Figuring out how the books are arranged in the library helps students readily find the section of books they need to further their research. Library books are arranged by the Dewey Decimal System, a system that organizes books, in most media centers. Provide the students with a scavenger hunt for books in the library. The requirements for the hunt would all be centered on finding books in the media center. For instance, the pupils are asked to find a poetry book. They write down on their scavenger hunt form the Dewey Decimal classification of the poetry book.
Once the students have found a book or website with information to help with their research, they make notecards summarizing, quoting or paraphrasing the information. Keeping each card focused on one idea will facilitate the writing of the paper later. Write the author of the information, the name of the book and page number you found the data on all on the notecard. Ask the class to read the same information and photocopy a page from an informational text. Use a text that is below a fifth-grade reading level to ensure comprehension success for everyone. Demonstrate how to make notecards. Let the students make their own one-idea cards for another document they find on their own.
Conducting research on the Internet can be overwhelming and misleading. Teach the students how to do a keyword search in order to find the information they need. A keyword search uses the most important words to find the information needed. Provide them with a question to research as a class; "Do guinea pigs make good pets?" is a good start. Direct the students to find the most important words in their question -- guinea, pig, pet. Check the spelling on the keywords and enter them into the search engine query box. Results will appear in seconds. Use the brief description on the results page to determine which page will provide the correct information. Click on the desired link and skim the web page at first to decide if it has the information you need. Reread for more clarity and make one-idea notecards.
Students need to be able to evaluate websites quickly to cull the millions of websites that will appear as they search. In this activity, they use a set of criteria to evaluate and compare websites. Choose two websites about the same information. Provide the students with a response sheet that asks them to evaluate each site with a thumbs up or thumbs down response. They are questioning if the links work, whether the captions for the pictures are clear, whether they would visit the site again and whether the facts are clear.