teaching research skills to 3rd grade

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How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students in 2024

Research skills are incredibly important in the world we live in today. When we come across a problem or a question, what do we do? We quickly search online to find the answer. We are using our research skills while we are doing this. Read below to learn how to teach research skills to elementary students! This will help you prepare your twenty-first century learners for the ever-changing world we live in. You’ll have the confidence to create opportunities to apply these skills to research projects like this animal research project .

What are Research Skills?

Research skills is the ability to search for information about a topic, evaluate that information efficiently, and share findings in an organized way.

What Research Skills do Elementary Students Need?

Your elementary students are required to learn research skills if your state uses the Common Core or TEKS. Read below to learn what specific research standards your grade level covers.

Learn how to teach research skills to your elementary students from this Clutter-Free Classroom blog post written for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. It's packed with lesson and project ideas to help you start your planning. Check it out now! #elementaryclassroom #researchskills #elementaryresearchskills

Research Standards in Common Core

The standards listed below are a good starting point for figuring out how to teach research skills to your elementary students.

Kindergarten

ELA.W.K.7 : Participate in shared research and writing projects.
ELA.W.K.8 : With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

First Grade

ELA.W.1.7 : Participate in shared research and writing projects.
ELA.W.1.8 : With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Second Grade

ELA.W.2.7 : Participate in shared research and writing projects.
ELA.W.2.8 : Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Third Grade

ELA.W.3.7 : Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
ELA.W.3.8 : Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Fourth Grade

ELA.W.4.7 : Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
ELA.W.4.8 : Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
ELA.4.9 : Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
ELA.4.9.B : Apply grade 4 Reading standards to informational texts.

Fifth Grade

ELA.W.5.7 : Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
ELA.W.5.8 : Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
ELA.W.5.9 : Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
ELA.W.5.9.B : Apply grade 5 Reading standards to informational texts.

Research Standards in TEKS

The standards listed below are a good starting point for figuring out how to teach research skills to your students.

Generate questions for formal and informal inquiry with adult assistance. (TEKS 12A)
Develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance. (TEKS 12B)
Gather information from a variety of sources with adult assistance. (TEKS 12C)
Demonstrate understanding of information gathered with adult assistance. (TEKS 12D)
Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results. (TEKS 12E)
Generate questions for formal and informal inquiry with adult assistance. (TEKS 13A)
Develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance. (TEKS 13B)
Identify and gather relevant sources and information to answer the questions with adult assistance. (TEKS 13C)
Demonstrate understanding of information gathered with adult assistance. (TEKS 13D)
Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results. (TEKS 13E)
Identify and gather relevant sources and information to answer the questions. (TEKS 13C)
Identify primary and secondary sources. (TEKS 13D)
Demonstrate understanding of information gathered. (TEKS 13E)
Cite sources appropriately. (TEKS 13F)
Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results. (TEKS 13G)
Generate questions on a topic for formal and informal inquiry. (TEKS 13A)
Identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources. (TEKS 13C)
Recognize the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials. (TEKS 13F)
Create a works cited page. (TEKS 13G)
Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results. (TEKS 13H)
Generate and clarify questions on a topic for formal and informal inquiry. (TEKS 13A)
Develop a bibliography. (TEKS 13G)
Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results . (TEKS 13H)
Understand credibility of primary and secondary sources. (TEKS 13D)
Differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials. (TEKS 13F)

20 Research Mini Lesson Ideas

Below are 20 research mini lessons for how to teach research skills to elementary students.

Research and What it Looks Like
The Steps in the Research Process
Types of Resources
Text Features in Websites
Finding Resources on the Internet
Finding Information in Non-Fiction Books
Text Features in Non-Fiction Texts
How to Use an Encyclopedia
Conducting an Interview with an Expert
Reading a Newspaper and Getting Information from it
Previewing a Text for Research
Evaluating a Resource to Determine if it is Reliable
Citing Sources
Facts vs. Opinions
Taking notes
Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Organizing Information
Writing Like an Informational Writer
Presenting Findings

What are the Research Steps for Elementary Students?

Here are the 4 steps of the research process for elementary students:

Choose a topic.
Search for information.
Organize information.
Share information.

Ideas for Elementary School Research Topics

Below are research topic ideas for elementary students.

Animal Research Topics for Elementary Students

1. ocean animals.

Oyster, tuna, cod, grouper, shrimp, barnacle, barracuda, shark, bass, whale, lobster, starfish, salmon, clam, conch, coral, crab, sea otter, dolphin, eel, seal, sea turtle, flounder, octopus, sea star, haddock, jellyfish, krill, manatee, marlin, seahorse, sea otter, sea cucumber, sea lion, sea urchin, stingray, squid, swordfish, and walrus

2. Land Animals

Aardvark, elephant, frog, dog, tortoise, ant, anteater, antelope, fox, rabbit, baboon, camel, badger, owl, bat, bear, beaver, bison, rhinoceros, spider, bobcat, buffalo, bumble bee, butterfly, cat, chameleon, cheetah, chicken, chipmunk, cockroach, cougar, cow, coyote, gorilla, deer, donkey, dragonfly, eagle, emu, ferret, flamingo, goat, goose, hedgehog, heron, hippopotamus, horse, hummingbird, hyena, iguana, jaguar, kangaroo, koala, lemur, leopard, lion, llama, meerkat, mongoose, monkey, moth, mouse, mule, panther, parrot, peacock, pelican, peacock, pheasant, pig, platypus, porcupine, possum, puma, quail, raccoon, rattlesnake, sheep, skunk, sloth, squirrel, swan, termite, tiger, turkey, vulture, walrus, weasel, wolf, woodpecker, yak, and zebra

3. Endangered Species

Bengal tiger, polar bear, Pacific walrus, Magellanic penguin, leatherback turtle, bluefish tuna, mountain gorilla, monarch butterfly, Javan rhinoceros, giant panda, amur leopard, sei whale, Asian elephant, sumatran elephant, pangolin, African wild dog, amur tiger, blue whale, bonobo, chimpanzee, dugong, Indus river dolphin, orangutan, red panda, sea lion, vaquita, whale shark, yangtze finless porpoise, North Atlantic right whale, and yellowfish tuna

Resources for Teaching Elementary Research Skills

Below are resources for teaching elementary student research skills.

Animal Research Project

Learn more about the animal research project below!

What is the animal research project?

The animal research project is a printable and digital research project where students learn about any animal they choose. You can also choose the animals for them. The resource can be used over and over again all year long by just picking a new animal.

What grades is the animal research project appropriate for?

This resource includes tons of differentiated materials so it is appropriate for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

What is included in the animal research project?

The animal research project includes the following:

teacher’s guide with tips and instructions to support you with your lesson planning and delivery
parent communication letter to promote family involvement
graphic organizers for brainstorming a topic, activating schema, taking notes, drafting writing
research report publishing printables including a cover, writing templates and resource pages
grading rubric so expectations are clear for students and grading is quick and easy for you
research activities (KWL, can have are chart, compare/contrast Venn diagram, habitat map, vocabulary pages, illustration page, and life cycle charts)
flipbook project printables to give an additional choice of how students can demonstrate their understanding
flap book project printables to offer students another way to demonstrate their learning
research poster to serve as an additional way to demonstrate student understanding
poetry activities to offer students an alternative way to demonstrate their learning
digital version so your students can access this resource in school or at home

4 Research Websites

Below are 4 research websites for elementary students.

http://www.kidrex.org
https://www.kiddle.co
https://www.safesearchkids.com
https://www.kidzsearch.com/boolify/
Read more about: ELEMENTARY TEACHING , LITERACY

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Five Ways to Teach Research Skills to Elementary School Children

Search engines can streamline the process of teaching basic research to elementary schoolchildren who require expert guidance on how to navigate the Web — and the earlier, the better.

Elementary school is when kids first begin to learn how to learn. Kids start using search engines quite early on, making elementary school the perfect time to teach research skills that become a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

The base skill for all schoolchildren is the ability to sift content for relevance and accuracy. Here are five ways teachers can help improve this skill in elementary-age children.

1. Define the task

What exactly must be researched? It’s very easy to get lost if children do not know precisely what they are looking for. In elementary school the subjects may be relatively simple, but they still must be defined accurately to aid in the search.

Teachers should talk with students about what they will be looking for and how to get specific results. The more specific they can get, the easier it will be to come up with search terms.

2. Discover keywords

Elementary school students may not fully grasp the concept of keywords, so they’ll need to be instructed in this foundational aspect of search technology. Search engines perform well only if correct keywords are used, and students need to learn how to come up with those words to get the results they need.

Keywords are typically based upon the most common approach to discussing a subject. Often, it will take some trial and error to discover just what keyword combination yields the desired results. Teachers can create a whole lesson around keywords, including what they are, how they work and how to find them.

3. Use appropriate tools

Google and Bing are probably the most popular search engines, but they may not be the best for teaching research skills to young people. Teacher Mary Beth Hertz recommends one of the more popular search engines for students, Sweet Search, whose results are screened by experts. Using something like Sweet Search may make it easier to teach research skills by weeding out a lot of the chaff that so often comes up on the more popular engines.

4. Teach about source hierarchy and evaluation

Elementary students can comprehend the tiers of legitimacy related to information-gathering. Teachers can explain about primary sources, original research and the reliability of information found on the Web. Kids can learn about how information travels from research papers to news sources to blogs and so on.

