State standards have become an integral part of the educational landscape across the U.S. However, too frequently education leaders and decision-makers overlook the importance of information literacy as the heart of the skills required to develop student performance levels that meet these standards. In this debut column, Janet Murray provides the Big6 community with the information we need to play the vital role of connecting information problem solving skills with improved student achievement.

Related Big6 Skills: Big6 #1 – Task Definition

Purpose: The purpose of the Memory Minder tool is to aid students in remembering – before they go home at the end of the school day – what information or materials they need to complete their homework.

Learning Contexts: This tool is applicable across subject areas in Grades 3 and up when students may have difficulty preparing for successful completion of their homework assignments.

Discussion: Teachers often assume that students understand immediately the teacher’s expectations when they are presented with assignments and know automatically what materials are necessary to complete those assignments. Students typically are reluctant to ask for clarification, and rely instead on memory or on other students for further information. This tool was created as a reminder about assignments and necessary materials to encourage personal responsibility. By using this tool, students practice and become familiar with asking themselves the questions necessary to prepare to successfully complete their homework. The ultimate goal is for students to practice repeatedly until they become self-sufficient in understanding the process of clarifying homework assignments and preparing the materials necessary for completion.

Sample in Context: The teacher gives an assignment verbally either with or without a handout. Students record the assignment on their agenda (calendar/planner) where the Memory Minder is attached. The student is prompted by the tool to again define the assigned homework, self-check for comprehension of the assignment’s parameters, decide whether or not to ask for clarification from the teacher, and to self-check for materials necessary to successfully complete the assignment. Repeated practice should make the student adept at self-checking and help him or her to consistently reach success in completing assigned homework.

Memory Minder:

This lesson introduces the Big6 as a useful tool for research and problem solving; and motivates students to approach research with a positive and curious attitude.

During the current school year, 2001-2002, I had the opportunity to become acquainted with the Big6. Margaret Lincoln, our library media specialist at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, Michigan organized a workshop to provide Big6 training for 48 educators from local school districts in southwest lower Michigan. The workshop facilitator was Big6 co-founder Bob Berkowitz. Funding was supplied by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Teams of teachers and librarians participated in the initial training and then collaborated together to develop or modify an existing lesson to reinforce the Big6 approach. I am pleased to share with you a lesson that I revised with Margaret’s help.

I teach Spanish. In an effort to support a school improvement goal tied to career education, I assign my students to write an I-search paper on “how knowing Spanish will help them attain the job of their dreams.” In the past, it was difficult for me to help students with the research portion of this assignment. Students often became frustrated as I was frequently unable to direct them to appropriate sources of information.

For example, if a student was interested in becoming a teacher or entering a health profession, it was relatively easy. Such individuals inevitably come in contact with Spanish-speakers in our rapidly growing global community. I had more difficulty advising a student who wanted to enter a technical or scientific field. I would suggest beginning a keyword search with such terms as “bilingual” and “Spanish” and “nuclear engineering” for example. But this tactic was not always successful. Then, I would encourage students to look for demographic information about the city or state in which they might like to live. If Spanish could not be used directly in a job situation, perhaps it would be useful in everyday encounters in the community.

Mrs. Ormbsby helping student Sarah Crumback
My exposure to the Big6 allowed me to re-work the I-Search assignment. Prior to going to the library with students, I gave them an “” Task definition (Big6 #1) (writing down a question to be answered) and brainstorming of sources (Big6 #2) would take place in the classroom. Once we arrived in the library, students would locate the information they needed (Big6 #3). On their I-Search Beginner’s Outline, they would write the best sources to use (Big6 #4) and organize their information into a preliminary outline for writing their papers (Big6 #5). Finally, they would reflect on their search process in order to determine if they had really been able to answer their initial question (Big6 #6). If not, they would formulate a hypothesis about how knowing Spanish might help them in pursuing a chosen career.

“I wouldn”t have known where to start without the outline” Kellie Hungerford, 10th grader at Lakeview HS in Spanish II.

Thanks to the use of the I-Search Beginner’s Outline, our library research experience became an extraordinary success. Not only did students ask fewer questions on where and how to search for information on their own, but the students also needed less help in writing the final drafts of their papers. They knew exactly what my expectations were for the assignment and how to meet these expectations.

“It helps to apply Spanish to real life and not just to the class” says Ashtyn Thomson, 11th grader at Lakeview HS in Spanish II.

