When First reading the chapter on "Going Informational", I thought about what the best way to teach informational writing could be. What better way to teach than to show? By reading research, students will see models of good informational writing and be able to emulate the style. I found this video about a program that makes researching fun and interesting for students. This resource (SIRS Discover) is a user friendly way for students to choose a topic and search it. The results of the search come up with credible research that is at the reading level that students can understand. This is a great way for students to begin their research for their informational pieces while at the same time reading great examples of what research should look like. Do you think this is a good resource for students to use in order to learn informational writing in an informational way? What other things can teachers do in order to make the process of research easier for students?
Thursday, December 3, 2009
"Going Informational"
When First reading the chapter on "Going Informational", I thought about what the best way to teach informational writing could be. What better way to teach than to show? By reading research, students will see models of good informational writing and be able to emulate the style. I found this video about a program that makes researching fun and interesting for students. This resource (SIRS Discover) is a user friendly way for students to choose a topic and search it. The results of the search come up with credible research that is at the reading level that students can understand. This is a great way for students to begin their research for their informational pieces while at the same time reading great examples of what research should look like. Do you think this is a good resource for students to use in order to learn informational writing in an informational way? What other things can teachers do in order to make the process of research easier for students?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I was surprised to see that a site like this exists for students. I wish that I had a site like this when I was younger. It is very helpful when doing research on anything and everything. It also is a great way to show students that informational writing can be fun! There are so many different ways that students can approach the informational writing process. This site gives great tools not only for researching, but for coming up with ideas when creating and interesting piece filled with voice. Students do tend to see informational writing as something that needs to be boring. This is not true. As teachers we need to show our students how exciting any kind of writing can be. With technology out there, we need to adapt and show our students the tools they have to their advantage. Overall I thought this video on SIRS was awesome and I am definitely going to use it in my classroom!
ReplyDeleteFor kids of all ages informational writing can be such a bore and drag because it requires them to go beyong just writing from what they know. They do research and sometimes research can be diffcult and tidious. This website is a great and easy source, I think not only for kids but for everyone. I think by utilizing technology with informational writing will help encourage kids to actually do it! Everyone loves to use the computer and loves to surf the web and this is a fun and interactive way to do that. Not only that but it narrows down information so the younger kids aren’t coming across information that they shouldn’t because we all know that happens sometimes. Teachers can also make the research process easier by having books, articles, sharing stories, notes, and other hands on resources in the classroom so kids can easily access them! This is great and I will for sure take not of this website to use myself.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good resource for students. I think it makes researching easier. Researching can be so challenging and a lot of work which can also mean a lot of frustration. One of the hardest parts about writing a paper, is knowing enough to write it. When you cannot find research it makes writing a research paper so much harder. It is nice that they came up with a research program that is kid friendly and that also means that they won't stumble across anything that they really shouldn't be seeing. I think that this will be useful for teachers when they assign research papers, because they can teach their students how to use this program and things will be that much easier on both student and teacher.
ReplyDeleteI'm taking Computer Applications for Teachers right now, and this week's topic of discussion was online filtering and the negative affects it has on students' research. Sometimes it can be so difficult for students to conduct research on different topics because of the filtering protection many school and library computers have. A website such as SIRS Discover would help students by-pass all of the hassle research may cause them and give them a one-stop-shop to find the information they need for informational writing. Having a resource like SIRS Discover is great, but teachers should always be there to guide students in their writing. Finding the right information for an informational writing project can be difficult and overwhelming, especially for younger students, but if teachers were to use a site like SIRS in the classroom and conduct research and writing as a class, then that would allow students to see how it's done and feel more comfortable researching information for their informational writing assignments.
ReplyDelete“SIRS Discover” appears to be a fantastic, convenient, simple, and extensive research site. I would love to have access to this in my classroom one day. This search engine will help prepare students to research topics and find legitimate and approved sources. In addition, due to the Internet popularity among young generations, this resource will be highly used. Teachers with “SIRS Discover” should make this database and library books required resources for researching so that students can learn how to select resources from various locations. As well, I feel that the colors and easy-to-use navigation at the site is very kid friendly and will make researching not as dull and tedious. As a young student I was never taught how to properly research. When I began researching for papers at Chapman, the academic research database was very new and confusing to me. I feel that if students were better taught how to locate and how to do good research than informational writing will increasingly develop. The teacher can also have students create fun diagrams or research topics that students choose in order to “spark” interest and enjoyment. I am surprised I have not seen this database before and disappointed that I never had access to academic search engines when I was a young student.
ReplyDeleteSIRS sounds like a wonderful website. I think it is a great tool for students to research information for informational writing. I think that oftentimes students can have negative perceptions of informational writing because it has the stereotype of being boring and lengthy. However, as teachers, we must find creative and fun ways for students to do informational writing. For instance I think that interviews and visits to monuments or museums is a great way for students to research informational rather than just using online search engines of books. I also think that SIRS is a great way for students to not feel overwhelmed by the expectations of informational writing, and allows students to categorize and allocate their research effectively. I remember using a similar program when I was younger called Encarta that organized information by topics and categories, much like the SIRS program does. These types of programs are great ways to filter inappropriate website content and allow students to find information in a safe environment. I wish there was a program like this for college students!
ReplyDeleteWow, I definitely wish I had this resource when I was younger. Students these days are so lucky they have access to something like this. Back in our day, we had to use the good old fashioned encyclopedia. Now students have so many options and can get so much useful information from one resource.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great way for students to learn about informational writing. This program provides great examples modeled for them. I really do not know other ways in which research could be made any easier or simpler. This is a great tool. You just type in what you need and it gives you sources that are actually relevant. I would love to incorporate this into my classroom in the future!
This is a great website for kids. It’s so awesome that they have something like this for students to do research on and a gateway to new information. Another thing that I like about this website is that is so much safer for children. I was really glad you touched on that when presenting this blog because Google and other search engine sites out there are full of so much material and things that children really shouldn't be looking at. I would definitely use this site in my classroom as a teacher and probably while I am finishing up school. Great information!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great resource for students to use in order to obtain research for informational writing. I really like how user-friendly the program is. It seems like a very interesting program; in fact, it got my attention. I would love to use a program like this. It makes it seem like the information you are looking for is right at your fingertips. So many times college students have a difficult time looking for information for research projects, that it seems like a program like this would be fantastic. I think it is great for children to be able to access information and research so easily. It will make their research process so much more enjoyable. The fact that this program is so easy to use will allow for students to not waste time searching and searching for articles and information and therefore, they will be able to find valuable research and information. I think this would be a great program to buy for schools and libraries, but I am also wondering how much it costs for a subscription to this service. If it costs too much then schools and libraries in poorer areas will not be able to purchase it, which will put them at a disadvantage.
ReplyDelete