Week 21 · Theme 3, Lesson 7 A Plan for Digital Research · 3 lessons
2
Notes, sources and an outline
ICT P4 Term 2, Theme 3: pp. 34–37
GoalTake notes with the source of each fact, tell reliable from unreliable sources, and make an outline.
New words
notes · short facts you write down while you researchreliable · can be trusted because experts wrote and checked itunreliable · may hold mistakes or opinions, so we check itoutline · a plan of the parts of your report
Explanation
While you research, write short notes in your own words. Next to every fact, write the place where you found it, because you will need it for your list later. Not all sources are equally good. A reliable source was written and checked by experts, and it is tidy and has few mistakes. A social media post, a wiki page or a blog may be correct, but it can also hold mistakes and opinions, so we check it before we trust it. When your notes are ready, make an outline: an introduction, three sections and a conclusion. The outline is the skeleton of your report.
Fact (in my own words)
Where I found it
A camel stores fat in its hump.
a children’s book about desert animals
Wide feet help a camel walk on sand.
an article in a science magazine for children
Worked examples
Fact
Source
The date palm gives us dates, a sweet fruit.
a book about trees in the school library
People make baskets from palm leaves.
a talk with her grandfather
Mina writes two facts about the date palm in her own words, with the source next to each one.
Mina finds two pages about camels. The first is from a children’s science book checked by experts. The second is a blog with no author’s name and many mistakes. Mina starts with the first and asks her teacher before using the second.
Part
What I will write
Introduction
Meet the camel
Section 1
Its body
Section 2
Its food and water
Section 3
How it helps people
Conclusion
What I learned
An outline for a report about the camel: an introduction, three sections and a conclusion.
Class activity
Fact cards. Cut a sheet of paper into five cards. On each card, write one fact about your topic in your own words, and under it write where you found it, such as a book title or a talk you heard. Then sort the cards into three piles: Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3, and give each pile a heading. That is your outline!
Practice
1
What do you write next to every fact in your notes?
Where you found it, which is the source.
2
A page written and checked by experts: is it reliable or unreliable?
Reliable.
3
List the parts of an outline.
An introduction, three sections and a conclusion.
4
Which two sources are more likely to be reliable? Say the letters.
A and C, because experts wrote or checked them. We do not know who wrote B.
