Oregon School Library
Information System

Connecting National and Oregon Standards to Elementary Online Resources

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A Model for Applying Information Literacy

One model for teaching information literacy skills and concepts starts with a big or essential question. A Questioning Toolkit http://www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html provides more information about developing essential or big-idea questions.

Examples of essential questions are "why do people migrate," "what are different ways that people explore," and "how are the effects of an invention both positive and negative?"

OSLIS pilots developed possible ways to investigate the essential question: "Why do people migrate?" Oregon content standards http://www.open.k12.or.us/standards/search.html were identified and correlated with the national information literacy standards http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html.*  Online resources selected by the elementary OSLIS project were used to investigate the essential questions.

Content standards are developed through a range of investigations that begin with the literal and reflect thinking skills that require inference, evaluation, and synthesis. When investigating an essential question, student research should be guided by a prescribed research model.

Ways to Engage Students in Answering the Essential Question:

Why do people migrate?

*Note: In numerous activities, standard 9 (The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.) could be met by students completing work in collaboration.

Literal | Inferential | Evaluative | Synthesis

Literal

Suggested activities aligned with content standards and using online resources.

Oregon Content Standard: Demonstrate literal comprehension of a variety of printed materials. English: Reading
Oregon Content Standards	National Information Literacy Standards	Investigations/ Assessments	Online Resources
Understand and interpret relationships in history, including chronology, cause and effect, change, and continuity over time. Social Sciences: History/U.S. History	The student who is information literate: Accesses information efficiently and effectively. Standard 1	Create a timeline highlighting the major events.	Using EBSCOhost or other online Encyclopedia, find major dates and events that occurred during the migratory event being studied.
Locate places and explain geographic information or relationships by reading, interpreting, and preparing maps and other geographic representations. Social Sciences: Geography	The student who is information literate: Accesses information efficiently and effectively. Standard 1	Draw a map showing the route of a migratory event.	Using Searchasaurus or other online resource, find geographic features such as rivers, landmarks, etc.
Understand the importance and lasting influence of issues, events, people, and developments in U.S. history. Social Sciences: History/U.S. History	The student who is an independent learner is information literate and: Pursues information related to personal interests. Standard 4	Choose a famous person and trace his or her experience during migration.	Use EBSCOhost or other online Encyclopedia to select people active in this migratory event.
Understand the distribution and movement of people, ideas and products. Social Sciences: Geography	The student who is information literate: Accesses information efficiently and effectively. Standard 1	Record seasonal changes that could occur.	Using an almanac, identify the weather patterns specific to your migratory event.

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Inferential

Suggested activities aligned with content standards and using online resources.

Oregon Content Standard: Demonstrate inferential comprehension of a variety of printed materials. English: Reading
Oregon Content Standards	National Information Literacy Standards	Investigations/ Assessments	Online Resources
Understand the importance and lasting influence of significant eras, cultures, issues, events, and developments in world history. Social Sciences: World History	The student who is information literate: Evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 2	List the reasons that forced some people to move and not others	Read an article in an online resource noting the causes influencing the migration.
Identify and explain physical and human characteristics of places and regions, the processes that have shaped them. Social Sciences: Geography	The student who is information literate: Evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 2	Select an occupation of an individual involved in this migration, and create a journal describing his or her experiences.	Using keyword search, locate articles describing occupations of individuals active in the migratory event.
Understand the importance and lasting influence of issues, events, people, and developments in U.S. history. Social Sciences: History/U.S. History	The student who is information literate: Evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 2	As a member of the migrating group, write a letter justifying your intentions for migration.	Locate causes of the migratory event, and anticipated outcomes for participation in that event.

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Evaluative

Suggested activities aligned with content standards and using online resources.

Oregon Content Standard: Gather, use and evaluate research information to support analysis and conclusion. Social Sciences: Social Science Analysis
Oregon Content Standards	National Information Literacy Standards	Investigations/ Assessments	Online Resources
Explain how humans and the physical environment impact and influence each other. Social Sciences: Geography	The student who is information literate: Evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 2	Select five significant landforms and describe in chart form how these landforms affected travel.	Using EBSCOhost or other online Encyclopedia, locate physical maps of the migratory route.
Locate information and clarify meaning by skimming, scanning, close reading, and other reading strategies. English: Reading	The student who is information literate: Uses information effectively and creatively. Standard 3	Using the map of the route, explain reasons why the route was created where it was.	Using Boolean searching, choose keywords from the subject heading to locate relevant maps.
Demonstrate evaluative comprehension of a variety of printed materials. English: Reading	The student who is an independent learner is information literate and: Pursues information related to personal interests. Standard 4	Read various accounts of one incident on your migratory event and write a narrative as if you had been present.	Find names of immigrants in these articles to look for narratives by these travelers. Use an (online) Encyclopedia to gain a broad knowledge of the subject and to find further information which may be listed.
Analyze and evaluate the significance and accuracy of information and ideas presented in written, oral, visual, and multimedia communications. English: Reading (Common Curriculum Goal)	The student who is information literate: Uses information effectively and creatively. Standard 3	Compare the physical terrain at the embarkation and destination of the migratory event.	Using Boolean searching, choose keywords from the subject heading to locate relevant maps.

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Synthesis

Suggested activities aligned with content standards and using online resources.

Content Standard: Demonstrate evaluative comprehension of a variety of printed materials. English: Reading
Oregon Content Standards	National Information Literacy Standards	Investigations/ Assessments	Online Resources
Understand an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon from multiple perspectives. Social Sciences: Social Science Analysis	The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and: Recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society. Standard 7	What is similar about the reasons for the migratory event and your reasons for migrating?	Read an article in an online resource noting the causes influencing the migration.
Identify and analyze characteristics, causes, and consequences of an event, issue, problem or phenomenon. Social Sciences: Social Science Analysis	The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and: Recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society. Standard 7	Study your family's history and compare it to the migratory event you are studying.	Read an article in an online resource noting the causes influencing the migration.

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