Resources

The library is here to help you with your instruction! We have created the resources below to support instructors teaching research and information literacy skills in their own classes. If you would like to request an instruction session taught by a librarian, please see our form to Request Library Instruction.

In Person Lesson Plans & Activities

Resources for in person or synchronous classes.

Online Lesson Plans & Activities

Resources for online, asynchronous classes.

Research Handouts & Guides

Handouts & Guides for your students with research tips and reminders.

Accessibility & Instruction Guide

Compiles accessibility best practices for instruction, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines.

Information Literacy Instruction at MSU

For survey-level courses, the library seeks to develop a consistent approach for all sections of a course. This allows the library to offer more specialized and targeted instruction to mid-level and upper-level classes and students. If you would like to request an instruction session taught by a librarian, please see our form to Request Library Instruction.

All resources created by the MSU Library are developed with multiple Guiding Documents in mind including the ACRL Information Literacy Framework for Higher Education.

In Person & Synchronous Courses

Topics & Keywords

LESSON PLAN: Choosing a Topic & Keywords (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews choosing a topic, then determining keywords to use as search terms.

ACTIVITY: Topic Exploration (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students explore multiple topics of interest.

ACTIVITY: Brainstorming Keywords (Accessible Word Doc)
After selecting a topic, brainstorm keywords to use when searching for articles, books, and more.

ONLINE TUTORIALS, suggested topics:

- Refining Your Research Topic
- Identifying Keywords

Searching the Databases

LESSON PLAN: Searching the Databases (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews how to use your topic to refine keywords, exploring keywords, and using the databases, basic search strategies.

ACTIVITY: Pass the Problem (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students collaborate to identify keywords and potential articles for each others topics.

ACTIVITY: Getting to Know the MSU Library (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students identify and use various library resources.

ONLINE TUTORIALS, suggested topics:

- Searching the Databases 101

Advanced Search Techniques

LESSON PLAN: Advanced Search Techniques (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews advanced search techniques including boolean operators, truncation, pearl referencing, subject databases, and more.

LESSON PLAN: Scholarly Conversation (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews how to determine the Scholarly Conversation of a given topic, including the key authors or contributers, key journals, key research methods, and current research questions of the field.

ACTIVITY: Database Speed Dating (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students learn how to find databases by subject, and compare multiple databases to determine the best fit for their topic.

ACTIVITY: Scholarly Communication Research (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students identify the main research topics or questions in their field, the dominant authors or academic figures, specialized journals, and methods of research for their field or topic.

ONLINE TUTORIALS, suggested topics:

- Understanding Scholarly Research, Part 1
- Understanding Scholarly Research, Part 2

News & Journalism

LESSON PLAN: News & Journalism Research (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews the different types of newspaper articles, and how to find newspapers available from MSU Library.

ACTIVITY: Types of News Sources (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students read a newspaper article and answer questions about what they learned.

ACTIVITY: Create NYTimes Account (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students learn how to create a free NYTimes account through the library.

Evaluating Sources

LESSON PLAN: Evaluating Information Sources (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews different types of information sources, and two different methods of evaluating sources including cross-referencing and the CRAAP Test.

LESSON PLAN: News & Journalism Research (Accessible Word Doc)
This lesson plan reviews the different types of newspaper articles, and how to find newspapers available from MSU Library

ACTIVITY: Compare Source Types (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students compare and evaluate different types of sources.

ACTIVITY: Evaluate Sources with Cross Referencing (Accessible Word Doc)
Have students practice evaluating an article or other source using the Cross Referencing method.

Online, Asynchronous Courses

The following resources were created by the MSU Library with funding support from an Online Program Development Grant through MSU's Academic Technology and Outreach Department.