Ease into Student Research

Utilize library research databases for student projects.

About Me

Name: Gailyn Miranda

Grade: 9-12

Site: Teacher Librarian

Tech Required

  • Any device or computer!
  • Passwords (obtain from Teacher Librarian at your site) for off campus use.
  • Desire to embed research skills into your curriculum!

TRUSD SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

    • Digital Citizen= Hits the marks!
    • Empowered Learner = Independently use appropriate technology tools
    • Knowledge Constructor = Finding information using digital tools
    • Computational Thinker = Learning and utilizing real-world research skills
    • Creative Communicator = With the information from database research, students locate and analyze information, and learn to explain concepts in their own words
    • Global Collaborator = Using the tools embedded within databases, students annotate, share and collaborate on projects.

Student Tech Skills

Online research strengthens the ability to gather information, in several mediums, across several platforms and synthesize them into new and original ideas, and present that information digitally.

Utilizing computing devices, as well as navigating, locating information online and storing, annotating and re-accessing it are among the many college and career ready skills practiced.

Students locate multiple information sources digitally and decipher what is academic/scholarly in nature from what is not.


Learning Outcomes

Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies – Grades 9-10 and 11-121 Grades 9-10: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.Grades 11-12: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
Model School Library Standards2.2.a Verify the authenticity of primary and secondary source information found online.2.2.b Identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
5 Grades 9-10: Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.Grades 11-12: Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraph and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.
Model School Library Standards1.4.d Analyze the structure and format of informational text that make information accessible and usable (e.g., graphics, sequence, diagrams, illustrations, charts, maps).
9 Grades 9-10: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.Grades 11-12: Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
Model School Library Standards3.2.a Analyze information from multiple sources and identify complexities, discrepancies, and different perspectives of sources.
10 Grades 9-10: By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.Grades 11-12: By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11-12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Model School Library Standards, Grades 9-124.1.a Independently read two million words annually, including a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, and online information.Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects – Grades 9-10 and 11-12
7 Grades 11-12: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or to solve a problem.
Model School Library Standards3.2.a Analyze information from multiple sources and identify complexities, discrepancies, and different perspectives of sources.
10 Grades 9-10: By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.Grades 11-12: By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Model School Library Standards4.1.a Independently read two million words annually, including a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, and online information.Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects – Grades 9-10 and 11-12
6 Grades 9-10: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.Grades 11-12: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information
Model School Library Standards3.3.c Identify capabilities and limitations of tools for organizing and using information.3.3.d Produce media efficiently and appropriately to communicate a message to an audience.4.2.e Organize personal digital information by using metadata, keywords, and tags.
7 Grade 9-10 and Grades 11-12: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Model School Library Standards1.1.a Identify topics, broaden or narrow a topic, and develop ideas to direct the focus of an inquiry.1.2.a Generate research questions based on interests, observations, information, stories, and issues, or on an assigned topic.1.2.b Develop and present a clear thesis statement or hypothesis.1.2.c Finalize the research question or hypothesis by conducting preliminary research.2.2.e Use systematic strategies and technology tools to organize and record information (e.g., anecdotal scripting, footnotes, annotated bibliographies).2.3.c Understand that some areas of investigation have inadequate existing material and require a change in plan, change in topic, or original research. 3.3.h Draw clear and appropriate conclusions supported by evidence and examples.
8 Grade 9-10: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, (primary and secondary) (CA added) using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.Grade 11-12: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over-reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
Model School Library Standards1.3.a Use a variety of search engines and licensed and free databases to locate appropriate information.1.3.d Search for information using advanced search skills (e.g., Boolean operators, adjacency, proximity, wild card symbols, truncation).1.3.e Search for information by using both controlled vocabulary (e.g., subject headings, descriptors) and natural language.1.3.k Use a variety of print, media, and online resources to locate information, including encyclopedias and other reference materials.2.1.a Evaluate online search results, demonstrating an understanding of how search engines determine rank or relevancy.3.1.b Understand the differences between quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing and apply these skills to one’s own work.3.1.c Use appropriate conventions for documentation in the text, footnotes, references, and bibliographies by adhering to an acceptable format.3.3.j Construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations, using appropriate citations.
9 Grades 9-10 and 11-12: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Model School Library Standards2.1.b Analyze important ideas and supporting evidence in an information source by using logic and informed judgment to accept or reject information.


    1. Decide you'll direct students to scholarly, academic sources for their research needs! From desktop, click "ClassLink" icon.
    2. Locate "Research Databases" tile and click.
    3. Select database you'd like to work with. (Most helpful are the Britannica Student/Escolar and GALE Student Resources In Context).
    4. Obtain off campus passwords from your librarian. Passwords not required for any on-campus use.
    5. Execute search as you would using Google.
    6. Explore 'Advanced Search' 'Topic Finder' and other tools available in Gale databases
    7. Use translation tools and Google integration to save articles as Docs in your Drive.
    8. Preformatted citations included, look in toolbars for checked-square icon or the word Cite/Citation.