When accessing information on the Internet, students have a difficult time discerning what is true, reliable, and accurate, and they tend to believe what they see. They need to be taught to understand how to review website resources to determine the accuracy and validity of the information. This learning plan shows how to scaffold the knowledge students need for website evaluation. The sophistication of evaluation will depend upon the age and ability level of the students.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE

The class comes to the library and is split into two groups. One group will be with the teacher searching and using information on the research topics in print sources. The other group will be with the librarian working on evaluating online sources to determine which would be the most reliable sources to use for the research project.

The librarian needs to determine how much prior knowledge the students have before proceeding with lessons on website validity. It is very important to establish a foundation of vocabulary before actually moving on to assessment of websites. The foundational vocabulary words are: validity, reliability, facts, website links, review, accuracy. This vocabulary can be woven into the reading of But I Read It on the Internet! by Toni Buzzeo.

The librarian shares the website Help Save the Endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus from Extinction with the students and leads a discussion on whether or not the facts presernted are true. Questions to guide the discussion would be:

• What do you already know about the octopus?
• How would we know if this source is a reliable source?
• What are some indications that this source might have made up information in it?
• What do you notice about the visuals/photographs?
• What conclusions would you make based on the information gathered from this website?

After the students have used the discussion information to conclude that the website is misleading and filled with unreliable information, they should use a review tool to evaluate a reputable website independently. They will use one of the school's encyclopedia/website databases to search for their research topics. Once they find an article on their topic, they should evaluate it with an evaluation tool. An evaluation tool for grades 4-5 can be found in the book But I Read It on the Internet. Or, depending on the grade level, you could use any of the following questions to create an evaluation tool of your own:

• Is this website information on your reading level? Check one paragraph with the five finger rule to determine whether you can read it or not. Did you understand what you read? Do you have any words that you don't know in that paragraph?
• Does the website seem to have facts that are true? (Look for things that are obviously wrong…octopus in a tree, George Washington born in 2008, etc.)
• Does the website have enough facts for your research project?
• Are there headings to guide your search for information about your topic?
• Do the website links work?
• Is there a search function on the website?
• Who is the expert in charge of the website? Can you contact that person or organization?
• Is the website trying to encourage you to buy something?

After the teacher and librarian are finished with their groups, they should switch groups of students and repeat the lesson with the new group.

Under resources, there is an assortment of invalid websites that can be used with students. The explorers link on November Learning website would be difficult for the very young students because the misinformation is harder to discern and would probably confuse them. It is an excellent website to show older learners that they need to read and evaluate everything carefully. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia could be used with any grade level that is reading fluently. Also, it has a read-aloud function that can be used for those that might need a bit of extra help with accessing the text. World Book Kids would also be appropriate to use with older English Language Learners because the text is bigger with simpler vocabulary.

ADAPTATIONS

Usually for 2nd and 3rd grades, I adapt and use the first three questions above (see Figure 1, below). For 4th grade, I have them use an evaluation tool with the first six questions (see Figure 2, below). And for 5th and 6th grades, I adapt all the questions (see Figure 3, below).

ASSESSMENT

Students will evaluate their database articles prior to determining which sources will be used for research. Once each article is assessed based on the evaluation tool, they can decide which article(s) should be printed or saved to use for the research project.

PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION

This is my favorite part of any research unit because of the "aha" moments that you can actually see on the faces of the students as they realize that not everything they read is credible. They need thought provoking discussion to lead them to these conclusions.

An important aspect is that it is a fluid and flexible activity. This activity can be spiraled up through the grade levels promoting more in depth knowledge each year or it can promote differentiation within a grade level depending on the abilities of the students and their language development. One thing that I would like to try next year would be to use a different website to repeat this lesson a second time with a grade level during the year with less support during their evaluative discussions of the website.

STUDENT HANDOUTS

Fig. 1. Website Evaluation for grades 2-3.

Fig. 2. Website Evaluation for grade 4.

Fig. 3. Website Evaluation for grades 5-6.