21st Century Information Fluency

Curriculum content appropriate for the Elementary grades

CyberSmart! in The CyberSmart! School Program, [Website]. : n.d. [cited 13 January 2003]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/home/>.

This is a useful site for teaching children how to use the Internet effectively and safely. It will also help them to learn how to evaluate and cite the web sites they use. This free professionally developed Internet curriculum from McMillian / McGraw Hill is designed for grades K-8. The materials include lesson plans, teacher support materials, and an ISTE NETS alignment document.

Great Sites Selection Criteria: How to Tell if You Are Looking at a Great Web Site in The American Library Association, [Website].:ALSC Children and Technology Committee: 1997 [cited 24 January 2003]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/criteria.html>.

The American Library Association provides selection criteria for 'Great Sites'. This document recommends four evaluation points: authorship/sponsorship, purpose, design/stability, and content.

Joseph, Linda C. The Adventures of CyberBee: Evaluation Guide [Website]. :WWW CyberGuide: 1 August 2002 [cited 24 January 2003]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.cyberbee.com/guides.html>.

Linda Joseph is a Library Media Specialist with the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools. She has developed a rich site with a variety of materials. This link leads to the CyberBee Evaluation Guide. Here you'll also find links to curriculum ideas, treasure hunts, research tools, web projects, how-to tutorials and more.

QUICK: Quality Information Checklist [Website]. United Kingdom: 30 July 2001 [cited 12 January 2003]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.quick.org.uk/>.

QUICK - This site provides an 8-step evaluation guide and online quiz. The animated graphics and approachable reading level make it suitable for elementary and middle school students.

Schrock, Kathy. Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Teacher Helpers: Critical Evaluation Information [Website]. :1995-2003 [cited 12 January 2003]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html>.

Kathy Schrock should be on everyone's bookmark list. Her Discovery School site is rich in grade level appropriate materials about Internet search and evaluation skills.