Students of today have more research options than their counterparts of yesteryear. Technology has taken us out of the “Age of Print” and into the “Digital Age”. Class members do not need to visit their school library or local library to access research material. Research material is at their fingertips with a click of a button. Fifth graders need only to acquire specific skills to write a well-researched paper on a grade-appropriate topic of his or her choice. In order for this to happen however, a teacher needs to instruct students how to use technology for research purposes. A student will need to be trained on how to cite these sources in a nonfiction writing piece and create a bibliography. These are all issues to discuss, plan, and implement.
During the first week, before students can begin to research topics, teachers must provide direct instruction on how to research topics with students. According to Vossler and Sheidlower “Humor and Information Literacy”, teachers should seek to “...demonstrate specific repeatable behaviors; click here for this, click here for that. In training, strictly lower level cognitive skills are brought to bear. Students are learning how to manipulate specific tools.” (3) In understanding Vossler and Sheidlower, I have always felt that the best way for a student to learn how to use technology is to first show a student the basics and then let the student explore for themselves. This can be as simple as having a student google search “Fifth Grade Nonfiction Topics” and look into the many choices and let the student decide what interests himself or herself. Having a teachable guide to use in a kid friendly manner to get students motivated to read about a nonfiction topic and use a variety of sources to investigate their topic thoroughly may sound easier said than done. But, Rome wasn’t built in a day...nor will students understand internet research in a day. However, with various opportunities and time, students can become experts.
Brundage “Going to the Sources” states “Before embarking upon this electronic odyssey, it is important to know the object of the search. The selection and refinement of your topic is of course a critical matter.” (4) I have noticed that students struggle to understand the difference between a non-fiction writing piece and a biographical writing assignment, which is more for historical writing, such as a Black History Month famous person or a Women’s History heroine. In unit three of the New Haven Public Schools ELA department guide, students must write a nonfiction writing piece on a non-fiction writing topic using three sources. Students struggle with burning questions such as “What non-fiction topic interests me?”, “Will there be enough research material for me to use?”, “How do I know this is a good topic?” and “How do I know my topic is narrow enough and not too broad?” Once students pick a nonfiction topic, then students can begin their research on the topic.
There are a number of preselected databases on the internet for a student to choose from to do a well researched paper. Unfortunately, there are some databases that are not useful to New Haven students. Like Brundage, Storey discussed using an online library catalog called the WorldCat. (5) This is a subscription service that is widely used by scholars to ensure the information that they are using is from a credible and current source. However, it is a service that New Haven Public Schools does not subscribe. In the case of New Haven students, they would have to investigate what similar services their school library offers. If the student’s library does not subscribe to any service similar to WorldCat then it is suggested to use the U.S. Library of Congress at http://catalog.loc.gov. (6) This site has identified most of the books that are available on any particular subject. Teachers will have to explain to students that the key to the search is how you enter the subject that you are searching into the keyword search. For example, my students are currently working on a research paper about an environmental issue. The students need to write an argumentative essay about a way to solve the issue. As I provided direct instruction on how to research topics in the search engine for this assignment, I told the student that you may need to search more than once. I first told my students to google search or use the suggestion of Storey, which is U.S. Library of Congress search for “Environmental Issues in 2019”. I have my students include the year to provide the most updated information. Storey stated, “the key to searching a digital catalog is understanding the way in which the information is organized… To find the right headings, start with a keyword search. In keyword search, it is important to use distinctive words. Type in environmental history and you will get too many entries. Click the subject headings to link to other works on the same subject.” (7)
My students found several environmental issues in 2019 by doing a google search. The next step is to decide which issue interests a student. Then, the student must google search the environmental issue of interest. One of my students is interested in global warming and the factors that influence global warming. I told the student to continue to narrow his search by google searching solutions to global warming and establishing a hypothesis is to the best solution to global warming. This solution would be what the student would argue as a part of their argumentative research paper, i.e. their non-fiction paper.
Just as I have narrowed my topic for the Digital Lives and focused on students using their cellphone as a digital library, students will need to narrow their topic and form a hypothesis. This hypothesis should guide their research. Students should use a self guiding checklist (Figure 3). The student will need to consider their target audience for proving their point or argument. Storey discussed the student crafting a proposal. (8) The self- guiding checklist that the student will help the student throughout their research work.
During week three, teachers need to provide explicit instruction on choosing sources that are credible to read and cite for their non-fiction writing piece. In “Writing History” by Storey, he states “The sheer amount of information that is available can be overwhelming. Thankfully, scholars, librarians, and archivists have selected specific collections of information that are worthy of consideration by scholars and that may be accessed online… available free to everybody.” (9) Storey goes on to explain that many libraries have online library catalogs. The sources on this type of catalog are sources that students can trust are credible sources to research and use as a reference, In addition to the library catalog there are online databases that have a wealth of journals containing peer-reviewed research by scholars in a field, such as Academic Search Premier offered by EBSCOHost. Prior to students using systems such as these, teachers will need the student to understand the importance of the author who wrote a credible piece. The student needs to value the expertise of the writer of the journal and for future reference to understand how to objectively decide what is credible or opinionated when not using a library catalog.