Resources for Information Literacy

Last updated 29 April, 2020. See the latest entry.

How to Help Learners Build Solid Research Skills for Life
To build solid research skills, you need a process that counts. Information Fluency helps your learners develop research skills that matter in school and life, and here's how.

The Google Search FAQ: how to find anything and everything

Google offers some enhanced search features that can be very helpful in finding what you need easier and faster.

***New Five useful search tools for students

Directs users to some basic search strategies like creating a search checklist and consulting vocabulary lists as part of the search process. 

Library Scavenger Hunt
Located on Library Matter Facebook page. Can you find these in your library?

Revamping your school library orientation.
Ideas for helping students develop familiarity with the librarys layout and function collated in Bright Ideas from a variety of school sources.

Plagiarism?
A good provocation for older students. Share both and have them decide, is it plagiarism? There may not be a resolution or definitive answer but a real-world relevant discussion to highlight there is a grey area.

Copyright Basics: teach your learners 6 things they need to know.
Part of Global Digital Citizenship is understanding how to respect and protect intellectual property. Knowing the ins and outs of copyright basics is a great start for your learners.

Evaluating Information
An example to use with students learning to identify fake news. (Poor recording quality but a good discussion starter.)

To boost higher level thinking try curation
Curation projects puts the focus on the collection of resources as a stand-alone assignment? Curation projects have the potential to put our students to work at three different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Understand, Analyse and Evaluate. [OZTLNet]

Media Literacy Booster Pack
Staying fresh and fluent in today’s media landscape isn’t easy. This collection of resources offers tools to tackle eight pressing challenges, from recognizing bias and propaganda to leveraging your role as a media contributor.

Scope & Sequence: Common Sense K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum
Common Sense Media has some great Information Literacy lesson ideas. Just search their scope and sequence for inspiration galore!

Understanding - and Teaching - the Five Kinds of Nonfiction
It’s a great time for nonfiction. In the last 25 years, informational books for young readers have undergone exciting and dramatic changes, evolving into five distinct categories. Understanding the characteristics of these categories can help students predict the type of information they’re likely to find in a book and how that information will be presented. It can also help them identify the kinds of nonfiction books they enjoy reading most.

Curious Kids
An excellent collection of questions followed by informative and interesting answers to feed curious minds and springboard further investigations. Regular additions, so come back for new content.