By going through examples, teachers can demonstrate the way various information sources find their information and present it to the public, and how to determine which information is best to use for their projects.

Children may not need to cite abstracts from scientific research papers, but they can learn to seek information more intelligently.

5. Take notes and compile information

The complexity of note-taking skills will depend on the students’ grade level, but even kids in the younger grades can learn to take pencil to paper and record the most important pieces of information they gather. The better they get at finding quality sources, the easier the note-taking will become.

Students should also learn how to cite their sources appropriately.

Setting up a lifelong skill

Learning research skills at a young age will give students a skill that will serve them over a lifetime. This skill will not only be useful in school, but in their everyday lives as they attempt to absorb ever-increasing amounts of information. Teachers will do their students a great service in teaching these skills.

Teaching Research Skills to K-12 Students in The Classroom

Research is at the core of knowledge. Nobody is born with an innate understanding of quantum physics. But through research , the knowledge can be obtained over time. That’s why teaching research skills to your students is crucial, especially during their early years.

But teaching research skills to students isn’t an easy task. Like a sport, it must be practiced in order to acquire the technique. Using these strategies, you can help your students develop safe and practical research skills to master the craft.

What Is Research?

By definition, it’s a systematic process that involves searching, collecting, and evaluating information to answer a question. Though the term is often associated with a formal method, research is also used informally in everyday life!

Whether you’re using it to write a thesis paper or to make a decision, all research follows a similar pattern.

Choose a topic : Think about general topics of interest. Do some preliminary research to make sure there’s enough information available for you to work with and to explore subtopics within your subject.
Develop a research question : Give your research a purpose; what are you hoping to solve or find?
Collect data : Find sources related to your topic that will help answer your research questions.
Evaluate your data : Dissect the sources you found. Determine if they’re credible and which are most relevant.
Make your conclusion : Use your research to answer your question!

Why Do We Need It?

Research helps us solve problems. Trying to answer a theoretical question? Research. Looking to buy a new car? Research. Curious about trending fashion items? Research!

Sometimes it’s a conscious decision, like when writing an academic paper for school. Other times, we use research without even realizing it. If you’re trying to find a new place to eat in the area, your quick Google search of “food places near me” is research!

Whether you realize it or not, we use research multiple times a day, making it one of the most valuable lifelong skills to have. And it’s why — as educators —we should be teaching children research skills in their most primal years.

Teaching Research Skills to Elementary Students

In elementary school, children are just beginning their academic journeys. They are learning the essentials: reading, writing, and comprehension. But even before they have fully grasped these concepts, you can start framing their minds to practice research.

According to curriculum writer and former elementary school teacher, Amy Lemons , attention to detail is an essential component of research. Doing puzzles, matching games, and other memory exercises can help equip students with this quality before they can read or write.

Improving their attention to detail helps prepare them for the meticulous nature of research. Then, as their reading abilities develop, teachers can implement reading comprehension activities in their lesson plans to introduce other elements of research.

One of the best strategies for teaching research skills to elementary students is practicing reading comprehension . It forces them to interact with the text; if they come across a question they can’t answer, they’ll need to go back into the text to find the information they need.

Some activities could include completing compare/contrast charts, identifying facts or questioning the text, doing background research, and setting reading goals. Here are some ways you can use each activity:

How it translates : Step 3, collect data; Step 4, evaluate your data
Questioning the text : If students are unsure which are facts/not facts, encourage them to go back into the text to find their answers.
How it translates : Step 3, collect data; Step 4, evaluate your data; Step 5, make your conclusion
How it translates : Step 1, choose your topic
How it translates : Step 2, develop a research question; Step 5, make your conclusion

Resources for Elementary Research

If you have access to laptops or tablets in the classroom, there are some free tools available through Pennsylvania’s POWER Kids to help with reading comprehension. Scholastic’s BookFlix and TrueFlix are 2 helpful resources that prompt readers with questions before, after, and while they read.

BookFlix : A resource for students who are still new to reading. Students will follow along as a book is read aloud. As they listen or read, they will be prodded to answer questions and play interactive games to test and strengthen their understanding.

TrueFlix : A resource for students who are proficient in reading. In TrueFlix, students explore nonfiction topics. It’s less interactive than BookFlix because it doesn’t prompt the reader with games or questions as they read. (There are still options to watch a video or listen to the text if needed!)

Teaching Research Skills to Middle School Students

By middle school, the concept of research should be familiar to students. The focus during this stage should be on credibility . As students begin to conduct research on their own, it’s important that they know how to determine if a source is trustworthy.

Before the internet, encyclopedias were the main tool that people used for research. Now, the internet is our first (and sometimes only) way of looking information up.

Unlike encyclopedias which can be trusted, students must be wary of pulling information offline. The internet is flooded with unreliable and deceptive information. If they aren’t careful, they could end up using a source that has inaccurate information!

How To Know If A Source Is Credible

In general, credible sources are going to come from online encyclopedias, academic journals, industry journals, and/or an academic database. If you come across an article that isn’t from one of those options, there are details that you can look for to determine if it can be trusted.

The author: Is the author an expert in their field? Do they write for a respected publication? If the answer is no, it may be good to explore other sources.
Citations: Does the article list its sources? Are the sources from other credible sites like encyclopedias, databases, or journals? No list of sources (or credible links) within the text is usually a red flag.
Date: When was the article published? Is the information fresh or out-of-date? It depends on your topic, but a good rule of thumb is to look for sources that were published no later than 7-10 years ago. (The earlier the better!)
Bias: Is the author objective? If a source is biased, it loses credibility.

An easy way to remember what to look for is to utilize the CRAAP test . It stands for C urrency (date), R elevance (bias), A uthority (author), A ccuracy (citations), and P urpose (bias). They’re noted differently, but each word in this acronym is one of the details noted above.

If your students can remember the CRAAP test, they will be able to determine if they’ve found a good source.

Resources for Middle School Research

To help middle school researchers find reliable sources, the database Gale is a good starting point. It has many components, each accessible on POWER Library’s site. Gale Litfinder , Gale E-books , or Gale Middle School are just a few of the many resources within Gale for middle school students.

Teaching Research Skills To High Schoolers

The goal is that research becomes intuitive as students enter high school. With so much exposure and practice over the years, the hope is that they will feel comfortable using it in a formal, academic setting.

In that case, the emphasis should be on expanding methodology and citing correctly; other facets of a thesis paper that students will have to use in college. Common examples are annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, and works cited/reference pages.

Annotated bibliography : This is a sheet that lists the sources that were used to conduct research. To qualify as annotated , each source must be accompanied by a short summary or evaluation.
Literature review : A literature review takes the sources from the annotated bibliography and synthesizes the information in writing.
Works cited/reference pages : The page at the end of a research paper that lists the sources that were directly cited or referenced within the paper.

Resources for High School Research

Many of the Gale resources listed for middle school research can also be used for high school research. The main difference is that there is a resource specific to older students: Gale High School .

If you’re looking for some more resources to aid in the research process, POWER Library’s e-resources page allows you to browse by grade level and subject. Take a look at our previous blog post to see which additional databases we recommend.

Visit POWER Library’s list of e-resources to start your research!

The Trapped Librarian

Make your library the center of your school

April 16, 2021 by: Laura

Strengthen Research Skills for 2nd and 3rd Grades

Last Updated on June 15, 2021 by Laura

Teaching research skills in second and third grades is fun when you remember a few important guidelines. The key is looking at the big picture. What have your students learned up until this point? And what will your students need as they progress though school? Research skills for second and third grade students build upon an early foundation and lay the groundwork for future learning and success. Think of these skills as continuing to build a strong foundation.

Scaffold Research Skills

We started small when approaching research skills for kindergarten and first grade students . We want to build upon that learning as we look to the future needs of our students. If you begin with the end in mind (5h grade? 8th grade? 12th grade?), you will be helping your students understand concepts that will serve them well in later learning. It is important to teach skills each year that build upon one another .

Use Research Vocabulary

It’s important to use the proper vocabulary while teaching research skills to your youngest students. This is one way to build that strong foundation for future learning. Make sure you continue to use the same words with your second and third grade students, taking time to review their meanings and give examples as you go. These words will be familiar each year as you do more research lessons. Some important words to include:

Informational Text

Give Choices

A key to engaging learning activities is the element of choice. You want your students to know they can use library resources to explore topics of personal interest at any time. You want them coming back to the library, driven by their own curiosity! Even within a guided project, students can choose an animal to research , or a U.S. president to learn about. You can always narrow choices ahead of time if you want to be sure that you have resources to support their chosen topic.

Guide the Process

Does your school use a research process like the Big 6 or Super 3 ? Plan, Do, Review from the Super 3 is a nice framework to follow. It’s easy for you and the students to remember, and all the important steps needed for effective research can fit into those 3 categories. My students plan by reviewing a note taking outline that I provide. Knowing the information they are looking for will help them be productive when looking at their sources.

Research Skills for 2nd and 3rd Grade Presidents

I choose an animal or president for my topic and demonstrate each step of the process using a document camera with the source projected on the screen. Students use their own devices to access online resources and to search for print resources in our library collection. The “Do” step involves note taking, which I model on my own outline, giving time for students to complete their notes along with me.

