February 18, 2011

Evaluation - Step 6 of the Big6

6_evaluation Congratulations!  You and your team have made it to the sixth and final step of the Big6.  You have completed your project and worked through each step of the Big6 research model.  Before you present your project you will want to make sure that you have fulfilled all the criteria and aspects of the Global Awareness & Technology Project to create a piece of work that your team can take pride in.

  •  Evaluation Steps
    1. Judge the Product - is our project effective? 
      • Did we take notes?
      • Did we date our notes and cite the sources used every time we worked on our project?
      • Did we make a presentation from our research?
      • Can others understand what we are trying to say?
    2. Judge the Process - was your team efficient in answering your research question?
      • Did I/we cover the goals of the Global Awareness & Technology Project?
      • Did I/we do the best job we could?
      • Where could I/we have done better - think about the Big6 steps - how and why?
      • How am I/we better researchers than before I/we began?
      • If I/we had to do this project again, what would I/we do differently?
    3. Global Awareness Technology Project Rubric - Download GATP Rubric 3_9_2010 & Download Kid_friendly_GATP_Rubric - these rubrics cover the rules or standards used to evaluate your performance. Take a look at them and then compare them to your presentation to make sure your team has covered all the elements of the GATP rubric.

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Synthesis - Step 5 of the Big6

5_synthesis Are you ready to get creative?  Step 5 of the Big6 is called Synthesis and this is the culminating step where your team will pull together to organize your research and produce a project that reflects how you answered the questions you set for yourself.  You will need:

  • Research Notes - templates and graphic organizers.
  • Images, Sound files, Videos - and any other materials gathered to illustrate and explain your global awareness research project. 
  • Citations - for all the online and print materials you consulted during your research along with citations for all images, sounds, and video you have gathered.

Presentation Templates & Graphic Organizers

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Use of Information - Step 4: Copyright-Friendly Resources

4_useofinfo  Lights, Action, Camera!  Braddock Eagles in the 5th grade have been working hard gathering facts and information to answer their research questions for the Global Awareness & Technology Project.  This is the where you get to pull all your resources together.  Take a look at some of these copyright friendly sites to look for great images, clip art, and even sound files to help bring your research to life in your global awareness projects.  Remember to cite all sources, including images to add to your presentation.

  • EduPic- images are free for use by educational professionals and the students they serve.
  • Enchanted Learning
  • FCPS Databases - images may be used from the encyclopedias and sites with proper citation.
  • Flickr Creative Commons - browse and search content under several types of licenses.
  • FreeFoto -  largest collection of free photographs on the Internet.   If you use an image from this page, a credit to "(c) Iain Britton-FreeFoto.com" is required.
  • FreeMusic - search by keyword including the mood of the music.
  • Internet Picture Dictionary
  • Jamendo  - free and legal music downloads. *Greatwall
  • KidsClick - web search for kids by librarians.
  • Kid's Image Search Tools
  • Kids Sound Search Tools
  • National Geographic Kids
  • National Geographic Music
  • Neferchichi.com- clip art and fonts are free for personal or school use only.  Use only the identified clip art images at the bottom of each clip art page. 
  • New York Public Library: Digital Images- free images to use from the New York Public Library's huge collection.  Includes manuscripts, maps, photographs, prints, and more!
  • PD Clipart - large collection of public domain clipart.
  • PD Photo - a repository for free public domain photographs. 
  • Pics4Learning- a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students.
  • PicSearch - a student-friendly search engine for images.
  • Tag Galaxy- after you enter a keyword or tag, Tag Galaxy displays a big planet that's being orbited by other potential tag planets. Click on one of the orbiting planets to refine your image search. When you're finished adding tags, click on the big planet and it will display photos from Flickr that match your selection.
  • Citation Builder - Download Citation Builder Notetaking Form -  don't forget to record a citation for every image or files you collect!
  • Wikimedia - public domain and freely-licensed educational media content to everyone.
  • World Book Explorer Citation  Builder - fill in the blanks and save!
  • World Digital Library 

    • *Photograph of the Great Wall of China - courtesy of GeekPhilosopher: Instant download of free stock photos, images, backgrounds, and desktop wallpapers. Pictures can be used  on personal or commercial web sites.

