When I teach encyclopedias to 2nd grade I do a lot of modeling and
thinking out loud. I then have them work in pairs to find words which I
have selected from the encyclopedia (guarantees that the word is in the
encyclopedia). By 5th grade they should have a lot of basics down.
Think about have a student demonstrate how to use the encyclopedia.
Afterwards have the other students critique the correctness of the demo
and making corrections or other helpful tips. Ask appropriate
questions about information that doesn't come up in the discussion.
Teach what they don't know. What I have noticed with my 5th graders is
that they still have trouble looking for things in alphabetical order.
That is why I have a list of topics all made out. I KNOW that word is
in there. Another thing they need to know is how to use the index. 5th
graders rarely use it. They firmly believe that every topic has it's
own separate article no matter how small. Hope this helps
I do something with the Index that fascinate the students (5th and 6th
graders). we pick a subject and look it up in the encyclopedia and then
I ask if they think that is all there is about the subject. Most say
yes. Then I ask for other places they think it might be located in the
set. Then we go to the index, look up the subject and see how many
other places and volumes it can be located in. For example, we looked
up jazz and then found it listed under J for Jazz, m for music, and
also found it under some instruments, etc ( I am doing this at home and
don't have my lesson plan here with me). But it makes the students aware
that the index is valuable in research. We then do another subject
search, I use MLK, and we brainstorm where we might find other listings
and then we check the index to see if we are right. The kids get very
smart about this quickly and enjoy trying to guess all the possible
connections.
Hope this helps.
just moved from elem (k-5) to middle.
Perhaps a 'pop quiz' on parts of articles to see if they already know
anything (or less pessimistically, what they know). You know, the title,
where author is, what the see and see also means, text features like
fact box, map, timeline, graphs, charts, etc. Have a couple of short (15
minute) lessons (a know little or nothing and a more advanced one) ready
to jump to. The whadyaknow part could be a good set for the following
lesson.
I worked with 5th grades on notetaking (paper and transparency copies of
article, highlighter pens and student running the overhead), index
skills (usually used almanacs so each had their own).
Thank you to all of the people who responded to my cry for help. I have
composed a hit of their ideas. I wound up not doing an encyclopedia
lesson. There were just too many unknowns. Instead I did a "mad lib"
catalog entry lesson from Deb Logan's book that I have taught before
that requires very little prior knowledge. I think it went well.
Thanks again for all your help. LM_NET is an invaluable resource.
Try to find out what the research paradigm is at the school. Possible
there is little formal research ('grab a book and write a report' AKA
'rewrite a book'). That would change your plans...
I moved to online NBK as soon as I could. The whole class-one set really
limits use and fixed schedule lessons.
Good Luck.
Gosh, Juliann, I just went through this several weeks ago with 2nd & 3rd
graders! My school has suffered from having 6 media specialists in 5
years (I'm #6 and they're stuck with me!) so I have 5th graders who have
no idea how to use the encyclopedia!
I've had to teach basics - how to use an index, selecting which volume
to use, pulling an article and identifying parts like main headings,
subheadings, how to "skim" and read for key words in note taking, etc.
I'd even create a sort of "scavenger hunt" (I know there's a more "PC"
term now but I can't remember it) using the encyclopedias. Brainstorm a
K-W-L to see what they already know about encyclopedias. (K-W-L = a
chart used to diagram what you Know, what you Want to know, and what you
learned - evaluation component). Pick a term and identify synonyms or
related terms so they can figure out how to narrow (or broaden) their
research. Or, ask THEM to see if they can figure out how to use the
encyclopedia - in groups - and then explain it to the others.
Does CT have (online) standards for 5th grade information literacy? Does
it address use of reference materials? That might be a starting point.
World Book is good, but I seem to remember Colliers as having better
pictures, easier reading level. Most schools use World Book.
See if you can find out what topics they might need to research right
after your lesson - and use that to give them a start.
I have just finished a very demanding reference course.
One of our assignments was to compare encyclopedic
references both in print and online. I fell in love with
the World Book which I had previously erroniously thought
of as second rate. Boy was I surprised! The articles both online and
in print were much more current, reader friendly and visually
interesting. The authors are very qualified and still breathing unlike
some of the other encyclopedias. Best of all the articles list other
readings and websites. You might capitalize on that in your
presentation. Call ahead and nail down their most recent edition and
then find out the 5th grade curriculum for your state. Find a topic
that is interesting and go for it. Make the technology/print connection
and you should impress your observers and the 5th graders as well.
Encourage the students to show you what they can do. Make them active
participants in your moment. A contest would be good. I have found 5th
graders to be less jaded than older students and still quite willing to
get with the program especially if they can work with a partner or team.
Hope this helps.
Juliann T. Moskowitz
Reference Librarian
Milford Public Library
Milford, CT 06460
<mailto:juliann14@earthlink.net> juliann14@earthlink.net
"The tax which will be paid for education is not more than the thousand
part of what will be paid if we leave the people in ignorance." Thomas
Jefferson
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