NAME ____________________________________        Date _____________________________
5th Grade Student Knowledge Notebook                                    
Evaluation of Information: Finding RELIABLE Resources
Reliable: to depend on or trust (someone or something) : TRUSTWORTHY
Ask yourself if you can trust the source.  Keep an open mind at all times.  Things change rapidly.
 WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW?
Who said it?

What are their credentials? Are they experts, knowledgeable lay people, people without credentials?

Why should you believe them?

 

 

 

 

 What do they say?

What evidence do they use to convince you?  Facts? Opinion? Theory?

Does it make sense with what you already know? If not, who else has said the same thing? Are they reliable?

 

 

 When were the statements made?

Look for dates.

Has new evidence been discovered since then?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Where did you find the information?  Was the information found in a reliable source, such as an encyclopedia compiled by experts, or a magazine in a specialized field?  

On a website, who is the person  giving the information?  Does he or she have credentials? 

 

 Why does the person or group want you to believe what they have to say?

What do they want:

to provide facts so you can make up your own mind

to get your support so you will join them 

 

 

 

 How are they trying to convince you you?

Facts verified by research.

Facts verified by a number of researchers.

Opinions or theories based on research.

Opinions or theories not based on research.

Other ways.

Begin with QueSPER's Toolkit: it is a way to help your organize your information project.

Find out more by clicking on each part of the process.

QUESTION
SEARCH
PRODUCE
EVALUATE
REFLECT
Question:   What are dinosaurs...reptiles, birds, or something else?

What search strategies will I use? Think SMILKA 

Search: Where will I look? THINK  DEARhearT and SIRS DISCOVERER,  Kids World Almanac, Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus
Resources I will  use:
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Search: Keywords I will use:   
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PRODUCE   1. Cite Sources    2.  Take Notes     3.  Rough draft      4.  Final Product 
1.       Citing Sources: Titles of reliable articles:                                   Date of article:
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2.    Taking notes: Read the articles and take notes about what they say.
                Notes are about facts (what can be proved), opinions (what someone believes or thinks) and theories. Theories 
                are halfway between facts and opinions (some proof exists to make us think the theory is true, but not enough).            
 
                                          
Case 1

Dinosaurs are birds/ warm blooded?

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Case 2

Dinsaurs are reptiles/ cold blooded? 

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Case 3

Dinosaurs are 

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Supporting detail from an article
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Supporting detail from an article
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Supporting detail from an article
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3.     Drawing Conclusions: After reading and taking notes, what conclusions can you      draw about what dinosaurs are?  Use the information from your articles in your writing to support your conclusion.  Since this is a personal conclusion be sure to include what you think. (No final product required.)
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Evaluating and Reflecting
What resources were helpful? ____________________________________________________________________
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What were the best key words?______________________________________________________________
  EVALUATION : See Rubric Below
How did I do: ___________________________________________________

Evaluation:  Reliability
Evaluation Rubric for reliable sites and sources
1
2
3

Credentials
No credentials
Credentials not related to the information
Trustworthy because they their credentials were in field of study

Facts

 No facts given; all opinion Facts but no support for facts Trustworthy because they were based upon research

Research

 No research Research methods were questioned Trustworthy because methods were sound

Conclusions

 Not based upon facts or research presented Facts and research did not fit conclusions. Trustworthy because logic and research made sense
Connections to other reliable sources
No other reliable sources given  Other sources were unrelated to the topic Trustworthy because information was connected to other reliable sources.
 

Evaluation Rubric
1
2
3
Cited Sites
Listed no sources but used them.
Listed 2 sources
Listed 4 sources
Completed Notes
No notes but evidence of reading articles
Listed
Notes listed & organized by cause
Listed keywords used and ways to improve
Blank but evidence of work.
 
One keyword
No improvement stated
2 or more keywords or 1 way to improve
Drew Conclusions
No conclusions or conclusions not supported by articles
Conclusions supported by articles no personal statements
Personal conclusion with reasons and supporting detail from articles
Wrote paragraph
No topic sentence or concluding sentence
Topic sentence, or concluding sentence and some supporting detail
Topic & concluding sentences strong supporting detail.
REFLECTION
The next time I have an assignment like this I will:
(What will you do differently? What will you do the same way?)
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© by Carol J. Fox, 2002