We want our elementary and middle school students to have a firm understanding of what quality, reliable, and current information looks like. We want our students to see that Google is not the beginning and end of research, that often a subject specific database or teacher/librarian designed pathfinder will guide them to academic appropriate information more quickly. We live in an age where information is rushed to publication, riddled with bias, or simply not fact checked. I want my students to be more than information consumers, I want them to be critics who carefully evaluate everything they read, see, hear and experience.
The interactive image below highlights some of the areas targeted during a typical library/media class. Are these strategies new to you? How comfortable are you leading students through academic research?
