The Big6: Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement

The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools - K through higher education. Some people call the Big6 an information problem-solving strategy because with the Big6, students are able to handle any problem, assignment, decision or task.

The Big6 Skills:

1. Task Definition
- 1.1 Define the information problem
- 1.2 Identify information needed (to solve the information problem)

2. Information Seeking Strategies
- 2.1 Determine all possible sources (brainstorm)
- 2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access
- 3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
- 3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information
- 4.1 Engage (e.g., read, view, hear, touch)
- 4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis
- 5.1 Organize from multiple sources
- 5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation
- 6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
- 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

The “Big6™” is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more information, visit: www.big6.com

Ms. Pardi's Mystery Cube

Ms. Pardi's classes came to the library to work on writing a mystery. For assistance on this assignment, students were instructed to go to the website: http://readwritethink.org/materials/mystery_cube/ and fill out the sides of the mystery cube to get them started.

Mr. Neuberger's Scrapbooks From The West

"Scrapbooks From The West"

Guidelines:

• Create a work of historical fiction
• You will create a 5 to 6 page booklet detailing the experiences of someone during the Western Expansion Period during or after the Civil War
• Pretend that you are writing to people "back home"
• Use descriptive language (5 senses) and provide detail and character development
• Use 3-5 vocabulary words from the HW sheet
• Discuss where you live, your work, the landscape, your home, the tools you use, the dangers, challenges, rewards, and beauty of your new home in the west AND/OR:
• Discuss famous or ordinary people you've met, or explain your participation in a famous event or a visit to a famous place

Suggestions:

• Rancher or cowboy/cowgirl
• A cavalry soldier or officer
• Miner or someone who lives and works in a mining town...store or saloon owner, etc.
• Homesteader, Exoduster, or Plains farmer
• RR worker or RR passenger,sheriff, territorial governer)
• Artist or photographer
• Husband/wife/companion/child of one of these people

Cover:

• a large white or yellow envelope (9' x 12") with your western address and the address of the folks back home on the front
• Include your real name and period at the top or bottom

Letter:

• 2 pages typed (12 point) or 3 pages neatly hand written
• Pages should be regular 8 1/2 x 11". You may use colored or tea stained paper.
• Work should be proofread and spell checked
• Do NOT plagiarize

Images:

• 3-5 photographs or other images that are at least one-half page sized each
• NO CLIP ART
• You may use black and white or color pictures but they must be clear and relevant. Images should be woven into your story and reflect your experiences
• Images must relate to your topic and include a short caption explaining what the picture is. It should be 1-2 sentences neatly typed or written

Grading Rubric:

• Cover: 5 points...follow directions!
• Letter: 50 points...clearly written, richly detailed, historically accurate
• Images: 30 points...neat, relevant, with captions
• Creativity: 10 points...design, layout, color, etc.
• Neatness: 5 points...handwriting, no jagged cuts, glue blobs, etc.

Helpful Hints

Reasearch: Use textbook or notes for basic info about famous people and events. Use these as a starting point for further research. An image can be the inspiration for the letter.

Use BOOKS or magazines for information and images. There is a cart of books for this assignment on reserve in the library for the duration of the project.

Helpful websites:

• www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus
• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
• http://www.smithsonian.org/
• www.americanwest.com/pages/wespansi.htm

Project Topics Due: October 23rd

Letter Checked: Wednesday, October 28th

Final Projects Due: Wednesday, November 4th

Ms. Pearce's Independent Reading Assignment

Ms. Pearce brought her classes to the library this week to select books for their independent reading for the first quarter. Students were allowed to pick any genre during their first visit.

Ms. Burke's Independent Reading Assignment

Ms. Burke brought her classes to the library to select mystery books for this part of their first quarter independent reading assignment.

Ms. Pardi's Orange Essay

Ms. Pardi's classes came to the library to do research on oranges. One of the websites they vitied was the Topicana Orange Company.

Ms. Pahuja's Science Class

Ms. Pahuja brought her science class to the library to try out the Castle Learning program. Students are able to practive tests on different topics and review.