Use Kid-Friendly Resources

Over the years I’ve purchased sets of animal books from the Blastoff Readers series, and a president biography from Abdo. Of course we also have animal and president books from other series as well. When students search the library catalog for print resources, they are usually able to find what they need (again you can narrow the list of possibilities ahead of time if you want to be sure). I like being able to demonstrate how to use the index, glossary, charts, timelines, and other text features in these books and have students find them in their own copies as well.

We also use our online databases such as Abdo Zoom Animals and Biographies and World Book Kids and Student. When each student can find their animal or president in the same database, it’s nice to be able to explore the features together. Make sure students know how to have the text read aloud, how to use the glossary (often you just click or double click on the word), and how to cite the source.

Make a Fun Project

Students are motivated when they like the end product they will create. I like to help my second and third grade students create fun projects to share with our school community. In second grade we use PowerPoint (or Google Slides) to create a set of bookmarks about our animal or president. Students can choose one bookmark to display on our bulletin board, take one home, and have two to trade with friends. My third graders also use PowerPoint or Google Slides to create a fun lift-the-flap poster that we display on our library bulletin boards as well. Other students and staff members are drawn to these attractive displays to learn more about animals or the presidents.

Make it Easy on Yourself!

If you’re looking for made-for-you activities to help you teach research skills to your second and third grade students, I can help! These popular resources can be used for in person or distance learning, and include tutorial videos to guide students to success in making fun projects to showcase their learning.

Animal Research 2-3 is fun and engaging any time of year!
President Research 2-3 is great for February activities around President’s Day.

Research Skills for Elementary Students

Research skills for second and third grade students continue to lay the foundation for future learning. If you’re looking for scaffolded lessons to take the learning from kindergarten to fifth grade, check out the resources in this Ultimate Research Bundle . You’ll get lessons and activities for animal research projects and president research projects. Each grade builds upon skills taught the previous year. Help your students progress in their mastery of research skills throughout their elementary school years!

When you make research skills for second and third graders fun, students will remember the process later. And they are more likely to apply it to their own personal interests or future information needs.

Teaching research skills to 2nd and 3rd graders can be challenging. With the right approach you can do engaging 2nd grade research projects and 3rd grade research projects in your elementary school library. Whether you're looking for animal research projects, or president research activities, your students will have fun with these tips for research skills activities for kids!

Be the light!

April 19, 2021 at 5:38 PM

Hello Laura, Thank you for sharing your wonderfully laid out process of teaching research skills to primary-grade students. I appreciate your step-by-step, organized process and advice on how to keep the project on track by building upon each skill. Admittedly, I often jump ahead too fast, which causes the project to stall and drag on until everyone has lost interest! Also, I absolutely love the idea of making each researched animal into a fact-filled information bookmark! This would be perfect in our library, and the students would be so pleased to have their work featured in such novel way –they think bookmarks are one of the best parts of our library (I am the teacher-librarian). I also use the Blastoff Readers in my research project lessons and find these books ideal for teaching nonfiction text features too when I only have time for brief incidental teaching during our book exchange days.

I am so glad to have found your blog and look forward to learning more from you via your posts.

April 23, 2021 at 6:56 AM

Hi Kristin – I’m glad you found some good ideas here! Have fun with your research activities!

May 11, 2021 at 3:26 PM

I really enjoyed this post about research skills for younger grades. I am currently teaching a grade 2/3 class and have found it challenging to really teach these skills to my students. The way that you broke it up with the “Super 3” of Plan, Do, Review, is something I think my students would grasp; breaking down each section with simple instructions. Like the comment above, I too can sometimes jump ahead too quickly which can cause challenges for the students needing extra time fully understand each skill. You mentioned, “It’s important to use the proper vocabulary while teaching research skills to your youngest students,” I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Ensuring that students are aware of the language that goes along with the process will help make connections in future years and projects.

With research, the notion of giving students choice with an overarching topic is something I too see great value in. I plan to have my students research animals this spring and these ideas and pieces of information will be extremely helpful to help guide my students in the right direction. I noticed your ideas for kid-friendly resources are seen in print and through your school’s databases. Do you find most students gravitate to resources found online rather than in print? I know my students are more intrigued with finding information with screens (or just being on devices in general) and many would put the books as their second option. How do you find the motivation levels when doing your research with books versus technology? At this level, is your main focus of research using whatever intrigues them most or ensuring students are using all available technologies to aid in their research skills?

Looking forward to using these ideas this spring!

May 24, 2021 at 12:37 PM

Hi Robyn – I’ve actually found that often my older elementary students prefer to do research using books rather than technology. But I do like giving them a choice. In the younger grades I want them to learn how to navigate the database(s), so I create my lessons to address that need. As they get older they can make choices regarding the sources they use. Overall, our students need to be comfortable using both print and digital resources.

thetrappedlibrarian

📚 Elementary School Librarian 🌟 NBCT 2011 👩🏻‍🏫 Teacher Author Blog: trappedlibrarian.org

Home › Blog Topics › Community/Teacher Collaboration › 5 Tips and Tricks for Teaching Research in Elementary

5 Tips and Tricks for Teaching Research in Elementary

By Kelly Hincks on 05/16/2023 • ( 3 )

Have a Process

Having a defined process that is appropriate for the age of your learners helps to organize your lessons. With my students, we use a modified version of the Super3 model , called the Super3+1. This includes the steps of plan, do, review, and share. This process is taught in a linear fashion with each step being explained and completed on its own. As adults, we know that research is not linear and that you jump back and forth between the steps. However, for young children teaching research in a step-by-step way helps them understand what each step looks like and how it relates to the next.

Assume You Have to Teach It

Students in kindergarten, first, and second grade have limited experience using the research process. What comes naturally to adults has to be explicitly taught. For example, if learners are going to have to open a resource and scroll to the bottom to find what they are looking for you are going to have to teach that. If learners are going to have to develop a guiding question as part of their project then you are going to have to teach that. If they are going to find the title and author’s name then, you guessed it, you are going to have to teach that!

When organizing a research project the homeroom teacher and I will develop our plan and then take a minute to think about each step. We look at how it is organized, how much reading and writing is involved, and what is the purpose of the project. Usually, we have to go back and change something because we know that students are going to need extra support to find what they are looking for.

Keeping it simple is important so you can focus on the skills you want to teach. We make sure to build in time to explain why we need to do things in a certain way. For example, we have students beginning in first grade write the title and author of the resource they are using to make sure they begin to understand the need for citations.

Make It Visual

Images can help immensely when explaining how to conduct research. We use images to represent the process so learners can track their progress. We also use images to help learners understand what they are looking for. How they are used is different based on the reading ability of the learner. With kindergarteners, we use almost all pictures, and with third graders, we use significantly less.

This is an organizer that we use with kindergarten for an animal research project. Students were asked to find out what the animal looks like, what they eat, and where they live. They used sticky notes inside a nonfiction book to help them collect their facts.

This is another kindergarten resource. They color each image once they have completed that step of the process.

Graphic organizers are your friend! Whenever we are doing a project we always use a graphic organizer to help students collect their information. We tailor these organizers to meet the needs of the project and the timeline we have for completing the work.

This is a graphic organizer used with first grade. Each step is numbered to help them organize their work. They can track their progress using the images at the bottom of the page.

Numbers help too! When an image is not helpful, then a number often is. We use Canvas as our learning management system. When creating modules with links to resources that students can use for each project we always number them. This makes it easy for us to help students find a specific resource. We can say use #7. This helps students end up in the right place.

This module was created for 2nd grade for their career project. Each resource is numbered to help students find their information easily.

We also use numbers are part of our graphic organizers to show students how to move through the steps of the process. We can tell them we are on numbers 2 and 3 today. Again, it keeps things simple!

Read-Aloud Resources

Of course, we want students to use print books when they are researching, but using resources that have a read-aloud option can be critical to helping learners be independent. Databases like PebbleGo, World Book Kids, Britannica Elementary, Epic! Books, and many others all have read-aloud options. When working with students on individual projects we provide them a credible resource, but then they can listen to find the answer. This allows them to feel success and ownership throughout the process.

Basket of Tools

There are a few tools that I use whenever I complete a research project with students. All these tools are inside a small basket that can be taken with me to classrooms or nearby when working with students in the library. In this basket, you will find sticky notes of different sizes, sharpened pencils, highlighters, highlighter tape , and guided reading strips . These tools help me to make research more accessible.

Basket of tools used when working with students on a research project.

Highlighter tape is used inside a book.

One of my very favorite things is when a student finds the answer they were looking for. The look on their face, when they discover just the thing they wanted to know, is pretty awesome. It is the moment when they realize they have the power to ask a question and find the answer. That is what research is truly about!

Do you have any research tips or tricks for elementary learners? I would love to hear about them!

Author: Kelly Hincks

I am the librarian at Detroit Country Day Lower School in Bloomfield Hills, MI. I have worked as a school librarian for the past eleven years. I was a classroom teacher for four years prior to that. I have worked in charter, public, and private schools. My favorite thing about being a school librarian is the opportunities I have to work both with students and teachers. I love the co-teaching opportunities and connections I have been able to make! I have served on AASL committees as a member and chair. I currently serve as secretary of my state association, Michigan Association of School Librarians (MASL).

Teaching Research Skills to Elementary Students

Teaching research skills to elementary students takes the entire year. Start with short, teacher-generated activities. Continue with guided subject-area projects. Finally, your students will be ready for independent research.

