GoalPlan my research before I search: choose a topic, write what I know and what I want to learn, and pick kinds of sources.
New words
plan · the steps you decide on before you starttopic · the subject you want to learn aboutlibrarian · a person who looks after a library and helps you find booksaudio · sound that was recorded, such as a talk or a story
Explanation
A good explorer plans before setting off. A plan for digital research has five small steps. First, choose your topic, for example the camel. Second, write what you already know about it. Third, write what you want to learn, as questions. Fourth, choose the kinds of sources you will use: written texts, recordings, videos and pictures. Fifth, ask a teacher, a family member or the school librarian which sources are good for your topic. It is like packing your bag the night before a trip: the plan saves you from running around at the last minute. You can do all of this on paper before you open any device.
Choose a topic→Write what I know→Write what I want to learn→Pick kinds of sources→Ask a grown-up
Worked examples
What I know
What I want to learn
Camels live in the desert.
How long can a camel go without water?
A camel has a hump.
What does a camel eat?
Salma chooses the camel as her topic. She divides her paper into two columns: one for what she knows and one for the questions she wants to answer.
Karim thinks of kinds of sources for his research: a written book, a recorded talk, a short video and pictures. This way he gathers information in more than one way.
Omar is not sure which sources are best. He asks his teacher and the school librarian, then writes a list of what they suggest.
Class activity
My research plan. Choose a topic you like, such as the date palm, the Nile or football. Fold a sheet of paper into three columns: What I know, What I want to learn, and Where I can look. Write at least two lines in each column. Show your plan to a partner: can they suggest one more question?
Practice
1
Name the two things you write before you start to search.
What I already know, and what I want to learn.
2
Name three kinds of sources a digital search can include.
Any three of: written texts, audio recordings, videos, pictures.
3
Which picture shows an audio source? Say the letter.
B, the headphones, because we listen to the recording.
4
Does the question “How tall is a baby camel?” go under “What I know” or “What I want to learn”?
Under “What I want to learn”, because it is a question.
