What's the Big Idea Warm-Up

A teacher guide for the The Final Verdict lesson, providing a simulation setup, a scoring rubric for the assessment, and debrief discussion questions.

Final assessment for the Search Strategy Academy unit, covering keywords, Boolean operators, database use, and snippet analysis.

Teacher guide for "The Source Weaver" lesson. It outlines the synthesis process, provides a hook activity, transition words for ESL support, and a sample synthesized paragraph.

Student scavenger hunt log for Lesson 5, where students document their search strings and answers to obscure research questions.

A student assessment worksheet for evaluating the credibility of two different sources on the same topic using a structured framework.

Capstone student project for "The Source Weaver" lesson. Students analyze two short texts about Mars, take notes, and synthesize the information into a single coherent paragraph using their own vocabulary and sentence structures.

Comprehensive grading rubric for the Research Credits poster project, evaluating summary quality, in-text attribution, Works Cited formatting, and visual design.

Introductory slide deck for Lesson 5, reviewing all strategic search techniques and introducing the culminating Scavenger Hunt challenge.

Introductory slides for "The Final Verdict", teaching students a simplified evaluation framework (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Purpose) to apply to sources.

Detailed planning document for the Research Credits poster project, providing space for 6th-grade students to track sources, draft their summary, and plan their layout.

Visual slides for "The Source Weaver" lesson. These slides introduce students to the concept of synthesis as connecting ideas from multiple sources to create a new, coherent whole.

Teacher answer key and discussion guide for the "To Click or Not to Click" worksheet, focusing on snippet analysis and evaluation.

Slide deck for the final project of the sequence, explaining the "Research Credits" poster requirements and connecting academic integrity to the concept of a movie's credit roll.

A teacher guide for the Lens Lab Bias lesson, providing neutralizing examples, a rubric for student work, and an answer key for the worksheet.

Student worksheet for Lesson 4 where students practice identifying the best search result based on snippets, titles, and URLs.

Teacher guide for "Quote Quest" lesson. It outlines the decision-making criteria for quoting vs. paraphrasing, provides instructional steps, and includes an answer key for the sorting activity.

Set of classroom reference cards for 6th-grade students, featuring common signal starters for in-text citations with examples and punctuation tips.

A student activity worksheet for identifying loaded words and practice rewriting biased sentences into neutral academic language.

Student activity for "Quote Quest" lesson. It presents several textual scenarios and requires students to decide whether to use a direct quote or a paraphrase, providing a justification for their choice.

Guided practice worksheet for 6th-grade students to master in-text attribution by creating sentences that integrate expert sources using signal phrases.

Introductory slide deck for Lesson 4, teaching students how to read and interpret search result snippets, titles, and bolded terms before clicking.

Introductory slides for "Lens Lab Bias", teaching students how to identify loaded words and perspective in reporting, and how to neutralize biased language.

Slide deck for Lesson 4, introducing students to the concept of in-text attribution using signal phrases and the "newsroom technique" for credible research writing.

Visual slides for "Quote Quest" lesson. These slides help students distinguish between when to use direct quotes for impact and when to paraphrase for factual clarity.

Teacher facilitation guide for Lesson 3, providing instructions for the "Database Race" activity and tips for database exploration.