Introducing genres of writing, teaching point of view, front-loading writing skills, locating and analyzing information, choosing a topic, evaluating, selecting, and citing sources of information, gathering information, organizing information, drafting and revising, enjoy teaching research skills to elementary students.

Our favorite fourth grade teacher sat at the side table with her student teacher. “Let’s continue planning our ELA block ,” she said. “Today, we’ll talk about teaching research skills to upper elementary students.”

“Great!” Mr. Grow responded. “When does the project start?”

Ms. Sneed smiled slightly. “Not one project,” she said. “Dozens. Let me explain.”

What to Do Before Teaching Research Skills

“Before we begin teaching research,” Ms. Sneed said, “we’ll build some background skills. For example, kids need to know the difference between fiction and nonfiction, as well as first- and third-person.”

Without warning, Ms. Sneed spread her arms out wide. “First,” she said, “we’ll talk about the two sides of writing .

“On this side,” she said, wiggling the fingers on her right hand, “we have expressive writing. This is where we find fiction. On this side, writers use a story arc for narrative writing. Elements include characters, settings, plots, and themes. Writing on this side tends to use sensory language and dialogue.”

Now Ms. Sneed wiggled the fingers on her left hand. “Over here, we find informative writing. Obviously, research belongs here. On this side, writers use what I refer to as the hamburger format. The top bun introduces the topic and tells the main idea. The burgers offer the meat of the piece with sup

porting information. Finally, the bottom bun concludes.”

Pointing to the portion of her left arm nearest to her body, she continued. “Argumentative writing falls on this side. It’s written with the hamburger format and offers lots of facts. The purpose, however, is to persuade. Therefore, the author carefully organizes information to support their own opinion. Before they can choose reliable sources, kids should be able to spot writing slanted to a certain point of view.”

Before teaching research skills to elementary students, show them the difference between expressive and informative writing.

Mr. Grow nodded. “I never thought about writing that way before. When will we teach this?”

“Early and often,” Ms. Sneed responded. Every time kids read or write, I spread my arms out wide. Then we discuss where the piece will fall on this spectrum . This simple practice improves kids’ writing, as well as their reading comprehension.”

Next, the mentor opened her laptop. With just a few clicks, she opened a unit on point of view . “In fourth grade,” she explained, “I focus on first- and third-person points of view. Of course, understanding pronouns like I and me, they and them, helps. This lays the groundwork for discriminating between informative and argumentative writing.”

Before teaching research skills to elementary students, explain first- and third-person points of view. This will help them understand the difference between subjective and objective pieces.

Mr. Grow shook his head slightly. “Honestly, I never knew that all of these concepts were interconnected. Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Before teaching research writing, kids need to understand point of view. But in order to do that, they need to know first- and third-person pronouns.”

“Yep,” his mentor replied with a grin. “Nothing’s really taught in isolation. Good teachers purposefully sequence learning experiences. That way, students have the background information needed for each activity.”

“As we move through the first quarter,” Ms. Sneed continued, “we’ll also work on writing skills. Regardless of the genre, kids will use transition terms to link ideas, select precise language, and vary sentences.”

Ms. Sneed turned her attention to her laptop. Then she turned the screen toward Mr. Grow.

“For this activity ,” she said, “kids don’t actually research. Instead, they check facts about several animals. We provide questions and sites. As the students look for information, they also analyze each site’s features. Finally, they rank the sites and list three top features. For example, they might say that a good website includes images, sidebars, and graphs.”

Give kids some practice locating and analyzing online sources.

Teaching Research Skills with Guided Subject-Area Research

“After teaching these research skills, I like to engage kids in a variety of seasonal or subject-area reports. For example, as we study women’s suffrage, each student can research a key figure .”

Once again, Ms. Sneed clicked around on her laptop. “Check this out. For a super short research project, kids can fill out this first page. It only asks for basic information about the person. If, however, you want kids to look deeper into the person’s life, they can analyze difficulties in their life and who helped them. To promote greater historical awareness, students can also consider how history changed the person and the person changed history.

“When they finish, kids write multi-paragraph essays on themed paper and hang it with a picture of the person. It makes a great display in the hall or classroom.”

“Nice,” said Mr. Grow. “Then they can read one another’s papers to learn more.”

“Exactly. It also helps if the principal comes in for an observation. That way, he sees learning in action – right on the classroom wall.”

Short guided projects give kids the skills and confidence they need before tackling independent research.

Teaching Research Skills with Independent Projects

Ms. Sneed shifted in her seat and smiled. “Once kids have a few guided projects under their belts, they’re finally ready to try it on their own. Of course, we’ll continue teaching research skills along the way.”

Once again, she turned to her laptop. “I’d like to show you a project that’s ready to go. As you’ll see, the teacher will still provide guidance. But kids become much more independent.”

She pointed at the screen and explained page by page.

“This activity focuses on birds and their adaptations . In groups of three, kids select a tropical, temperate, and arctic bird from a specific group. Here, we’re teaching research skills related to limiting a topic. Students need to know that topics shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow.”

“In other words,” Mr. Grow said, “they should be just right. Sort of like the Goldilocks principle.”

Ms. Sneed nodded. “Additionally, kids need to be able to find plenty of information on the topic. After they choose their birds, I ask them to do a quick search. If they can’t find enough, they must choose another topic. Furthermore, if everything out there is written for adults, they should choose something else.

“This step is critical. Otherwise, a student may waste several days on a dead-end topic.”

“Before moving on, we spend time teaching an important research skill: evaluating sources. They must be relevant, reliable, factual, accurate, and objective.

“You can do this in several ways. At first, you may want to talk through the list while kids look at a site. Then they can use a checklist . Eventually, we want this to be second nature.”

Ms. Sneed slid a list across the table for Mr. Grow to see.

Relevant – Does this source contain information that will support my research topic? Was the source created for someone like me (e.g., for a fourth grader)?
Reliable – Was it created by a trustworthy person or organization?
Factual and Accurate – Is the information factual? Can I confirm this information with other sources (or does the source cite it sources)? Is the information up-to-date?
Objective – Has the creator presented information to support multiple points of view?

Returning to her laptop, Ms. Sneed scrolled through some note-taking sheets. “When teaching research skills to elementary students, we must provide guidance for gathering and organizing information.”

She pointed to a sample page. In the middle, Mr. Grow noticed a picture of a nest. Branching out in a web, he saw notes about eagles’ homes.

“This,” said Ms. Sneed, “is a mind map. It promotes divergent thinking. As you can see, this student has found and listed lots of facts.

“At this grade level, I provide mind maps for specific categories of information. In this case, for example, kids get pages for appearance, habits, and habitat. Of course, they can add other information on a blank sheet.”

Mind maps provide a great format for note-taking.

Note Sheets

Next, she scrolled to a page with four sections. “When I first began teaching, I tried traditional note cards with my students. What a disaster. At this age, kids lose the cards and have trouble sorting them. Then I came up with the idea of note sheets.

“Each page has four cards, all with similar topics. For example, on this sheet, kids take notes on food and adaptations. They sort the information by what they eat, how they get it, how they eat it, and adaptations that accommodate all of this.”

Instead of traditional note cards, try note sheets for kids in fourth and fifth grades. When categories are grouped together, it models the process.

“That’s brilliant!” Mr. Grow exclaimed.

“Thanks. Best of all, it works. With this method, we train students to categorize. It really helps to organize their writing.

“In fourth grade, my students are only allowed to take notes in short phrases. They’re not allowed to quote until fifth grade. This way, kids master paraphrasing, and plagiarism isn’t an issue.”

Quickly, she scrolled to the next page. “As you see here, I like to use boxes and bullets. Kids write the main idea, or topic sentence in the box and supporting details next to the bullets.”

Forget about traditional outlines! For elementary students, use boxes and bullets to organize research writing.

“After filling in the boxes and bullets, the paper practically writes itself. Drafting is easy.

“When that’s finished, kids revise using familiar strategies: improving word choice, adding transitions, varying sentences, etc.

When you ask for specific improvements to paragraphs, you get it! Don't leave anything to chance when teaching research skills to elementary students.

“I like to use checklists for peer or individual editing. That encourages them to be self-sufficient, and my life is easier.”

“So there you have it! Everything you ever wanted to know about teaching research skills to elementary students. In fourth grade, we start with prerequisite concepts. Then we conduct a bunch of short research related to seasonal or subject-area topics. Finally, kids work on independent research projects. I love watching them become autonomous learners!”

Research Building Blocks: "Cite Those Sources!"

Resources & Preparation
Instructional Plan
Related Resources

Children are naturally curious—they want to know "how" and "why." Teaching research skills can help students find answers for themselves. This lesson is taken from a research skills unit where the students complete a written report on a state symbol. Here, students learn the importance of citing their sources to give credit to the authors of their information as well as learn about plagiarism. They explore a Website about plagiarism to learn the when and where of citing sources as well as times when citing sources is not necessary. They look at examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing. Finally, students practice citing sources and creating a bibliography.

Featured Resources

Avoiding Plagiarism : This resource from Purdue OWL gives comprehensive advice about how to avoid plagiarism.

