Not everything on the Internet is useful...

I know, it's 2011 and we still have to reiterate that not everything on the Internet is useful. But, there it is. Not everything on the Internet is useful. This week, I've been helping first and second graders finding information online (assigned by their teachers), and after scrolling through 20+ pages of web results, gave up in frustration over a couple of animals. This helped me to remember that we need to reiterate a few research rules when assigning classroom projects:
1.) Always pre-research to know what your children are going to find.
2.) Discuss with your librarian a menu of options before assigning animals so that you know what they are going to find.
3.) Make a research note template with your kids first to help them organize their information.
4.) Be aware that information online is written with adults in mind and younger children will need support.
5.) Many elementary school children lack even basic internet search skills. Help them out by setting up a curation tool such as livebinder or sqworl or limit their searching to an online encyclopedia like factmonster.Remember, your librarian wants to help you out with research, so let him/her. It'll save you some time too.