Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of using digital text, print, and other media to support the inquiry process. 
• Identify strategies for integrating The World Almanac for Kids into inquiry instruction.
• Teach students how to locate information within The World Almanac for Kids.

Locating Information Using The World Almanac for Kids

Inquiry is a student-centered approach that focuses on helping students develop skills in three critical areas: questioning, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Locating information in a digital world offers an abundance of opportunities and resources never before available. With this diversity of resources comes the challenge of locating high-quality, trustworthy information. Instructional materials like those in The World Almanac for Kids can be the perfect solution, offering high-quality, accurate information in a variety of formats. Learn more about strategies for locating information and read this Teach With INFOhio blog post, Inquiry and INFOhio: Locating Information. 

Start your instruction with students by showing this short video highlighting why and how to use The World Almanac for Kids for research. 

Demonstrate the difference between a search using a popular web search engine and the same search in The World Almanac for Kids.

1. Open a web search engine and The World Almanac for Kids.
2. Select keywords to support an upcoming lesson or unit, and perform a keyword search in both a web search engine and The World Almanac for Kids. For example, search the term "Ancient Greece". Review the content available in The World Almanac for Kids. Then use the category filters to find the best information for your students' needs.
3. Select a website from a web search for "Ancient Greece".  Explore the website and the content you find.
4. Explore the contents of the searches in The World Almanac for Kids. Compare the information you find in each of the resources.
5. Discuss with students how the features found in The World Almanac for Kids make it simpler to locate specific, valid information.

Advanced Search in The World Almanac for Kids

Students can also use the Advanced Search in The World Almanac for Kids to locate information. This tool features ways to limit a search by Asset Type and Topic. Note that most of the Advanced Search features also are available on the main search page. There, students can use more specific search terms and the Topics, Videos, Games, and More filters to narrow their searches. 

Saving and Sharing Information

Students can save and share the information they find. Help them find the Share button features that allow them to share the URL with others or email the content to a teacher. 

Students can also easily cite the article or content by scrolling to the bottom of the article and finding the citation already created for them. 

Reflecting on Your Learning 

1. What are two things you are doing in your classroom or instruction already that will make it easier to integrate digital content from The World Almanac for Kids? Answer the question in The World Almanac for Kids and Elementary Open Space group Discussions. Find the Integrating Digital Text in Your Classroom reflection question. Reply to the thread and review other participants' responses.
2. After reading the Inquiry and INFOhio: Locating Information blog post, explain how digital content from The World Almanac for Kids supports students as they locate information.
3. What is one challenge you face in implementing The World Almanac for Kids as a teaching resource?