From Theory to Practice

Teaching the process and application of research should be an ongoing part of all school curricula. It is important that research components are taught all through the year, beginning on the first day of school. Dreher et al. explain that "[S]tudents need to learn creative and multifaceted approaches to research and inquiry. The ability to identify good topics, to gather information, and to evaluate, assemble, and interpret findings from among the many general and specialized information sources now available to them is one of the most vital skills that students can acquire" (39).

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Chart paper
Internet access

Student Objectives

Students will

discuss plagiarism.
practice paraphrasing.
credit sources used in research.

Instruction & Activities

It is very important for students to understand the need for, and purpose of, giving credit to the sources they use in the research process. The students need to learn about the concept of plagiarism. Plagiarism is using others' ideas or words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. While discussing the concept of plagiarism, use this avoiding plagiarism Web page to learn the when and where of citing sources as well as times when citing sources is not necessary.
To remind students of the basic rules to avoid plagiarism, write the following on chart paper and post it close to the research area or media center in the classroom.

another person's idea, opinion, or theory.

any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings-any pieces of information-that are not common knowledge.

quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words.

paraphrases of another person's spoken or written words.

After the discussion, use the example paragraph from How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable Paraphrases to show the appropriate/inappropriate way to paraphrase information.
providing them with a group of resources to create a bibliography for frequent practice in an activity or learning-center situation. Creating a Bibliography for Your Report discusses the various components of a bibliography.
modeling the step-by-step development of a bibliography for your class in a variety of settings and subject areas.
posting the standard bibliography format in a prominent place in your classroom.

Student Assessment / Reflections

As this is only one step in teaching the research process, students need not be graded on the activity. Continued practice in paraphrasing and quoting material is most important, with teacher and peer feedback benefitting the student researcher. Final bibliographies turned in with the research report could then be graded based on accurate information and style.

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Kindergarten K

Research Skills

How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students in 5 Steps (Free Posters)

Please note, this post was updated in 2020 and I no longer update this website.

How often does this scenario play out in your classroom?

You want your students to go online and do some research for some sort of project, essay, story or presentation. Time ticks away, students are busy searching and clicking, but are they finding the useful and accurate information they need for their project?

We’re very fortunate that many classrooms are now well equipped with devices and the internet, so accessing the wealth of information online should be easier than ever, however, there are many obstacles.

Students (and teachers) need to navigate:

What search terms to put into Google or other search engines
What search results to click on and read through (while avoiding inappropriate or irrelevant sites or advertisements)
How to determine what information is credible, relevant and student friendly
How to process, synthesize, evaluate , and present the information
How to compare a range of sources to evaluate their reliability and relevancy
How to cite sources correctly

Phew! No wonder things often don’t turn out as expected when you tell your students to just “google” their topic. On top of these difficulties some students face other obstacles including: low literacy skills, limited internet access, language barriers, learning difficulties and disabilities.

All of the skills involved in online research can be said to come under the term of information literacy, which tends to fall under a broader umbrella term of digital literacy.

Being literate in this way is an essential life skill.

This post offers tips and suggestions on how to approach this big topic. You’ll learn a 5 step method to break down the research process into manageable chunks in the classroom. Scroll down to find a handy poster for your classroom too.

How to Teach Information Literacy and Online Research Skills

The topic of researching and filtering information can be broken down in so many ways but I believe the best approach involves:

Starting young and building on skills
Embedding explicit teaching and mini-lessons regularly (check out my 50 mini-lesson ideas here !)
Providing lots of opportunity for practice and feedback
Teachers seeking to improve their own skills — these free courses from Google might help
Working with your librarian if you have one

💡 While teaching research skills is something that should be worked on throughout the year, I also like the idea of starting the year off strongly with a “Research Day” which is something 7th grade teacher Dan Gallagher wrote about . Dan and his colleagues had their students spend a day rotating around different activities to learn more about researching online. Something to think about!

Google or a Kid-friendly Search Engine?

If you teach young students you might be wondering what the best starting place is.

I’ve only ever used Google with students but I know many teachers like to start with search engines designed for children. If you’ve tried these search engines, I’d love you to add your thoughts in a comment.

💡 If you’re not using a kid-friendly search engine, definitely make sure SafeSearch is activated on Google or Bing. It’s not foolproof but it helps.

Two search engines designed for children that look particularly useful include:

These sites are powered by Google SafeSearch with some extra filtering/moderating.

KidzSearch contains additional features like videos and image sections to browse. While not necessarily a bad thing, I prefer the simple interface of Kiddle for beginners.

Maybe start with no search engine?

Another possible starting point for researching with young students is avoiding a search engine altogether.

Students could head straight to a site they’ve used before (or choose from a small number of teacher suggested sites). There’s a lot to be learned just from finding, filtering, and using information found on various websites.

Five Steps to Teaching Students How to Research Online and Filter Information

This five-step model might be a useful starting point for your students to consider every time they embark on some research.

Let’s break down each step. You can find a summary poster at the end.

Students first need to take a moment to consider what information they’re actually looking for in their searches.

It can be a worthwhile exercise to add this extra step in between giving a student a task (or choice of tasks) and sending them off to research.

You could have a class discussion or small group conferences on brainstorming keywords , considering synonyms or alternative phrases , generating questions etc. Mindmapping might help too.

2016 research by Morrison showed that 80% of students rarely or never made a list of possible search words. This may be a fairly easy habit to start with.

Time spent defining the task can lead to a more effective and streamlined research process.

It sounds simple but students need to know that the quality of the search terms they put in the Google search box will determine the quality of their results.

There are a LOT of tips and tricks for Googling but I think it’s best to have students first master the basics of doing a proper Google search.

I recommend consolidating these basics:

Type in some simple search terms using only the important keywords
If the initial results aren’t what you want, alter the search terms and get more specific (get clues from the initial search results e.g. you might see synonyms that would work or get ideas from the “People Also Ask” section)
Use quotation marks if you want your keywords in an exact order, e.g. “raining cats and dogs”
use your best guess with spelling (Google will often understand)
don’t worry about punctuation
understand that everyone’s results will be different , even if they use the same search terms (depending on browser history, location etc.)

📌 Get a free PDF of this poster here.

How to Google: A Basic Guide for Students by Kathleen Morris (free poster)

Links to learn more about Google searches

There’s lots you can learn about Google searches.

I highly recommend you take a look at 20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know by Eric Curts to learn about “instant searches”.

Med Kharbach has also shared a simple visual with 12 search tips which would be really handy once students master the basics too.

The Google Search Education website is an amazing resource with lessons for beginner/intermediate/advanced plus slideshows and videos. It’s also home to the A Google A Day classroom challenges. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.

Useful videos about Google searches

How search works.

This easy to understand video from Code.org to explains more about how search works.

How Does Google Know Everything About Me?

You might like to share this video with older students that explains how Google knows what you’re typing or thinking. Despite this algorithm, Google can’t necessarily know what you’re looking for if you’re not clear with your search terms.

What about when the answer comes up in Google instantly?

If you’ve been using Google for a while, you know they are tweaking the search formula so that more and more, an answer will show up within the Google search result itself. You won’t even need to click through to any websites.

For example, here I’ve asked when the Titanic sunk. I don’t need to go to any websites to find out. The answer is right there in front of me.

While instant searches and featured snippets are great and mean you can “get an answer” without leaving Google, students often don’t have the background knowledge to know if a result is incorrect or not. So double checking is always a good idea.

As students get older, they’ll be able to know when they can trust an answer and when double checking is needed.

Type in a subject like cats and you’ll be presented with information about the animals, sports teams, the musical along with a lot of advertising. There are a lot of topics where some background knowledge helps. And that can only be developed with time and age.

Entering quality search terms is one thing but knowing what to click on is another.

You might like to encourage students to look beyond the first few results. Let students know that Google’s PageRank algorithm is complex (as per the video above), and many websites use Search Engine Optimisation to improve the visibility of their pages in search results. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the most useful or relevant sites for you.

As pointed out in this article by Scientific American ,

Skilled searchers know that the ranking of results from a search engine is not a statement about objective truth, but about the best matching of the search query, term frequency, and the connectedness of web pages. Whether or not those results answer the searchers’ questions is still up for them to determine.

Point out the anatomy of a Google search result and ensure students know what all the components mean. This could be as part of a whole class discussion, or students could create their own annotations.

An important habit to get into is looking at the green URL and specifically the domain . Use some intuition to decide whether it seems reliable. Does the URL look like a well-known site? Is it a forum or opinion site? Is it an educational or government institution? Domains that include .gov or .edu might be more reliable sources.

When looking through possible results, you may want to teach students to open sites in new tabs, leaving their search results in a tab for easy access later (e.g. right-click on the title and click “Open link in new tab” or press Control/Command and click the link).

Searchers are often not skilled at identifying advertising within search results. A famous 2016 Stanford University study revealed that 82% of middle-schoolers couldn’t distinguish between an ad labelled “sponsored content” and a real news story.

Time spent identifying advertising within search results could help students become much more savvy searchers. Looking for the words “ad” and “sponsored” is a great place to start.

Teach students how to look for advertisements in Google search results

4) Evaluate

Once you click on a link and land on a site, how do you know if it offers the information you need?

Students need to know how to search for the specific information they’re after on a website. Teach students how to look for the search box on a webpage or use Control F (Command F on Mac) to bring up a search box that can scan the page.