Jared Halonen and Kelly Hungerford working together on the assignment.
By incorporating the Big6 into instruction, I was able to give my students a head start in learning how to research and solve any problem that might arise in the course of their daily lives (whether it be buying a birthday present or giving an oral presentation). You can do this too! Our students will not only be successful in high school, but also in college and even in the “job of their dreams.”

“You don’t fall asleep writing this paper.” Sarah Crumback, 10th grader at Lakeview HS in Spanish II.

This instructional unit provides students with the opportunity to study the powers of the President, and the growth of Presidential power over the years. Through library research and the use of their textbook, students access information to be analyzed, evaluated and applied to a simulated situation. Students are required to prepare both written and oral products to demonstrate their knowledge.

• Continue reading

Related Big6 Skills: All

As a classroom teacher, my kindred spirit at Harper Creek High School in Battle Creek, Michigan is the school librarian, Jackie Tafoya. Perhaps this is due to our shared passion for books. However, I think it is more likely due to our similar approaches and our journeys. We are constantly searching. So, it seemed a natural fit to participate in a workshop that encouraged collaboration between librarian and teacher. The workshop was Big6 and the facilitator was Big6 co-founder, Bob Berkowitz. The opportunity for collaboration was afforded to us due to the vision of Lakeview High School’s media specialist, Margaret Lincoln, and the generous funding of an Expert in Residence Grant through the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Jackie and I have always collaborated but Big6 gave us an effective blueprint for the following lesson.

Discussion: I teach a class called visual literacy. It is designed to enable students to become critical readers of their visual worlds. Memorials are one of the many visual products we examine. After deconstructing a variety of memorials, students design their own memorials accompanied by essays of rationale. Given the events of 9-11, they had the challenge of designing a memorial for the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or Flight 93. In the past, library time has been ineffectual for many students. Jackie and I would have a line of students begging for help and lose others to off task behavior due to their frustration. Students were overwhelmed with the amount of research needed to design a memorial and ill prepared for the endeavor. It was evident that very few students were able to access the data they required; still others appeared unaware as to what information they needed. Valuable research time was wasted as we attempted to tease out the questions that could generate their searches.

Sample in Context: Jackie and I sat down to re-work the memorial assignment after attending the Big6 workshop. We determined that she would come to my classroom and lead the brainstorming session concerning the possible sources for accessing the required information. Prior to her LCD presentation, I prepared a Memorial Task Outline that clearly focused students on the purpose of the research. Students were given a list of memorial requirements that enabled them to easily generate their own questions for research. Thus, before entering the library, students had a clear sense of their needs and a multitude of choices as to possible sources to meet those needs.

The Big6 workshop encouraged me to reflect and reevaluate my use of the school librarian. Too often Jackie’s knowledge and expertise never made it past a few select individuals. Her LCD presentation excited the students. They took notes, asked questions, and were engaged by the information presented. At the end of the session, several students were anxious to pursue the information at home that night. It is important to note that the information was not new to them. They had been exposed to a variety of search engines and resource texts prior to my class but never in a setting that demanded full focus on the librarian’s wealth of information. In addition, making them responsible for noting possible sources before our library visit placed them in charge of their research. They became researchers. The depth and breath of their research was impressive. More importantly, their investment in their research and designs was exciting and rewarding. Incorporation of Big6 into our instruction provided our students with effective search strategies that they could utilize in other arenas of their lives. We had become a community of learners and active participants in our construction of knowledge. The students were kindred spirits in their desire to search and Jackie and I had discovered fellow companions. Companionship is crucial on a long journey.

• Continue reading

The tablet PC can provide a wireless and keyboard-free notetaking experience for students and educators. This portable timesaver may be just the item you’re looking for!

Read how the Timber Drive elementary school built a powerful information and technology team founded on Big6 concepts and collaborative thinking.

Several school districts have aligned the Big6 Skills with their state standards, and then use them to design an information literacy curriculum. Janet examines curriculum designs developed by West Hartford, CT, West Nyack, NY, and Mankato, MN.

This article discusses a collaborative project between the Syracuse University Library and the Writing Program, using a process based on the Big6 to teach information literacy skills in the context of an actual research assignment. The project illustrates that the Big6 can be successfully adapted to online instruction in a multiple-section course and stresses the importance of carefully aligning information literacy instruction with specific course goals and objectives.