This document provides guidance for teachers to demonstrate effective search strategies to middle and high school students. It involves choosing a topic such as Deborah Sampson and modeling how to formulate focused questions to guide research, using quotation marks and plus signs to narrow searches. Teachers should demonstrate searching different sites and how to locate answers to the questions. The goal is for students to then apply these skills to effectively search for information to answer teacher-provided or self-generated questions.

1. Mechanics of effective searching:
Teacher demonstration (Intermediate)
A curriculum for critical thinking and web research This plan is part of a
critical thinking and web
Skill level: Intermediate research curriculum
School level: Middle school (11–13 years old) developed by the International
Society for Technology in Education
High school (14–18 years old)
(ISTE) and Microsoft.
www.microsoft.com/ education/criticalthinkin
Objective: This demonstration shows a search protocol
that the teacher can model for the students.
Building on the results of the searches from the Beginner lesson, teachers should identify
a specific focus for their Intermediate lesson research. Or they may choose to use the
demonstration example provided. Search results can be documented on a graphic
organizer, like the one shown in “Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer.”
Demonstration tips
You may tell students that the information provided on the sites used in the initial
“people of the Revolutionary War” searches resulted in a number of questions. If students
are not expected to develop their own questions to guide their research on a given topic,
the teacher should provide students with guiding questions related to the topic, in
addition to criteria specific to the project.
Possible questions a teacher may share with students
♦ What motivated the individuals who influenced this time period to give so much
of themselves for the cause of American freedom?
♦ In a time period when women did not have many options and were often
uneducated, what gave them the strength and ability to serve?
Teacher script
As I asked these questions, I began to review the entries on important women and became
fascinated with the life of Deborah Sampson. As a young woman, she risked her life to
disguise herself as a boy so she could fight for America. I became intrigued and wanted to
know more about her.

2. Other questions I asked myself were:
(Following are some examples of questions that a teacher may share with students to
impact future research):
♦ Were there specific events in her childhood that led her to want to be a soldier?
♦ What were her contributions to the war for America’s freedom?
♦ How was her secret discovered?
♦ What happened to her when the government learned she was really a woman?
♦ What was her life like after the war?
♦ Did she share her experiences with other women?
♦ Did she try to influence them to take risks?
Based on these questions, you can demonstrate for students the best ways to narrow their
searches to locate the answers to these questions.
Teachers may begin their search with Deborah Sampson and then narrow the searches to
address specific questions about her life. This demonstrates how the use of quotation
marks and a plus sign can limit the number of results provided to sites with information
related to specific questions or topics.
For example, when you type “Deborah Sampson’s childhood” in the search text box
using quotes, a limited number of results are provided. The teacher should then
demonstrate for students how they can use these sites to search further. For example, if
Answers.com is included in the results, the teacher should show the students how to
search using a question or a phrase on this site.
Examples: What was Deborah Sampson’s childhood like? You may also extend the search
on this site by typing “Deborah Sampson’s childhood.”
Teachers should also demonstrate how to use plus signs to narrow a search. The following
examples show the different ways to use a plus sign in a search:
♦ “Deborah Sampson + women in the military” lists sites with information on
Deborah Sampson as the first woman in the military.
♦ “Deborah Sampson + women’s rights” lists sites with information on Deborah
Sampson’s influence on women’s rights.
♦ “Deborah Sampson + Patriots” lists sites with information on Deborah Sampson’s
role as Patriot during America’s fight for freedom.
♦ “Deborah Sampson + Paul Revere” lists sites with information on how Paul Revere
supported Deborah Sampson’s receipt of a military pension.

3. Lesson progression
♦ Teachers should model questioning strategies to narrow the search for information
about the selected topic and to demonstrate how using the plus sign can help.
♦ You can design questions that the students need to answer, based on Internet
research, or require the students to create their own questions.
♦ Students then search effectively using information, questions, and plus signs.
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