Students as Researchers

Today's post is all about having students learn the basics of research. Since I teach in a first grade classroom, one of the biggest challenge of students researching online is the fact that many of my students have limited reading and writing ability, and don't even get me started on typing and navigating with a mouse! Thankfully, we have a class iPad, allowing the students access to a touchscreen computer. We wanted for our students to complete a nonfiction writing piece, that included finding the information themselves. Since we have an "Animals and Habitats" reading unit that the students already love, we thought animals would be the perfect topic!

Our main goals for students, during this "research process" are for them to go through the process of finding the information themselves, take notes and turn these phrases into sentences, and understand the basic concept of plagiarism (why they can't copy word for word from a book or online.)

After trying a variety of apps, websites, and even creating a custom google search, our first grade team decided to use PebbleGo. We think this is a wonderful way for early childhood students to begin learning about research and is extremely first grade friendly!

Below are several pictures that feature the benefits of PebbleGo. The biggest downside is that it isn't free. But, once we presented a case for why we felt it would be extremely helpful for our students, our school purchased it. Check it out!

Here is the screen my students see when they first access PebbleGo. We purchased Animals and Science, since those are the topics that the students will be researching in Grade 1.

This screen shows the many choices students have under the "Animals" section. We've honestly never had a child whose animal (they chose) wasn't available on PebbleGo. It even features habits and animal habits. One of the best parts, is that my students can easily navigate the whole process themselves with our iPad!

Once a student finds their animal, they come to a screen that looks similar to this. Each animal has pages that discuss their body, habitat, food, life cycle, and "fun facts" in kid-friendly language. There are also related pages that kids can check out if they are particularly fascinated by a topic.

We want for our students to understand why it is important to cite where they find their information, and begin this habit early on. Another nice feature is that when they click on the "Cite" button a pop-up gives them a citation, which they can either copy onto paper themselves or print off to attach to their report.

If it was beneficial for a student to see the information in a printed version, this is an option as well!

Nearly every animal page includes a video of the animal, allowing the child to see them "in action." This is a great way for a student's topic to come to life! Several of my "city kids" have not seen too many animals, besides maybe a few zoos and television. So, these videos are very engaging to them!

One downside of the videos it the fact that they don't have sound. But, there is also a "Listen" button, where students can listen to the sound their animal makes. Again, this is a way to make learning engaging and exciting for young children, or really people of any age!

Another cool feature, is the "Locate" button, which helps students understand where in the world these animals live. This is always a great connection to our Geography unit, which we just finished.

As a way of extending the learning, there is also an "Activities" section under many of the animals. A teacher could print off this notes page for students to record their research, or there is even a labeling sheet.

 PebbleGo also has Games for students to engage in that are focused on the topic they are researching, in this case animals. We've allowed our students to play these games during Exploration Centers, encouraging them to engage with learning about animals in a different way.

One final feature, is that there is a Question of the Day. This doesn't really affect a student's learning about animals, but it is a way for them to engage in the world around them, and they always love sharing their opinion, of course. :)