Ensure students understand that you cannot believe everything you read . This might involve checking multiple sources. You might set up class guidelines that ask students to cross check their information on two or three different sites before assuming it’s accurate.

I’ve written a post all about teaching students how to evaluate websites . It includes this flowchart which you’re welcome to download and use in your classroom.

How to evaluate websites flowchart Kathleen Morris

So your students navigated the obstacles of searching and finding information on quality websites. They’ve found what they need! Hooray.

Many students will instinctively want to copy and paste the information they find for their own work.

We need to inform students about plagiarism and copyright infringement while giving them the skills they need to avoid this.

Students need to know that plagiarism is taking someone’s work and presenting it as your own. You could have a class discussion about the ethics and legalities of this.
Students also need to be assured that they can use information from other sources and they should. They just need to say who wrote it, where it was from and so on.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

Give students lots of practice writing information in their own words. Younger students can benefit from simply putting stories or recounts in their own words. Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising .

There are some free online tools that summarise information for you. These aren’t perfect and aren’t a replacement from learning the skill but they could be handy for students to try out and evaluate. For example, students could try writing their own summary and then comparing it to a computer summary. I like the tool SMMRY as you can enter text or a URL of an article. Eric Curts shares a list of 7 summary tools in this blog post .

Students also need a lot of practice using quotation marks and citing sources .

The internet can offer a confusing web of information at times. Students need to be shown how to look for the primary source of information. For example, if they find information on Wikipedia, they need to cite from the bibliography at the bottom of the Wikipedia article, not Wikipedia itself.

There are many ways you can teach citation:

I like Kathy Schrock’s PDF document which demonstrates how you can progressively teach citation from grades 1 to 6 (and beyond). It gives some clear examples that you could adapt for your own classroom use.

Staying organised!

You might also like to set up a system for students to organise their information while they’re searching. There are many apps and online tools to curate, annotate, and bookmark information, however, you could just set up a simple system like a Google Doc or Spreadsheet.

The format and function is simple and clear. This means students don’t have to put much thought into using and designing their collections. Instead, they can focus on the important curation process.

Bring These Ideas to Life With Mini-Lessons!

We know how important it is for students to have solid research skills. But how can you fit teaching research skills into a jam-packed curriculum? The answer may be … mini-lessons !

Whether you teach primary or secondary students, I’ve compiled 50 ideas for mini-lessons.

Try one a day or one a week and by the end of the school year, you might just be amazed at how independent your students are becoming with researching.

Become an Internet Search Master with This Google Slides Presentation

In early 2019, I was contacted by Noah King who is a teacher in Northern California.

Noah was teaching his students about my 5 step process outlined in this post and put together a Google Slides Presentation with elaboration and examples.

You’re welcome to use and adapt the Google Slides Presentation yourself. Find out exactly how to do this in this post.

The Presentation was designed for students around 10-11 years old but I think it could easily be adapted for different age groups.

Recap: How To Do Online Research

Despite many students being confident users of technology, they need to be taught how to find information online that’s relevant, factual, student-friendly, and safe.

Keep these six steps in mind whenever you need to do some online research:

Clarify : What information are you looking for? Consider keywords, questions, synonyms, alternative phrases etc.
Search : What are the best words you can type into the search engine to get the highest quality results?
Delve : What search results should you click on and explore further?
Evaluate : Once you click on a link and land on a site, how do you know if it offers the information you need?
Cite : How can you write information in your own words (paraphrase or summarise), use direct quotes, and cite sources?
Staying organised : How can you keep the valuable information you find online organised as you go through the research process?

Don’t forget to ask for help!

Lastly, remember to get help when you need it. If you’re lucky enough to have a teacher-librarian at your school, use them! They’re a wonderful resource.

If not, consult with other staff members, librarians at your local library, or members of your professional learning network. There are lots of people out there who are willing and able to help with research. You just need to ask!

Being able to research effectively is an essential skill for everyone . It’s only becoming more important as our world becomes increasingly information-saturated. Therefore, it’s definitely worth investing some classroom time in this topic.

Developing research skills doesn’t necessarily require a large chunk of time either. Integration is key and remember to fit in your mini-lessons . Model your own searches explicitly and talk out loud as you look things up.

When you’re modelling your research, go to some weak or fake websites and ask students to justify whether they think the site would be useful and reliable. Eric Curts has an excellent article where he shares four fake sites to help teach students about website evaluation. This would be a great place to start!

Introduce students to librarians ; they are a wonderful resource and often underutilised. It pays for students to know how they can collaborate with librarians for personalised help.

Finally, consider investing a little time in brushing up on research skills yourself . Everyone thinks they can “google” but many don’t realise they could do it even better (myself included!).

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5 simple steps to teaching Google search tips and internet research skills for students. This 2019 post and free eBook shows how to research effectively for kids in primary school, middle school and high school. These tips are summarized in a free research skills poster for your classroom.

14 Replies to “How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students in 5 Steps (Free Posters)”

Kathleen, I like your point about opening up sites in new tabs. You might be interested in Mike Caulfield’s ‘four moves’ .

What a fabulous resource, Aaron. Thanks so much for sharing. This is definitely one that others should check out too. Even if teachers don’t use it with students (or are teaching young students), it could be a great source of learning for educators too.

This is great information and I found the safe search sites you provided a benefit for my children. I searched for other safe search sites and you may want to know about them. http://www.kids-search.com and http://www.safesearch.tips .

Hi Alice, great finds! Thanks so much for sharing. I like the simple interface. It’s probably a good thing there are ads at the top of the listing too. It’s an important skill for students to learn how to distinguish these. 🙂

Great website! Really useful info 🙂

I really appreciate this blog post! Teaching digital literacy can be a struggle. This topic is great for teachers, like me, who need guidance in effectively scaffolding for scholars who to use the internet to gain information.

So glad to hear it was helpful, Shasta! Good luck teaching digital literacy!

Why teachers stopped investing in themselves! Thanks a lot for the article, but this is the question I’m asking myself after all teachers referring to google as if it has everything you need ! Why it has to come from you and not the whole education system! Why it’s an option? As you said smaller children don’t need search engine in the first place! I totally agree, and I’m soo disappointed how schooling system is careless toward digital harms , the very least it’s waste of the time of my child and the most being exposed to all rubbish on the websites. I’m really disappointed that most teachers are not thinking taking care of their reputation when it comes to digital learning. Ok using you tube at school as material it’s ok , but why can’t you pay little extra to avoid adverts while teaching your children! Saving paper created mountains of electronic-toxic waste all over the world! What a degradation of education.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Shohida. I disagree that all schooling systems are careless towards ‘digital harms’, however, I do feel like more digital citizenship education is always important!

Hi Kathleen, I love your How to Evaluate Websites Flow Chart! I was wondering if I could have permission to have it translated into Spanish. I would like to add it to a Digital Research Toolkit that I have created for students.

Thank you! Kristen

Hi Kristen, You’re welcome to translate it! Please just leave the original attribution to my site on there. 🙂 Thanks so much for asking. I really hope it’s useful to your students! Kathleen

[…] matter how old your child is, there are many ways for them to do research into their question. For very young children, you’ll need to do the online research work. Take your time with […]

[…] digs deep into how teachers can guide students through responsible research practices on her blog (2019). She suggests a 5 step model for elementary students on how to do online […]

Writing lesson plans on the fly outside of my usual knowledge base (COVID taken down so many teachers!) and this info is precisely what I needed! Thanks!!!

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Getting First Graders Started With Research

Teaching academically honest research skills helps first graders learn how to collect, organize, and interpret information.

Photo of first graders on tablet in classroom

Earlier in my career, I was told two facts that I thought to be false: First graders can’t do research, because they aren’t old enough; and if facts are needed for a nonfiction text, the students can just make them up. Teachers I knew went along with this misinformation, as it seemed to make teaching and learning easier. I always felt differently, and now—having returned to teaching first grade 14 years after beginning my career with that age group—I wanted to prove that first graders can and should learn how to research.

A lot has changed over the years. Not only has the science of reading given teachers a much better understanding of how to teach reading skills , but we now exist in a culture abundant in information and misinformation. It’s imperative that we teach academically honest research skills to students as early as possible.

Use a Familiar Resource, and Pair it with a Planned Unit

How soon do you start research in first grade? Certainly not at the start of the year with the summer lapse in skills and knowledge and when new students aren’t yet able to read. By December of this school year, skills had either been recovered or established sufficiently that I thought we could launch into research. This also purposely coincided with a unit of writing on nonfiction—the perfect pairing.

The research needed an age-related focus to make it manageable, so I chose animals. I thought about taking an even safer route and have one whole class topic that we researched together, so that students could compare notes and skills. I referred back to my days working in inquiry-based curriculums (like the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program) and had students choose which animal to study. Our school librarian recommended that we use Epic because the service has an abundance of excellent nonfiction animal texts of different levels.

Teach the Basics for Organized Research

I began with a conversation about academic honesty and why we don’t just copy information from books. We can’t say this is our knowledge if we do this; it belongs to the author. Instead, we read and learn. Then, we state what we learned in our own words. Once this concept is understood, I model how to do this by creating a basic step-by-step flowchart taught to me by my wife—a longtime first-grade and kindergarten teacher and firm believer in research skills.

