as to answer any questions. Next, in their folder is a description of a crime, a problem, and suspect information. Their job today is to read through the whole case. This is to be done carefully so one can get some general information about the crime committed and some information about the suspects.

Now that they have read the case, they are to go back and reread it and this time underline, in pencil, everything they feel should be investigated.

DAY 4 – Today, in their folders they will find a graphic organizer, like the one they used in the initiating activity. They will take the information that will be investigated and put it under the source where the information will be found (atlas, encyclopedia, etc.). A comment sheet will also be in the folder with suggestions, questions, etc. from the Senior Detective.

One other organizer will be in the folder; this is their investigating notebook (see Sample B). They will keep notes, sources where they found answers, if the source was in print or electronic. Yes! Their answers will also go in the notebook.

Folders handed out, organizers discussed, questions answered, it’s time to start to working on the cases.

DAY 5 – Day 15 – The detectives will continue working on their cases during this period. The Senior Detective will fill in the comment sheets daily and individual discussions with different students will take place daily (2-4 students a day).

Obstacles are also placed along the way – the computers will be down on certain days or the Library Media Center may be closed on other days – this helps in making sure they use a variety of sources both print and electronic.

When the detectives are getting close to solving their cases, a Detective’s Report Sheet, available in The Mysteries of Research, will be handed out. Here is where they will write their results of who is guilty and who is innocent and the reasons for their decisions on the suspects guilt or innocence. They will also include on the Detective’s Report Sheet how the crime was committed, why the crime was committed, and if something was stolen and where it can be found.

PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

Students must have prior knowledge of how to use a print and electronic versions of an atlas, almanac, encyclopedia, and dictionary. They also must now how to use the Internet and how to access books from the general circulation collection.

MODIFICATIONS/ADAPTIONS

This unit can be adapted for students at any learning level. Students with disabilities will receive modifications as per their IEP’s. Students with learning disabilities will be given an easier research mystery to solve, provided in book entitled The Mysteries of Research. They will also be given additional assistance, when needed, by the library staff so they can complete this unit. With these modifications, the unit goals, which they can refer to in the rubrics, will remain the same for all student.

UNIT SCHEDULE/TIME PLAN

This unit is a three - four week unit with daily activities. I anticipate using this with sixth graders during their Library Media class. The sixth graders have a scheduled 43 minute Library Media class everyday for 10 weeks. Half of the class is in the Library Media Center every other day while the other half of the class is in the computer lab. This unit would take longer if you are introducing how to actually use the different sources and then doing this unit as the culminating activity.

TECHNOLOGY USE

The technology that is used in this unit is as follows:

• Internet
• CD-ROM’s – encyclopedia, atlas, dictionary, etc.
• Electronic Card Catalog

Students will have to be able to access and use the electronic sources prior to doing this unit.

BIBLIOGRAGHY

Academic American Encyclopedia. Connecticut: Grolier Inc., 1993.

Cohen, Sharron. The Mysteries of Research. Wisconsin: Alleyside Press, 1996.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Secret of Old Zeb. Georgia: Peachtree Publishers, Ltd., 1997.

Grolier Online. <http://www.go.grolier.com.> 1999.

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Connecticut: Grolier Education Corp., 1996.

MapQuest. < http://www.mapquest.com.> 1999.

PC Globe Maps ‘N’ Facts. CD-ROM. California: Broderbound, 1994.

Portrait World Atlas. Illinois: Rand McNally and Company, 1998.

Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988.

WWWebster Dictionary-Search. <http://www.m-w.com/dicitonary.> 1999.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New Jersey: Primedia Company, 1999.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts. <http://www.almanac.webdata.com.> 1999.

The World Book Encyclopedia. Illinois: World Book, Inc. 1991.

SAMPLE A

ALMANAC / PRINT OR ELECTRONIC

•  
• ATLAS / PRINT OR ELECTRONIC
•  
• DICTIONARY / PRINT OR ELECTRONIC
•  
• ENCYCLOPEDIA / PRINT OR ELECTRONIC
•  
• GENERAL CIRCULATION
•  
• INTERNET 
•  
•  

SAMPLE B

INVESTIGATING NOTEBOOK

INVESTIGATE:

SOURCE:

PRINT OR ELECTRONIC (circle one):

FOUND OR NOT FOUND (circle one):

ANSWER:

________________________________________________________________________

INVESTIGATE:  

SOURCE:

PRINT OR ELECTRONIC (circle one)

FOUND OR NOT FOUND (circle one)

ANSWER:

________________________________________________________________________

INVESTIGATE:

SOURCE:

PRINT OR ELECTRONIC (circle one)

FOUND OR NOT FOUND (circle one)

ANSWER:

________________________________________________________________________

INVESTIGATE:

SOURCE:

PRINT OR ELECTRONIC (circle one)

FOUND OR NOT FOUND (circle one)

ANSWER:

SAMPLE C

TO:

FROM: Senior Detective –

DATE:

COMMENT:

_______________________________________________________________________

TO:

FROM: Senior Detective –

DATE:

COMMENT:

________________________________________________________________________

TO:

FROM: Senior Detective –

DATE:

COMMENT:

________________________________________________________________________

TO:

FROM: Senior Detective –

DATE:

COMMENT:

________________________________________________________________________

TO:

FROM: Senior Detective –

DATE:

COMMENT:

  Learning Unit Design - New Hartford Central School - used with permission.

  Learning Unit Design - New Hartford Central School - used with permission.

SCORING SHEET

30-32 POINTS = A "TOP DETECTIVE"

24-29 POINTS = B

23-18 POINTS = C

10-17 POINTS = D

0-9 POINTS = F