THE LEARNING LIBRARY

When I was trying to come up with new ways to teach citation to 8th graders, I was willing to risk failure.  Let's face it, citation is, while a necessary skill, BORING.  So if there was any way to make it more engaging and interactive, I was going to give it a try.  Luckily, this lesson, which involves an online quiz created via Kahoot,  actually worked.  The students got very comptetitive, and judging from their final citations, they remembered at least some of what I was trying to get across.  Even if they didn't get the actual citation form correct, most of them remembered when to cite their sources, which was the critical piece. 

 

The interface for Kahoot is easy to use, and actually using it in the classroom is simple, provided your students have access to a computer, iPad, or phone.  The Kahoot for the lesson below can be seen here.

 

 

Objective:  Identify the criteria for using in-text citations, and correctly format in-text citations in MLA format.

Standards:

Common Core Reading and Writing 

W.8.8 Research to Build and Present Knowledge:  Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

W.8.6 Production and Distribution of Writing:  Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

W.8.7 Research to Build and Present Knowledge:  Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

 

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

2.1.4    Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

3.1.4    Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess

3.1.6    Use information and technology ethically and responsibly

 

Lesson:

I will introduce the concept of in-text citations as the “next step” in ethical use of information in the context of an 8th grade language arts essay assignment.  Instruction about when and why to use in-text citations will take place.  As a formative assessment, students will participate in a Kahoot quiz (https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/4cdb1c36-a9a0-4a60-8961-3f9a1c6e9d6b) reviewing the lesson content to see what needs to be revisited prior to moving on.  After introducing the correct formatting for a variety of sources, students will practice formatting in small groups.  Students will then go into the notes they have been creating in Noodletools, and correctly cite any that require citation as per the earlier lesson. Noodletools is a subscription-based online research management tool, where students can create works cited, notecards, outlines, and research papers, work collaboratively with others, and submit their work to their teachers.  Ongoing formative assessment will take place via Noodletools, where I will keep students apprised of their ongoing progress (the program has a feature that allows me to view and provide constructive and descriptive feedback on each individual notecard that is immediately available to the student). 

 

Assessment:

I chose to use Kahoot for the initial formative assessment because it’s quick, provides immediate feedback for me in terms of how many students understand the material, and is engaging for my students.  They answer questions either via laptop or phone, and can see how well they are doing relative to other players.  If needed, I can pause the game to further explain the concept covered in the question, or to answer any questions that the students have before moving on.