Our science teachers are discussing whether to allow students to use Wikipedia as a source for their research papers. What do you think of this source?
— Jessica, Orem, Utah
When I read your question, I had a flashback to my science classes BI (Before the Internet). In one project, the students would create booklets on endangered species. Prior to the class periods in the library, we brainstormed questions and possible sources of information. But where did the students go first? To The World Book Encyclopedia. It didn’t matter to the students that the set was more than 10 years old. It was accessible, easy to read, and had lots of illustrations. Rather than put the encyclopedias off-limits, the librarian and I used this teachable moment to discuss the value of using multiple sources of information and to acquaint students with other sources. Our rubric permitted only one encyclopedia in the list of references.
Fast forward to 2009. Enter a search term in your browser and the first resource will probably be an article from Wikipedia. The arguments against students using Wikipedia as a source are based on the fact that in a wiki, most of the entries can be edited by anyone and could contain inaccurate information. The article Wikipedia: Friend or Foe? presents two sides of the issue. There are also wiki-like websites in that many people contribute to them. You have to look at the small print to see they actually are wikis.
So we have a dilemma. Some schools block Wikipedia and some teachers will not accept student work if it contains references to Wikipedia articles. But students can access it outside of school, and I wonder if we ban Wikipedia outright, would students still use it without a citation or create a fake citation? The bigger issue is how we can help our students become critical consumers of the information available to them with a few clicks of the mouse. Your librarian will have advice on how to help students develop information literacy. The ability to evaluate websites for their accuracy, potential biases, and sources is a takeaway skill that students need to learn in all content areas, including science.
You can also help students by modeling the use of accurate and reliable resources. NSTA’s SciLinks has lists of vetted websites on many topics. You can use the My Favorite SciLinks feature to create a list of sites to share with your students. I know a social studies teacher who uses the website Jog the Web to create a collection (or track) of recommended websites for each unit. It could be an interesting project for students to suggest sites to add to the list. (I’ve created a track with resources related to wikis and information literacy.) Many teachers and students also have set up their own wikis to share information within a class. Students add information as they find it and evaluate what others have posted. Access can be limited to registered users.
I must admit when I need basic information on a topic, I’ll read the Wikipedia article. However, I would not cite a Wikipedia article as the only source. But I would scan the list of links and resources at the end of the article for additional information. If I were doing my life science project this year, I’d suggest that my students use Wikipedia as a starting point (as they used to use print encyclopedias), I’d still work with the librarian on recommending online and print resources, I’d start a list of appropriate websites (and have students suggest ones to add), and instead of creating booklets the students would contribute to a class wiki on the topic.
If anyone has examples of information literacy activities or wikis you’d like to share, please add a comment.

Reading this issue’s articles on English Language Learners (ELLs) — Challenges and Solutions for ELLs and Making the Connection — brought back memories of many students in my classes, but especially of Philippe, who moved to my town from Haiti. Philippe spoke a little English, but no one in our school spoke French or Haitian Creole. He must have felt very lonely and isolated. But one day on a field trip as we were collecting and studying aquatic arthropods, his eyes lit up and he began to share his experiences with crabs and other marine animals. Science provided a connection between Philippe and the other students.
I wish I would have had more resources to share with Philippe — but this was BI (before the Internet), so we were limited in what materials we could access. This is not the case in 2009! For example, the libraries at Visionlearning have resources that would supplement science units on a variety of topics — and this website and the resources are available in both English and Spanish. Spanish teachers may be interested in this site, too, to provide reading materials for SLL students (Spanish Language Learners).
And for students who struggle with reading, try searching for topics in SciLinks at a lower grade level. For example, if you’re looking for sites for a high school course, also search for the topic at the middle school or upper elementary levels. Many of these are very appropriate for any age group in terms of readability and interest.
Language diversity is not he only kind of diversity in our classrooms. The article Teaching with Multiple Methods in Mind describes ways to address the various learning styles and preferences that students have. There is also a topic in SciLinks with resources on working with Learners with Disabilities.
SciLinks also includes resources for reading and writing in science (although most of the sites at this time deal with reading). For example, LabWrite guides students through the process of writing lab reports. But the article Reflective Writing discusses the use of writing to help students to go beyond lab reports to reflect on what they are actually learning. This type of writing is often recorded in a Science Notebook.
As a sidebar, also check out SciLinks for Dichotomous Keys to supplement the article Classification and the Dichotomous Key. For example, the website What Is the Key to Classification? has more suggestions for helping students to create (as well as use) these keys.