    Posted at 03:59 PM in Big6 | | Comments (0)

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    Use of Information - Step 4 of the Big6

    Step4 Congratulations - your team has made it to step 4 of the Big6!  So far you have:

    • Chosen a topic
    • Brainstormed what you already know and what you are interested in learning more about
    • Generated questions to drive your research
    • Narrowed in on research resources and where to find these materials

    All your planning is about to pay off as you begin the most interesting part of your journey - learning the answers to all your questions through research.  In order to remember everything you will be learning about (through reading, listening, and watching) it is important to take notes.  You will then use these notes to create a presentation that will reflect your learning and teach others about the subject or topic you have been researching.

    Resources About Taking Notes

  • Fact Fragment Frenzy- this fun online activity shows how to find important fact fragments in a nonfiction passage.  Watch the demonstration and then try your hand at taking notes.
  • You Quote It, You Note It - a slide show about plagiarism and the importance of taking proper notes.

    • Big6 Graphic Organizers for Taking Notes

    Note-Taking Templates

    Here are template notes page for every type of resource used for the GATP.

    Global Awareness & Technology Project Graphic Organizers

    Keeping Track of Resources

    • Folder - create a folder on the server to hold all the web addresses of the best articles you find.  Do this by dragging and dropping the web addresses into the folder.
    • Citatation Builder Notetaking Form - Download Citation Builder Notetaking Form - keep scrolling down to see all the citation options and choose the one you need.
    • Wiki - copy and paste the URL of the websites you take notes from.

    Citing Resources - remember to give credit to the sources (books, databases, encyclopedias, websites) you used to find information.

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    Location & Access - Step 3: Evaluating Websites

    Three It is important to visit websites that have accurate information.  How will you know if a website has information you can trust?  Think about who is sharing the information and what their purpose is for creating the website.  Look at who  created the site by looking at the URL or end of the web address:

    • .edu - educational (serious research to student fun pages)
    • .gov - governmental (usually a dependable source of information)
    • .com - commercial (may be trying to sell a product)
    • .net - network (may provide services to commercial or individual customers ie. Verizon or Cox)
    • .org - organization (non-profit institutions, may have a bias)

    Remember to Evaluate!

     

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    Location & Access - Step 3: Reliable Search Engines & Websites

    Three Choosing reliable search engines and good websites are winning strategies for successful searching on the world wide web.  While doing research, remember these tips for staying safe on the Internet (from the Virginia Department of Education, Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools.)

    Internet Safety Tips

    • Not all Internet information is appropriate or truthful.
    • Only use sites that are approved by Fairfax County Public Schools.
    • Never give out your name, location, or personal information.
    • Do not use random image searches.  Use pictures from trusted sites on the
      FCPS Databases and from the list of copyright-friendly resources found in Step 4 of the Big6.
    • If you see something that does not appear to be correct or appropriate, let your teacher or librarian know immediately.

    Resources at Braddock Elementary School Library

    FCPS Databases - all FCPS databases are great resources for research.  However, the three databases below specifically support the GATP project.  Be sure to check out all the special features! 

    Google Custom Search Engine -  Braddock Elementary Global Awareness Resources has many wonderful Web sites gathered together in this searchable Bookmarks collection.

    Portaportal - one stop for all your research needs.  Sites are bookmarked into categories such as Costumes & Clothing; Images, Music, Video; Search Engines...

    FCPS Library Catalog - the online library catalog allows you to search for materials owned by Braddock ES library and all FCPS libraries.

    Gale Global Awareness Project Resources- eBooks to help with the GATP.  eBooks are books published in electronic form that can be read on a computer via the Internet.  eBooks can be accessed from the FCPS Library Catalog.

    Teacher Pathfinders & Library Pathfinders - a pathfinder is a tool to help searchers find the information they need. Pathfinders contain helpful resources from the Braddock Elementary Library along with reference databases, and web pages.

    Reference Interviews - here are some resources for individual teams to use.  Use the keywords listed to search the FCPS Databases, Google Custom Search Engine, and the FCPS 5th Grade GATP Bookmarks.

