Topic: How to find information?

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

II. Use and creation of information.

The student:

2) uses the information to create his own statement about social events, including public events.

The general aim of education:

The student uses the information to create his own statement.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• finds and uses different sources of information.

• explains what intellectual property rights are.

• uses information legally.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences,

• sense of initiative and entrepreneurship,

• cultural awareness and expression.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• flipped classroom,

• trash and suitcase method.

Forms of work:

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow) for each student,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction (during a previous meeting):

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will test your knowledge on the principles of using various sources of information legally and asses each other’s presentations.

2. The class is conducted using the flipped classroom method. In the preceding class, the teacher divides the students into groups of four and announces that their task will be to prepare a presentation on the selected country, to which they would like to go. It does not matter if some of the groups choose the same country, but to avoid this, the teacher can also ask the students to choose the countries immediately and eliminate the repetitive ones.

The teacher also asks the students to include information on the following issues:

• Warnings

• Travel

• History and the present times

• Religion and culture

• Cuisine

• Accommodation

• Transportation

• Places to visit

The teacher asks the students to familiarize themselves with the film materials „Creative Commons License” and „How to prepare a presentation in Prezi?” from the abstract „How to find information?”. These materials will be useful when preparing presentations by students.

3. The teacher asks the students to prepare their presentations using Google Slides. He informs them, that this way all the members of the group will be able to work at the same time in the cloud. Apart from text, the students are allowed to use photographs, recordings and films in their presentations. The teacher reminds the students, that they should remember about providing the sources and licences when using the materials.

4. The teacher may also suggest some sources the students could use when developing their presentations, e.g. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Google Maps app, Youtube, travelers’ blogs.

Implementation:

A. Before the class – the students work independently in their respective groups (in accordance with the teacher’s instruction but without his direct help or presence).

1. The students watch the “Creative Commons License” and “Google Slides” movies.

2. The students prepare a presentation about a chosen country.

B. During the class – the students present the results of their work, the teacher corrects them, and advises on how the presentations could have been improved.

1. The students present their presentations to the rest of the class.

2. The teacher:

a. pays particular attention to reliable source presentation of all the information or other materials used in the students’ presentations (photographies, infographics, etc.). When there are doubts, the teacher discusses with the class if the materials could have been used, and what had to be done to do it legally.

b. after each presentation, the teacher asks the audience (the rest of the students) to point out to the strengths and weaknesses of the presentations. He asks the students to be constructive, e.g. speaking about what was good about the presentations first or putting their remarks in the “what (and how) could have been improved.”

Summary:

1. Students perform Exercise 1 from the abstract. Together with the teacher, they discuss the correct answers.

2. The teacher carries out a summary part of the lesson using the trash and suitcase method. The teacher hands out small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow). On the green pieces of paper the students write down the useful knowledge and skills they acquired during the class – these go into “the suitcase” (students stick it to a board under that category). The yellow pieces of paper are used to write down things the students did not find useful or interesting – these go into “the trash” (under the sign that reads “trash” on the board). The teacher explains, that their reflection may concern both the acquired knowledge, and the new skills they have learned. The teacher reads students’ reflections on the experience – first the “trash” contents, then the “suitcase”.

3. Homework proposal:

a. Introduce changes to your presentations, basing on the remarks and advice you received during the class.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

How to find information?

We need information not only to make important decisions in our lives, but also when we plan to have some fun like going on vacation.

Even with the most spontaneous trips we should look for information about a place to spend the night, about the weather, and the food. And when we are planning to go to another continent, to a country of a different culture, we really need to get ready!

Split into groups of four. Each group will gather information about a country you wish to visit. Prepare a presentation about the country. You do not need to rewrite all the information. It is fine just to copy, but make sure you provide the source each time you quote someone’s words. You may also use someone else’s photographs, but you have to name the author or at least the source. This is required by the law. Copying information and not providing the source is considered theft of intellectual property. To avoid such problems, watch a presentation about Creative Commons licenses.

What elements should your presentation include? Look below.

You are young people, so we assume you do not need luxury. It is already expensive to travel to distant locations. There are eight elements to cover in your group presentations, so divide the work in your groups equally – each of you should find information on two of them.

Watch a movie on how to prepare a presentation. You can also take a look at a gallery of various pictures from Georgia, and find out what kind of information you should be looking for about the country you choose to prepare your own presentation about.