Information Literacy in the primary grades

Sometimes things are worth repeating. I posted this on U Tech Tips, but I like David’s article so much I thought I’d post it here as well.
—————————————-

David Warlick does some of his best writing at 3am. This post is a perfect example! Dave discusses teaching information literacy in the primary grades. I’ll be adding this to the U Tech Tips’ Must Read list. Dave gives 4 great suggestion on how  primary teachers can start laying the ground work for information literacy and teaching students the ethics of information.

So, IÂ’ll be telling my K-2 teachers today, to teach their students to respect the information. IÂ’ll tell themÂ…

1. When they talk about information, always work in where the information came from, who produced it, and why it is reliable
2. When they introduce information, include the search process. Show
   the students the web page — but start with Yahooligans, and include the
   search process that found the web page.
3. When students write something, or draw something, or produce a video or audio something, they should copyright it. Include Copyright (c) by studentÂ’s name 2006. Give them the sense of owning information and being responsible for it.
4. When bringing community helpers into the classroom, ask them, “How
   do you use the Internet to save lives?” or, “How do you use e-mail to
   serve your constituents?”

I wonder how many times teachers have plagiarize? How many times do we take a lesson from someone else, adapt it and use it without giving credit to the original creator? Or how many times have we cut the Copyright off the bottom of a worksheet? The best way to teach others to respect information is by showing them that we are not afraid to give credit to others. These 4 steps to respecting information is a great start! I encourage you to read the whole article.

Technorati Tags: David Warlick, information literacy, information ethics