Unit 3: Synthesize your Sources
Note for Unit 3
In the first unit I addressed to you, the student, in the second unit I addressed to you the teacher for your students, now I am addressing the content to both of you, the user, as you will be learning how to synthesize your sources as well as picking up how you can teach it as well. The CARP Chart can be utilized by anyone from a middle school setting and up, however, the material in this unit is complex and should only be wielded by students with the capability of working with a handful of sources.
Before starting, think to yourself, how do you find more viable sources and how do you pull out information from a source(s) that answers a question?
Finding Additional Sources
Congrats! You should have found at least one valid source that you can use to help answer your question, but you are probably going to need more. After going to www.Google.com and searching for anything you will first be met with advertisements (Google has to make money somehow) and page after page of results. If your Google search is too broad it will create millions of search results that have little to do with the discussion or perhaps you were too specific which ended with few options to work with. It takes strategy to locate the right sources that pertain to the topic you are looking for, here are some that may help:
- Identify the most important 2-4 words: Locate what keywords you are looking for and drop superfluous words like “the” “does” or “who” as they tend to overcomplicate the search.
- Thesaurus: Find synonyms for your keywords as different vocabulary may lead to desired results!
- Scramble: Try different combinations of your keywords to attempt to get better results.
- Exact Phrases: Use quotations around the words you want verbatim so it will look for the exact wording and not a different combination or specific parts of your phrase.
- Specifics: Use site: followed by a specific website or domain to find results from that website or domain. Example: site:cnn.com or site:.org
(Spencer, 2020)
Here is a video that includes even more tips and tricks of what to include in your Google Search:
Connection to New York State Standards
This course was formulated to reflect the anchor standards for reading and writing found in New York State Education Department's Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. I wanted these units to be flexible enough to meet the needs of any social studies, science, or technology-related classroom in the form of digital literacy as it is becoming more involved in our technology-driven lives. In Units 1 and 2, we covered anchor reading standards that dealt with key ideas and details, craft and structure, and integration. The remaining part of this unit will pertain to the anchor standards of text types and purposes and research to build and present knowledge. (NYSED, 2015)
The Main Ideas from Multiple Sources
Analyzing multiple sources is a major literacy necessity in the 21st century as many will face situations that will require them to interpret multiple sources in order to make a rational opinion. Limiting students to just one text will not prepare them for tasks that lie ahead, as the user is reading from one source from one point of time for a specific purpose that is penned usually by a singular author. Understanding multiple sources will lead to a more factual truth by weighing evidence, examining purposes at the time of publication, and comparing authors. With knowledge being readily available at our fingertips, it is crucial how to evaluate what to do with different kinds of information. (Lawless et al., 2012). So far, we have only analyzed one source with your students, now it must be taught how to find other worthy sources.
In the last two units, we focused on determining the credibility of sources, now we have to figure out what to do with these sources once we know they hold trustworthy evidence. This involves a transition from questioning the source to pulling answers from the source. Not all parts of your reliable sources should be transferred over to the final product which should include points that are relevant to the research question. They’re many ways to attack this issue, but the most flexible method for any subject is highlighting the main ideas that back up a claim. Below is a great video that assists the user in categorizing what is important from the original source.
The main idea one should look for is NOT the main ideas of the author or the article, but the main ideas that solve the research question across the sources you found credible. The answer to a research question should not be fulfilled in just one statement but multiple concepts that must be explained further. The user should provide corroborating documentation in the form of connections made between the sources in order to back up their point of view. By filling out a CARP chart, the reader should be able to pick up factors that can be used to figure out the research question. Once enough proof has been verified, the user should be able to manifest their opinion on the matter which will be their claim. The user is trying to build up their case on why their claim is correct so each main point should contain multiple sources to show that their answer does not come from one opinion but is consistent from source to source.
Unit 3 Activity
Directions: Based on the information in the credible sources you found, you will generate a claim that answers the research question. Construct 3 main ideas based on evidence from your sources. Please include which source you got your information from.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BNakUd4NM0wkjg7TR8P83WdkLRw7vyfg0ms1PFM2zJw/edit?usp=sharing
References
Lawless, Kimberly & Goldman, Susan & Gomez, Kimberley & Manning, Flori & Braasch, Jason. (2012). Assessing multiple source comprehension through evidence-centered design. Reaching an understanding: Innovations in how we view reading assessment. 3-17.
NYSED. (2015). New York State Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/nys-next-generation-literacy-standards-grades-6-12.pdf.
Spencer, S. (2020). Google Power Search. O'Reilly Online Learning. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/google-power-search/9781449311940/ch01.html.