How can I create an annotated bibliography for a paper or project?
In this lesson, students will learn and practice the steps of creating an annotated bibliography.
What is an annotated bibliography, and why should I create one?
- Consider the benefits of creating an annotated bibliography
- Discover how someone else’s annotated bibliography can benefit your own research
How do I find relevant and reliable sources?
- Explore the definition of credibility as it applies to sources
- Practice assessing a source’s credibility
- Consider why source credibility is important
- Practice finding credible sources
- Learn how to create citations according to a specific citation style
How do I annotate a source?
- Learn about the basic components of an annotation
- Practice annotating sources
Discipline: English
Grade level: 9-12
Summative Performance Task
Description: The students will build a bibliography for a project or paper (e.g. the Solution Plan Project). They will find credible sources and annotate them.
Assessment method(s): Annotated bibliography
Assessment criteria:
- Did the student format their citations correctly?
- Did the student clearly and accurately summarize the sources?
- Did the student comment on how useful and reliable the sources are (in general)?
- Did the student write about how useful they think the sources would be to their project, and why?
Taking Informed Action
Description: The students will compile the sources they collected to create a class annotated bibliography for a project/paper. They will have a discussion about how their class bibliography needs to be revised.
Assessment method(s): N/A
Types of activities featured in this lesson plan...
Nebraska English and C3 Standards
- Reading Informational Text LA.10.RI. 8 Read and comprehend a wide range of informational text of appropriate complexity at the high end of the 9-10 grade band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
- Vocabulary LA.10.V.1 Integrate grade-level academic vocabulary appropriately for a variety of tasks and purposes.
- Writing LA.10.W.6 Gather and use credible evidence from multiple authoritative sources and assess its relevance in answering the research question(s).
- Speaking and Listening LA.10.SL.1 Initiate and participate in structured discussions and collaborations about grade-level topics and texts
- D1.5.9-12. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented
- in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
- D3.2.9-12. Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.
- D3.1.9-12. Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection
Interdisciplinary Connections
Give your students a more integrated educational experience
Overlapping standards and skills
- General: In this lesson, students will learn basic research skills. For example, they will learn how to gauge the relevance and credibility of a source, as well as how to annotate one. These skills will transfer to any lesson where research is involved, regardless of the discipline.
- Civics: In this lesson, students will reflect on what it means for a source to be considered “credible.” In a civics class, students are taught how to account for different perspectives – and the inherent biases that go along with them – when analyzing primary sources and media news.
- Science: In this lesson, students will learn about why source credibility is important. Studying the quality of sources is similar to studying the quality of scientific research. In both cases, students should learn how to recognize credibility in other people’s work. They should also strive for others to view their own work as credible.
Relevant lessons from other disciplines
Interdisciplinary Lesson: How are we and our communities affected by water quality?
Civics Lesson: How do citizens solve problems democratically?
Civics Lesson: How do senators and their constituencies influence each other?
Civics Lesson: How should the diverse perspectives of community members influence the development of civic solutions?