Snack sorting! It’s an interesting way to involve students in classifying and, while sitting together to eat, there is time to talk about why certain groupings were chosen. Children might sort by shape, create an ABAB pattern, and count the number of each snack shape.
Classification is the theme for the March 2009 issue of Science and Children
I was especially interested in the performance standard scale for the process of classification developed by a group of first-grade teachers in the Coast Metro school districts of British Columbia, Canada (see “Classifying Classification”, pgs. 25-29). The scale details the skills and behavior that may be seen in first graders as they classify and answer these questions:
How are these the same? How are they different? Is there another way you can sort theses into groups? Where would you place this new item in your system? Explain.
The teachers put classification skills on a continuum from Matching, to Sorting, to Categorizing, to Interpreting, “to help them describe how students move through different levels of classification tasks.”
I’m eager to apply this model to the next classification task I introduce in my teaching, and improve the sequence of classifying tasks we work on next year.
Peggy

Even good classroom management can break down at times students are transitioning: from one class to another, between activities, or at the end of a class. “Bell-ringer” activities take advantage of these times. They are not unrelated busywork. They are brief—usually written—activities that encourage students to focus their attention or reflect on the lesson.
At the beginning of the class, have the bell-ringer (or warm-up) ready when the students come in. They should get started right away, even before the bell actually rings. The students are engaged while you take attendance, distribute or return assignments, or check homework. Some examples of warm-ups include:

Answer a question about yesterday’s work or another related topic;
Respond to a statement or visual to uncover any misconceptions or to activate prior knowledge of the topic;
Solve a quick brain-teaser or math problem;
Complete a vocabulary entry with a graphic organizer such as a Frayer diagram;
Do a “quick write” with several sentences on a theme or topic;
Do a “quick draw” on a theme or topic;
Put a few words on the board and ask the students to write a sentence using all of them; and
Respond to a “this date in science history” or current event

At the end of the class, use another bell-ringer (sometimes called an exit activity or a ticket-out-the-door) as a formative assessment to check student understanding through a summary or a brief response to a question. This also gives time to scan the room to make sure materials are put away. Beyond classroom management, exit activities get students to focus and reflect, instead of dashing from the end of one class to another without “packing up” their thinking. But be sure that the exit activity doesn’t make students late for their next class. I know a teacher who has an official “time keeper” in the class to give him a five-minute warning!
Bell-ringers have many formats. Some teachers use a notebook page. Others use a single sheet of paper divided into sections for each day or small pieces of paper (recycling old handouts) that can be turned in. If students have laptops, they can add to a class blog or Wiki. Do students respond positively? They may not at first, but don’t give up! It may take time for this to become a routine.
Some teachers grade bell-ringers; others include them in a class participation rubric. Some collect them and then return them at the end of the unit to review. But be sure to skim them to identify what students do or do not understand. Refer to their work the next day: I noticed that yesterday some of you had questions about… It seems like you understand… I saw an interesting connection between… I observed a teacher who asked the students to put a “Q” in the top right corner if they wrote a question or a check mark if they wrote about what they learned. He skimmed through the papers and used the questions and understandings to guide the next lesson.
You asked, “Do they really work?” I haven’t seen any formal published research on bell-ringers per se (a possible thesis idea for graduate students?). But research (described in Robert Marzano’s Classroom Instruction That Works ) shows positive effects for strategies often used in bell-ringers (e.g., activating prior knowledge, the use of nonlinguistic representations, and summarizing). I’ve seen them used in all kinds of schools, grade levels, and subject areas. My own action research sold me on the topic, and I wouldn’t teach a class or conduct a workshop without bell-ringers.
If anyone has examples of bell-ringers activities you’d like to share, please add a comment.