Read one sentence at a time.
Turn the book over or the iPad around.
Think about what you have learned. Can you remember the fact? Is the fact useful? Is it even a fact?
If the answer is no, reread the sentence or move onto the next one.
If the answer is yes, write the fact in your own words. Don’t worry about spelling. There are new, complex vocabulary words, so use your sounding-out/stretching-out strategies just like you would any other word. Write a whole sentence on a sticky note.
Place the sticky note in your graphic organizer. Think about which section it goes in. If you aren’t sure, place it in the “other facts” section.

The key to collecting notes is the challenging skill of categorizing them. I created a graphic organizer that reflected the length and sections of the exemplar nonfiction text from our assessment materials for the writing unit. This meant it had five pages: an introduction, “what” the animal looks like, “where” the animal lives, “how” the animal behaved, and a last page for “other facts” that could become a general conclusion.

Our district’s literacy expert advised me not to hand out my premade graphic organizer too soon in this process because writing notes and categorizing are two different skills. This was my intention, but I forgot the good advice and handed out the organizer right away. This meant dedicating time for examining and organizing notes in each combined writing and reading lesson. A lot of one-on-one feedback was needed for some students, while others flourished and could do this work independently. The result was that the research had a built-in extension for those students who were already confident readers.

Focus on What Students Need to Practice

Research is an essential academic skill but one that needs to be tackled gradually. I insisted that my students use whole sentences rather than words or phrases because they’re at the stage of understanding what a complete sentence is and need regular practice. In this work, there’s no mention of citation language and vetting sources; in the past, I’ve introduced those concepts to students in fourth grade and used them regularly with my fifth-grade students. Finding texts that span the reading skill range of a first-grade class is a big enough task.

For some of the key shared scientific vocabulary around science concepts, such as animal groups (mammals, etc.) or eating habits (carnivore, etc.), I created class word lists, having first sounded out the words with the class and then asked students to attempt spelling them in their writing.

The Power of Research Can Facilitate Student Growth

I was delighted with the results of the research project. In one and a half weeks, every student had a graphic organizer with relevant notes, and many students had numerous notes. With my fourth- and fifth-grade students, I noticed that one of the biggest difficulties for them was taking notes and writing them in a way that showed a logical sequence. Therefore, we concluded our research by numbering the notes in each section to create a sequential order.

This activity took three lessons and also worked for my first graders. These organized notes created an internal structure that made the next step in the writing process, creating a first draft of their nonfiction teaching books, so much easier.

The overall result was that first graders were able to truly grasp the power of research and gathering accurate facts. I proved that young children can do this, especially when they work with topics that already fascinate them. Their love of learning motivated them to read higher-level and more sophisticated texts than they or I would normally pick, further proving how interest motivates readers to embrace complexity.

Third Grade Research Skills: BUNDLE

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THIRD GRADE RESEARCH SKILLS: BUNDLE

Everything you need to teach third grade students to think critically during research projects. This bundle includes lessons and activities that teach third graders how to develop and write questions, take notes, create a simple bibliography, and cite images to use in a research project.

Research is not a daunting teaching task with these activities. Each activity meets the developmental needs of second graders while taking their academic needs into consideration. This makes it easy to differentiate for students while teaching them critical research, media literacy, and digital citizenship skills.

AFTER downloading this resource you’ll get:

⭐ Standards Based lessons that explain step - by - step how to teach second grade students:

✔️ how to develop research questions.

✔️ to think critically about resources and meet their learning needs.

✔️ how to research and take notes with pictures and/or words.

✔️ what is copyright.

✔️ what a bibliography is.

✔️ how to create a simple bibliography.

✔️ how to cite images and other sources.

⭐ Developmentally appropriate and fun activities that teach the above concepts and skills:

✔️ Note Taking Sheets & Graphic Organizers designed with third graders in mind for them to

draw notes, draw and write notes, or take handwritten notes.

✔️ Space for students to record their source; as they learn in a developmentally appropriate

way to cite their source for research.

✔️ Bibliography and Citation worksheets

✔️Sorting activities for students to differentiate factual statements about

Bibliographies & citing sources

✔️ Word Scramble activity to help children recall the definition of a bibliography.

✔️ Recording sheet for students to note what they have learned about copyright.

✔️ Copyright Sort Game for students to sort what can and cannot be copyrighted.

✔️ Copyright Worksheet for students to circle what can be copyrighted.

✔️ Scavenger Hunts and other activities for students to think deeply about copyright.

Research achievement badges, bracelets, and stickers with an array of printing options. These are a super fun way for students to show off their research skills. Available in color, black & white, & digital formats to meet your specific printing needs.

Bibliography poster that helps students remember what a bibliography is and its common elements.

self correcting digital games that can be played in Google Slides and Blooket.

QR Code handouts that link to tutorial videos.

Digital Options to take notes that works well with Google Slides™, Seesaw, and PicCollage. Includes detailed directions to explain how to use each digital option.

Digital choice boards.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS COMPLETE UNIT BECAUSE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR YOUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN MEET THEIR SPECIFIC READING AND WRITING ABILITIES OR TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR THEMSELVES.

This activity addresses AASL, CSTA, ISTE, AND CCSS.

Download the preview to get a sample of the bibliography & copyright activities to try now!

As a special bonus and thank you, after downloading the included resources, you also get a newsletter to share with families that explains what students are learning and how they can continue the learning from home.

___________________________________

Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.

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Third Grade Research Skills: BUNDLE

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👇🏼 Download the preview to get a sample of the bibliography & copyright activities to try now!

Products Included in this Bundle:

Description

💜 YOU’LL LOVE THIS COMPLETE UNIT BECAUSE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR YOUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN MEET THEIR SPECIFIC READING AND WRITING ABILITIES OR TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR THEMSELVES.

👉🏼 This activity addresses AASL, CSTA, ISTE, AND CCSS.

👉🏼 As a special bonus and thank you, after downloading the included resources, you also get a newsletter to share with families that explains what students are learning and how they can continue the learning from home.

👉🏼 To download the materials be sure to click the link and then click the download arrow in the upper right hand corner. This will save the files to your computer.

👉🏼 Receive up to 20% discount on each of the included resources when purchasing them in this BUNDLE.

AFTER downloading this resource you’ll get:

⭐ Standards Based lessons that explain step – by – step how to teach second grade students:

✔️ how to develop research questions.

✔️ to think critically about resources and meet their learning needs.

✔️ how to research and take notes with pictures and/or words.

✔️ what is copyright.

✔️ what a bibliography is.

✔️ how to create a simple bibliography.

✔️ how to cite images and other sources.

⭐ Developmentally appropriate and fun activities that teach the above concepts and skills:

✔️ Note Taking Sheets & Graphic Organizers designed with third graders in mind for them to

draw notes, draw and write notes, or take handwritten notes.

✔️ Space for students to record their source; as they learn in a developmentally appropriate

way to cite their source for research.

✔️ Bibliography and Citation worksheets

✔️ Sorting activities for students to differentiate factual statements about

Bibliographies & citing sources

✔️ Word Scramble activity to help children recall the definition of a bibliography.

✔️ Recording sheet for students to note what they have learned about copyright.

✔️ Copyright Sort Game for students to sort what can and cannot be copyrighted.

✔️ Copyright Worksheet for students to circle what can be copyrighted.

✔️ Scavenger Hunts and other activities for students to think deeply about copyright.

📌 Research achievement badges, bracelets, and stickers with an array of printing options. These are a super fun way for students to show off their research skills. Available in color, black & white, & digital formats to meet your specific printing needs.

📌 Bibliography poster that helps students remember what a bibliography is and its common elements.

📌 Copyright poster that helps students remember what can be copyrighted & why we copyright.

🖥️ self correcting digital games that can be played in Google Slides and Blooket.

🖥️ QR Code handouts that link to tutorial videos.

🖥️ Digital Options to take notes that works well with Google Slides™, Seesaw, and PicCollage. Includes detailed directions to explain how to use each digital option.

🖥️ Digital choice boards.

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How I Use Research Tools with My Second Graders

It’s all about age-appropriateness.

Student with headphones researching animals using laptop

PebbleGo is a curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students. Your students will love exploring PebbleGo time and time again. Get your free preview!

Research skills are super important, but when you teach second grade hybrid like I do, they can be quite a challenge to teach. It’s difficult to find age-appropriate digital research materials when doing a random search. Most of the available material is far above my students’ reading level and isn’t necessarily kid-friendly. Fortunately, I found a great resource. Check out how I made these animal reports happen using age-appropriate research tools with my second graders:

Setting the Stage

My students are obsessed with animals, so I decided to do in-class animal research projects using PebbleGo, a research tool specifically designed for K-3 students. For our first introduction, I displayed PebbleGo on my interactive whiteboard and modeled how to navigate through the program.

My demonstration included how to: go through each tab of information per topic, utilize the read-aloud audio, enlarge photographs, watch videos, listen to the corresponding animal sounds, and view the range map to see where animals are found in the wild. Each animal page (except for common pets) has the following information tabs: body, habitat, food, life cycle, and fun facts.

After my mini-lesson, I gave the students 20 minutes to explore the entire animals’ section independently. Their enthusiasm was infectious! Each student had exciting animal facts to share with me every other second.

Student viewing the jellyfish page on PebbleGo

This student is learning about jellyfish on PebbleGo.

