SIRS+Researcher


 * Class Activity 1:**


 * Common Core State Standards:**


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7** Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1b** Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2b** Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6** Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8** Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

1. Create a new page on your wiki and label it SIRS Researcher 1 with today's date. Open up a new tab.

2. In the new tab, go to @http://library.nycenet.edu and scroll down to Staten Island. Then click on CSI (It's the first school listed under Staten Island). Scroll down to "Databases" on the left hand side, find //SIRS Knowledge Source//, and click on it. You can also try this link to go directly to the database: @http://www.proquestk12.com/default.shtml.

3. The username is ** csi ** and the password is ** csi **. Click on "My Products Page."

4. Open the database and click on "Database Features" which is on the top. All the way to the left you will see "Leading Issues" under the red banner for SIRS Researcher. Click on it.

5. A page of 300 leading issues comes up. Read through them and choose 5 that you think you might be interested in. (You can choose more than 5 if you like lots of the topics).

6. Answer these questions on the new page you just created on your wiki. Make sure you elaborate your answers. The more pre-writing you do at this stage the better for you as you will be doing a lot of your own writing for the Web site you create on the topic you settle on:


 * What topics are of interest to you and why?
 * Does this topic have personal or geographic appeal? Why?
 * Is this a topic you have always wanted to know more about? Why?
 * Is this a good topic for a logical argument? Why?

7. Now go to this page on my wiki: http://collegeresearchskills.wikispaces.com/NYC+Information+Fluency+Continuum and answer the questions on the first worksheet: "__Hooking to an Inquiry Topic__."


 * Exit Ticket**

@http://padlet.com/wall/collegeresearch1

@http://padlet.com/wall/collegeresearchs2


 * Class Activity 2:**

1. At this point, you are to create a new page on your wiki and called it "Critical Thinking and Analysis." Go back to the five topics you chose in the SIRS database and read through:


 * the **background information** on each of your topics
 * the **pro/con perspectives**
 * and **answer the questions for critical thinking and analysis**

It is possible that you may want to change your topics at this point if you previously chose topics you were not that interested in, the purpose being that if you haphazardly chose any topic, you might want to take the choosing of a topic more seriously since you will have to be doing some in-depth reading and analysis of your five topics. Once done answering the critical thinking and analysis questions for each topic, you can start your research and start finding articles that you will use for your research in the SIRS database.

2. It is now time to choose a topic for research. You will go to this page of my wiki: http://collegeresearchskills.wikispaces.com/NYC+Information+Fluency+Continuum and answer the questions on Worksheet 2, __Connecting to a Manageable Topic__ and Worksheet 6, __Writing Questions that Lead to Inquiry__. This will help you to formulate a good research question.

3. In order that you read each of these articles carefully, you are to answer the following questions about each article using the rubric at the bottom of this page:


 * What is the topic you are reading about?
 * What is your research question?
 * What is the source citation? Just cut and paste it from the bottom into your wiki page. **DO NOT COPY THE URL!**
 * Summarize the central idea of this article in one or two sentences **IN YOUR OWN WORDS**.
 * List two to four specific details that support the central idea **IN YOUR OWN WORDS**.
 * Create an opportunity for further research by writing down two questions the text raises about the central idea (explicitly or implicitly). **Explicit means** stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt, while **implicit means** implied though not plainly expressed.
 * Write down one word or phrase whose meaning you do not fully understand.
 * Next, write down what may be preventing you from understanding it (is it an unrecognizable term? an unfamiliar person, place, or allusion?)
 * Use a third party resource (dictionary, thesaurus, Google search) to find its definition or meaning. Write it down.
 * Write one question about this article that you can pose to your peers in a discussion (effective questions help complicate our understanding of an issue rather than simplify it).
 * Create a table (I will show you how), and write your own response, reaction to the article in a t-chart fashion

4. Before moving on, I want you to learn to use another database, // Opposing Viewpoints in Context //. You will access this database by going to @http://library.nycenet.edu, scrolling down to Staten Island and selecting CSI/Marsh/McCown. Once there, you are to scroll down to Databases and choose // Opposing Viewpoints //. You will get a page with a lot of links to databases. // Opposing Viewpoints // is the last one under "Cross-Searchable Products." Click on it. (If you decide to do this research from home, the database will ask you for a password. It is ** empirelink **.

5. You are to use the features of this database to look up article(s) on your topic so that ultimately, you will have searched for information in at least two databases at this point. On your wiki page, you are to make sure you cite in which database you got your information. You can just cut and paste the citation information onto your wiki page. The source citation information in both databases will indicate in which database the information was retrieved from. For example:

Winders, Delcianna. "Zoos: Misery Behind Bars." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 26 Aug 2013: n.p. **//SIRS Issues Researcher//**. Web. 13 Oct 2013.


 * or**

Broudy, Oliver. "Factory Farming Ignores the Suffering of Animals." The Rights of Animals. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The Practical Ethicist: 'The Way We Eat' Author Peter Singer Explains the Advantage of Wingless Chickens, How Humans Discriminate Against Animals, and the Downside of Buying Locally Grown Food." Salon. 2006. **//Opposing Viewpoints In Context//**. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.


 * Class Activity 3: **

1. Once you have read at least TEN articles about your topic, you are ready to start building your Web site. You will be creating a Web site about this topic either informing people about it, in which case you are to present both sides of the issue, or you are to argue for or against it.

2. Keep track of what you have read by writing down the source citations from each database for the ten articles you read on your wiki. You will need this information.

3. After reading at least 10 articles, you should be able to answer the following questions for your topic. Elaborate as much as possible in the answering of these questions. Your answers will form the basis of all of the writing you do for the Web site that you create on your topic.


 * Does this issue relate to my personal life? yes or no
 * Do I know someone affected by this issue? yes or no
 * Has this issue affected my community? yes or no
 * Has it affected other communities in other states or countries where my friends or family live? yes or no
 * What terms do you need to know to better understand this issue?
 * Who is affected by this issue?
 * What are the main controversies associated with this issue?
 * Who are the key figures and organizations surrounding this issue?
 * What significant events have occurred related to this issue?
 * Which essential question associated with this issue are you interested in answering?
 * Which viewpoint do you most strongly agree with? PRO or CON?
 * List 2-3 articles containing arguments related to the side of the issue in which you strongly agree.
 * List 3 facts from your research that support your viewpoint on this issue.
 * List 3 opinions from your research that support your viewpoint on this issue.

4. Now go to this page of my wiki: http://collegeresearchskills.wikispaces.com/NYC+Information+Fluency+Continuum and answer the questions on Worksheet 8, __Refining Research Questions__.

**Daily rubric for these assignments**:


 * **100 points** || **90 points** || **80 points** || **70 points** || **60 points** || **0 points** ||
 * With the goal of reading one article a day in class, student accurately answers all questions posed about their article **in their own words** and shows tremendous effort and aptitude for reading, research, and writing || Student is reaching the goal of reading an article a day, answering most questions in class, and is writing the answers **in their own words** || Student is reaching the goal of reading an article a day in class but is not answering the questions posed about the article in class and **in their own words** || Student is getting half of the work done in class, but is not answering the questions in their own words; rather cutting and pasting the answers to the questions directly from the article || Student is not doing work in class but is doing their work for homework || Student does no work in class or for homework ||