21st Century Research: Kindergarten through 8th Grade

This is a K-8 scope and sequence for Research that incorporates the National Educational Technology Standards developed by the International Society for Technology in Education. The goal is to model research skills so that young students become independent lifelong learners with the skills to find authoritative resources -- whether traditional nonfiction books and print encyclopedias or Internet sites, databases, etc.

Please see the unit link below. The unit is set up as a Google site, that includes pages on:
* K-4 Research, which has students develop a K-W-L to guide their inquiry
* 5-6 Research, which has students develop Before Reading/After Reading questions to guide their inquiry (or K-W-L).
* 7-8 Research, which has student develop a concept map, Before Reading/After Reading Questions or a K-W-L to guide their inquiry.

Each above page includes examples and products (Google Presentation, Google Documents, etc.) to guide students and teachers through the research process.

Also included are pages with:
* Myriad browsers and search engines
* Custom searches
* Webquests
* Hoax and spoofs
* Resources for research and the writing process
* Web evaluation tools

The timetable below outlines the Research process for K-4 students.

Day 1: Teacher introduces concept of Research and Information Fluency by sharing essential questions and explaining standards for the unit by showing students NETS and first page of Research Google Site, sharing ideas presented and YouTube video. Teacher gives overview of project. Students create “Real, True Me’ Google Drawing to reflect on what it means to be a 21st century learner.
Day 2: Teacher models creating K-W-L, concept map, or “Before Reading/After Reading Questions” for research project.Students work in pairs to create K-W-Ls or another plan to guide their inquiry.
Day 3: Teacher models finding purpose from whole-group K-W-L, or other plan to guide their inquiry. Students work in teams to find their purpose.
Day 4: Teacher introduces sources for unit. Models using index, Table of Contents, keywords. Has students practice using resources.
Day 5: Teacher models using R-E-A-L on several sites in webquest. Students work in pairs to evaluate remaining webquest sites using this method.(7-8 students practice using evaluation tool).
Day 6: Teacher models taking notes with Google Presentation (See K-4 Research, 5-6 Research). Days 7-12: Students work independently to take notes as teacher observes and provides necessary scaffolding.
Day 13: Students share Google Presentations with other members of the class and teachers for feedback. Day 14: Students use feedback to revise notecards.
Day 15: Teacher models synthesizing information from Google Presentation to Google Docs. Day 15-18: Students synthesize information into Google Doc and share with other students, teachers, parents and experts.
Day 18-21: Students plan web 2.0 project using feedback to make their final revisions.
Day 22: Presentations (K-4 example, 5-6 example, 7-8 example). Day 23: Students reflect on learning by revisiting K-W-L and/or web 2.0 technology. (Teacher example)

Please see unit -- link below.