Working Together

The next day, I picked one animal to explore in-depth together. I chose the cardinal since we have seen some lately on campus and around the community. After going through each section together, each student found the cardinal page on their laptop.

All of the content has a read-aloud audio feature, which is especially helpful for my struggling readers . Additionally, all of the text and audio can be translated into Spanish. I have a new student who just arrived from Colombia and does not speak any English, so this has been a wonderful tool to assist her.

The students worked independently to complete the two activity sheets, which I also got from PebbleGo! I love how the “Share What You Know” sheet correlates with the five information tabs on each specific animal. Once my class was finished, we went over both sheets together through the document camera.

Student completing the cardinal activity sheets while reading information on PebbleGo

This student is researching and reporting on cardinals using PebbleGo.

Independent Practice

Now it was time for my students to do their own research and mini-reports. To shake things up, we had a drawing to determine what animal each student would research. Each student picked one slip out of a hat (after a round of handwashing, of course!), and things took off from there.

Student researching lions on PebbleGo and writing the information on the report sheet

This student is filling in his Share What You Know fact sheet about lions.

Each student completed a hard copy of the two activity sheets correlating to his or her assigned animal. Next, I introduced the students to the Read More eBooks section connected to each animal, which caused another wave of excitement! There were tons of books corresponding to the animal project topics.

This student is researching the red fox on PebbleGo and writing down her findings.

This student is researching the red panda and reporting her findings on her fact sheet.

Celebrating Success

Everyone shared their findings with the class in recognition of our success. The students were so proud of their reports, which of course had me kvelling.

These are work samples from two students using PebbleGo and the correlating activity sheets.

These are work samples from two different students.

Two more student work samples from the PebbleGo animal report project.

The Takeaway

Our first research project using PebbleGo was a huge success. Even my students who I struggle with daily to complete assignments were highly motivated. This won’t be our last project. Next up: biographies and weather!

Want to try animal reports or another research project with your K-3 students?

Learn More About PebbleGo

8 Genius Research Projects for K–2 Students You Will Definitely Want to Try

Turn your K–2 students into researchers and detectives with these fun classroom projects. Continue Reading

IMAGES

How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students
Teaching Research Skills: Ready, Set, Research Activities and
Teaching Research Skills For Students
Research-Based Reading Intervention Strategies
Teaching research skills to 2nd and 3rd graders can be challenging
Tips for Teaching Research Skills

VIDEO

6th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Picks// Language Arts, Math, Science, Health, Writing, and History
ELA, 2nd Grade, 5/29, Important Ideas
How to be an Effective Research Adviser? PART 1
How to be an Effective Research Adviser? PART 2
Research Skills 7 Introduction
Module 4

COMMENTS

How to Teach Research Skills to 3rd Grade Students
Step 1: Teach What Research Skills Are and Why They're Important. Explain to students that research is a process of collecting and organizing information about a particular topic. Show them examples of research projects, such as a science fair project or a history report. Describe the importance of being accurate when doing research, and ...
How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students in 2024
What Research Skills do Elementary Students Need? Your elementary students are required to learn research skills if your state uses the Common Core or TEKS. Read below to learn what specific research standards your grade level covers. Research Standards in Common Core. The standards listed below are a good starting point for figuring out how to ...
Doing Internet Research at the Elementary Level
I begin teaching research skills in third grade -- just at the time where my students' reading skills are such that they can feel successful and just at the time when they have mounds and mounds of natural curiosity. In the past, I have done your typical find-information-and-regurgitate-it-to-me kinds of projects, all in the name of teaching ...
50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills
It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks. This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students' skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate, and cite. It also includes ideas for learning about staying ...
Teaching Research Skills to Elementary School Children
Using something like Sweet Search may make it easier to teach research skills by weeding out a lot of the chaff that so often comes up on the more popular engines. 4. Teach about source hierarchy and evaluation. Elementary students can comprehend the tiers of legitimacy related to information-gathering. Teachers can explain about primary ...
Strategies for Teaching Research Skills to K-12 Students
How it translates: Step 1, choose your topic. Setting reading goals: As a class, come up with 3-5 questions related to your book's topic before you start reading. After you read, use the text to answer the questions. How it translates: Step 2, develop a research question; Step 5, make your conclusion.
Strengthen Research Skills for 2nd and 3rd Grades
Use Research Vocabulary. It's important to use the proper vocabulary while teaching research skills to your youngest students. This is one way to build that strong foundation for future learning. Make sure you continue to use the same words with your second and third grade students, taking time to review their meanings and give examples as ...
5 Tips and Tricks for Teaching Research in Elementary
Here are five tips and tricks I have learned for teaching research skills to young children. Have a Process Having a defined process that is appropriate In this post the author shares tips and tricks for teaching research skills with students in kindergarten through third grade.
Teaching Research Skills to Elementary Students
What to Do Before Teaching Research Skills "Before we begin teaching research," Ms. Sneed said, "we'll build some background skills. For example, kids need to know the difference between fiction and nonfiction, as well as first- and third-person." Introducing Genres of Writing. Without warning, Ms. Sneed spread her arms out wide.
Research Building Blocks: "Cite Those Sources!"
Teaching research skills can help students find answers for themselves. This lesson is taken from a research skills unit where the students complete a written report on a state symbol. Here, students learn the importance of citing their sources to give credit to the authors of their information as well as learn about plagiarism.
PDF Elementary Research Skills: Grades 3-5
Elementary Research Skills: Grades 3-5 > Getting Started > Course Syllabus ... Teaching isolated research skills to students in grades 3-5 is generally perceived by both the students and the teacher as busywork. The entire picture changes when teachers use student inquiry as a springboard to develop research project ideas. In this scenario ...
27 Things Every 3rd Grader Needs to Know
Third grade is an excellent year to start teaching research skills in relation to writing since there is an emphasis on reading informational text and actually using text features and search tools. However, it's too soon to just let them "Google" on their own. ... Cassie Smith has an excellent blog on teaching rounding in third grade. 19 ...
How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students
💡 While teaching research skills is something that should be worked on throughout the year, I also like the idea of starting the year off strongly with a "Research Day" which is something 7th grade teacher Dan Gallagher wrote about. Dan and his colleagues had their students spend a day rotating around different activities to learn more ...
PDF Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in
the research evidence supporting each of their recommendations. See Appendix A for a full de-scription of practice guides. The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. This guide
Introducing Research Skills to Elementary Students
Teaching academically honest research skills helps first graders learn how to collect, organize, and interpret information. Earlier in my career, I was told two facts that I thought to be false: First graders can't do research, because they aren't old enough; and if facts are needed for a nonfiction text, the students can just make them up ...
Video: How third graders do research for an essay
Kids in third grade are learning to write essays. The first steps are figuring out how to "research" a topic and organize information. Watch this video from Understood founding partner GreatSchools to learn what strategies kids this age typically use for researching and organizing their ideas. Find out what strategies third graders usually ...
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in
This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their ...
Research Skills Worksheets
A set of 6 worksheets to help students identify key facts, details, and vocabulary when researching information. Research skills can be difficult for students to master. This teaching resource includes three informative texts. After reading each text, students must identify the main idea and subject-specific vocabulary, as well as write a set ...
Your Guide to Teaching 3rd Grade Online
14. Manage online classroom behaviors. For many third graders, participating in a video conference call will be a new experience, so they will have to learn new behaviors. Keep online learning safe, predictable, and positive for students by making your expectations very clear.
Third Grade Research Skills: BUNDLE by Vr2lTch
THIRD GRADE RESEARCH SKILLS: BUNDLEEverything you need to teach third grade students to think critically during research projects. This bundle includes lessons and activities that teach third graders how to develop and write questions, take notes, create a simple bibliography, and cite images to use...
Third Grade Research Skills: BUNDLE : vr2ltch
Research is not a daunting teaching task with these activities. Each activity meets the developmental needs of second graders while taking their academic needs into consideration. This makes it easy to differentiate for students while teaching them critical research, media literacy, and digital citizenship skills.
How I Use Research Tools with My Second Graders
PebbleGo is a curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students. Your students will love exploring PebbleGo time and time again. Get your free preview! Research skills are super important, but when you teach second grade hybrid like I do, they can be quite a challenge to teach. It's difficult to find age-appropriate digital ...

How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students in 2024

What are Research Skills?

What Research Skills do Elementary Students Need?

Research Standards in Common Core

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Research Standards in TEKS

20 Research Mini Lesson Ideas

What are the Research Steps for Elementary Students?

Ideas for Elementary School Research Topics

Animal Research Topics for Elementary Students

2. Land Animals

3. Endangered Species

Resources for Teaching Elementary Research Skills

Animal Research Project

What is the animal research project?

What grades is the animal research project appropriate for?

What is included in the animal research project?

4 Research Websites

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Research Skills for Elementary Students

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5 Tips and Tricks for Teaching Research in Elementary

Author: Kelly Hincks

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Teaching Research Skills to Elementary Students

Table of contents

What to Do Before Teaching Research Skills

Teaching Research Skills with Guided Subject-Area Research

Teaching Research Skills with Independent Projects

Note Sheets

Research Building Blocks: "Cite Those Sources!"

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

Common Core Standards

State Standards

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

Materials and Technology

Student Objectives

Instruction & Activities

Student Assessment / Reflections

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How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students in 5 Steps (Free Posters)

How to Teach Information Literacy and Online Research Skills

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