Summer is a great time for planning big projects for next year’s class. In today’s climate, a teacher would be hard pressed to plan for a big project without considering having students research a topic online.
The problem is there are too many websites! A quick Google search on just about any topic returns hundreds (if not thousands) of results. Where’s a student to begin?
The May 2008 Reading Teacher includes a helpful article
on this very topic. The authors (Baildon & Baildon) offer a Research Resource Guide Sheet that helps students navigate three aspects of resources they might consider using: readability, trustworthiness, and usefulness.
Some school districts are working to develop standards and guidelines for their teachers (see Bellingham School District for an example) and other resources provide an exhaustive list of places to start (see Student Research Resources ).
How do you help your students navigate online material? What resources have you found useful? Do share!