    Using Reliable Search Engines & Websites:

      Limit your search to certain groups on the Internet

    Search Engines

    General Reference & Research Sites

    Web Sites

    Posted at 12:18 PM in 5th Grade - GATP, Big6 | | Comments (0)

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    Location & Access - Step 3: How to Search the Internet

    Three A search engine indexes Websites. You type in words or phases and a list of sites is returned about your topic. This is a good time to use the graphic organizers you filled out during Step 1.  Sometimes the list does not give you what you expected. Try different words and phrases until you find information about your topic. 

    Search engines use different methods for searching.  You will want to look at the directions and tips at each site for complete details.  Try Boolify, a tool for learning how to search.  Then try these useful hints and tips for successful Internet searches.

    Searching on the Internet

    • Use quotation marks - "Mona Lisa" or "I Have a Dream"
    • Look for words in the exact order that you enter them - Julius Caesar, Middle Kingdom
    • Use the minus sign (-) immediately before a word from search - Vikings -Minnesotata, bats -baseball
    • Remember to check your spelling!
    • Do not use questions and ignore irrelevant or unecessary words.
    • Use keywords - a keyword search is a search for all sources that contain your search words or keywords.  Keywords are crucial to narrowing your search.

    Narrowing Search Results - tips to refine your search:

    • Placing a plus sign (+ or AND) in a query immediately before a word indicates that the word must be present in every result.  China AND Silkworms China + Silkworms
    • Placing an asterisk (*) immediately after a word generates results that contain that word and other words that begin with those same letters.  A query of land* generates results that contain land, lands, landlocked, landmark, landscape, and landslide.
    • Placing a phrase within quotation marks (" ") generates results that contain the exact phrase.  "I have a dream"
    • Placing a minus sign (-) immediately before a word indicates that the word must not be present in any results.  bats -baseball
    • A query with multiple words generates results that contain any of the words, but not necessarily all of them.  China silkworms would give search results as China AND/OR silkworms
    • See how well you remember these tips by playing a few games!

    FIND - can't FIND what you are looking for on a website? 

    • Use the Edit command (one over from Favorites on the toolbar) and pull down to "Find on this page." 
    • Type the word you are looking for in the FIND box and you will jump to the word.
    • This is a good search technique if you are looking at a document or article that has lots of words and few nonfiction text features (side bars, headings and subheadings, photographs, captions, diagrams, charts, and boldface type.) 
    • The Early History of China - use the FIND command to search for information about Chinese pottery.

    Posted at 12:17 PM in Big6 | | Comments (0)

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    February 15, 2011

    Information Seeking Strategies - Step 2 of the Big6

    Step2 Information Seeking Strategies is the second step of the Big6 research model.  In this step your team thinks about what kinds of information you will need:

    • Brainstorm - go through your brainstorming ideas and group related or similar ideas together.  Look for synonyms.
    • Keywords - make a list of key words and phrases to help in your search.
    • Resources - think of all the places your team can go to find answers to your questions.
      •
    • Tools - gather the tools that will best help you record the information you gather from your resources. 

    Graphic Organizers

    Use Reliable Resources

    Posted at 04:05 PM in Big6 | | Comments (0)

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    Task Definition - Step 1 of the Big6

    1_taskdef Task Definition is the first step of the Big6 research model.  It is the step where you think about your assignment and define the problem you need to solve.  You begin this process by asking questions.

    Graphic Organizers & Inspiration

    Posted at 03:08 PM in Big6 | | Comments (0)

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    The Big6 Research Model

    PG4h2ROLL The Big 6 Skills Approach is a research model that guides students through a problem or task that requires the use of information.  The six steps in the Big 6 will help students to organize and complete a research inquiry project.   Take a look at the Big6 Skills for Kids (Download The Big6 Skills) to see how Big6 Skills can help with homework or writing a report about anything. 

    Information Problem-Solving with the Big 6 

    1. Task Definition - what needs to be done?
    2. Information Seeking Strategies - what resources can I use?
    3. Location and Access - where can I find these resources?
    4. Use of Information - what can I use from these resources?
    5. Synthesis - what can I make to finish the job?
    6. Evaluation - how will I know I did my job well?

    Introducing the Big6 Research Process

    Graphic Organizers

    Posted at 02:02 PM in Big6 | | Comments (0)

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