I came across a link on Twitter this morning that I definitely need to share with all of my students: Ten Steps to Better Web Research from one of our favorite research sites, SweetSearch. According to SweetSearch, the Ten Steps to Better Web Research are:
Think before you search
Make the search engines work for you
Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Search engines are not always the best place to start your search online
Try several search engines, not just one
Dig Deep, the best results are not always at the top
Are you looking at a primary source? Why not?
Who created the Web site and writes its article? Why?
When was the information written or last revised?
Are the ads on the site clearly labeled, or are they masked as information?
Be sure to read the article as it explains each of these tips more in-depth and also includes a lot of fabulous links. A few of my favorite links from the article:
I hope you’ve noticed the recent changes to Google search. You no longer click on “Show options” at the top of the page to find other search options like the Wonder Wheel (which you’ll see already in the sidebar). Instead, click on “”More search tools” in the left-hand sidebar:
When you click on “More search tools”, you’ll find several more options to help you with your search:
Good morning. While we do not have school today, it is important to remember that the reason today is a holiday is to celebrate, to honor, a man who so believed in the God-given rights of all people that he was willing to risk his life for the cause. In his most-remembered speech, Dr. King said:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
Do you think he was limiting his reference of “all men” to just men? Men and women? And was it just men and women here in the United States? Or all men, all women, all over the world? What do you think?
I have created an eighth grade “classroom” in Discovery Education. Each of you should have received an email from me within the last hour giving you your username and password. You will need to go directly to the Discovery Education website to use this log-in information.
When you log in, it will ask you whether or not your are thirteen years of age or older. Answer that question and then you should find yourself in the Student Center. If you see a polar bear you’ll know you’re in the right place!
I have already added the two social studies videos to your assignment page. This should allow you quick access to any videos or other Discovery Education content we may use in class.
These assignments are from the packet I left for you when I was at Caritas. You probably already have most of it done. If not, please be sure to finish it by Friday, December 4th. Let me know if you have any questions.
The Links page currently has the link to the Google form for today’s notes as well as links to helpful websites for researching European explorers.
The Chapter Reviews page has questions for each section of Chapter Two which should help focus your studying for Friday’s test. I’ve added the first two sections so far; I’ll finish the questions when I get home.
Be sure and let me know if you have any questions.
To get us started writing comments on each others’ blogs, consider using these comment starters:
This made me think about…
I wonder why…
Your writing helped me form an opinion about..
Your writing made me think that we should…
I wish I understood why…
This is important because…
Another thing to consider is…
I can relate to this because…
I found myself wondering…
I’m not sure I understand…
Before you submit your comment, read it one more time and use a triple check before clicking on “submit”: Would I be happy to have my mother read this comment? My grandmother? My favorite teacher?
I’ve added a new blog assignment to the Eighth Grade Social Studies list. I hope it will make getting started with comments a bit easier. So let’s start here:
Your first blog assignment is posted to my Eighth Grade Social Studies assignment blog. Please note that any blog assignments should be posted to YOUR blog! Not as a comment on mine. Also, please send me an email from your school email account so that I can add you to my contact list in Google. We’ll be using Google docs to collaborate and I’ll need your email address to share documents with you.
Once you’ve added your post to your new social studies page, you’ll need to enable comments on that page. Go to “Manage site,” select “Page settings,” and check the boxes for attachments and comments. Now we’ll be able to comment on each other’s blogs.
Also, if you’d like an easier way to locate the blogs of all of your classmates, I’ve created a page on my 8th grade social studies blog that has links to all of your blogs. Here’s the link: Student blogs.
To begin your research project, please select three possible tribes that you are interested in. Bring your top three with you tomorrow (Tuesday). You might want to begin your search here:
For tomorrow (Wednesday), please have ideas of what your six items will be for the primary sources assignment. Remember, you need two primary source documents, two secondary source documents, and two artifacts. For a more detailed explanation of the assignment, please see the Eighth Grade Social Studies Wiki:
Writing Comments
October 14, 2009 · No Comments · Homework
To get us started writing comments on each others’ blogs, consider using these comment starters:
Before you submit your comment, read it one more time and use a triple check before clicking on “submit”: Would I be happy to have my mother read this comment? My grandmother? My favorite teacher?
I’ve added a new blog assignment to the Eighth Grade Social Studies list. I hope it will make getting started with comments a bit easier. So let’s start here:
Practicing Comments
Tags:blogging·blogs·comments