OBJECTIVE

Participants will create a pathfinder for children to use in the classroom.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever gone online and tried to find information on a particular topic? It can be incredibly frustrating, even for an adult. Can you imagine a child wading through the millions of sites to try to find facts for their unit on American Indians or the state of Maryland? YIKES! So, what can we as educators do to help zero in on the “good stuff”?

With the overwhelming amount of information available to students both on the Web and at the media center or public library, it is critical to help them choose the best resources and utilize them effectively. Pathfinders can take this huge “chunk” of information and create a manageable “bite” that is geared specifically to meet the needs of a target group. By searching the Internet and narrowing down the resources available on a particular topic, pathfinders can be incredible time-savers for students or teachers.

In an article written by Kelly Kuntz, Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Library Service for a school district in Oregon, she defines a pathfinder as, “a path guiding students as they navigate the complex world of the information age. A pathfinder does not pretend to be comprehensive; it is merely intended as a starting point, a launching pad for students.”[1]

Ready to blast off? ship

ACTIVITY

Effective pathfinders should include a variety of resources, including print, non-print and electronic titles. Both fiction and non-fiction materials should also be included.

First, read the short article by Kelly Kuntz entitled, “Pathfinders: Helping Students Find the Paths to Information” at http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/May03/Kuntz.shtml.

Next, check out some sample pathfinders to see what they look like and what they should include. Some sites are:

Beavertown School District Pathfinders

http://www.beavertown.k12.or.us/pathfinder/pathfindersamples.html

Camden County Library System

http://www.camden.lib.nj.us/pathfinders

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library

http://www.potamusplace.net/pathfinder.shtml

Joyce Valenza’s Student Pathfinders

http://www.springfield.k12.pa.us/shs/quest/pathfinders.htm

You can also use www.google.com, and use the keywords “creating a pathfinder” (or something similar) to locate thousands of examples of pathfinders.

3. Now, you are almost ready to create your own pathfinder. Before you begin, look at a pathfinder template at one of the following sites:

Joyce Valenza’s site

http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/pathfinder.html

Kelly Kuntz’s site

http://home.wsd.wednet.edu/pathfinders/template_pathfinder.htm

ASSIGNMENT

Choose a topic for your pathfinder, and create your very own pathfinder! It should include:

Websites: Go to the World Wide Web and find the best web sites related to your topic. Remember to consider the grade level for which you are creating your pathfinder when choosing the “best” sites.

Books: Go to your local library’s website, or try Frederick County Public Library’s at http://www.fcpl.org to find some appropriate books. Remember to include fiction and non-fiction.

Dewey Decimal Numbers: Also find out the dewey decimal number for your pathfinder topic.

References: Offer both book and Internet references for your students. You may want to suggest kid-friendly web sites such as Yahooligans! or http://factmonster.com in case students need further information. You may want to include keywords to help them in their search. Another suggestion is to include links to clipart or graphics that they might want to use for their reports or to view images of their research topic.

Magazine or Journal Articles: Again, Frederick County Public Library’s site – http://www.fcpl.org - includes a database where you can search magazines and journals.

Videos or CD-Roms: If they are available, include a list of videos, music CDs or CD-Roms that may be related to your pathfinder topic.

Community Resources: If applicable, include telephone numbers or web sites for local resources that may further assist your students. For example, if your pathfinder is about cows, you may include the telephone number of a local dairy or 4-H club so students may call to obtain additional information.

RUBRIC FOR EVALUATION

	1 - minimum	2 - developed	3 - accomplished
Focused Pathfinder Topic	Pathfinder resources not related to one focused topic.	The majority of resources are related to one focused topic.	All resources are related to pathfinder topic.
Variety of Sources	Does not include all components of pathfinder template.	Contains the majority of components of pathfinder template.	Contains all components of pathfinder template.
Appropriate Resources	Sites and/or books are too easy or too difficult for intended group.	Most resources are appropriate for grade level the pathfinder was created for, but some other resources may have been the better choice.	All resources are appropriate for pathfinder target group.
Organization and Overall Appearance	Not organized by type of resource. Font too small or too large. No use of italics, bolding, clipart; general overall appearance confusing or visually unappealing.	Clearly able to differentiate between types of resources. Overall appearance could have been approved by changing font, adding italics or clipart.	Well-organized and visually appealing. Appropriate use of clipart, fonts, etc.,

[1] Kuntz, Kelly, (May 2003). Pathfinders: Helping Students Find Paths to Information. [Electronic version]. Multimedia Schools, pages 1-3. Retrieved July 1, 2003 from http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/may 03/kuntz.shtml.