PebbleGo -
Innovative Research Website
for K-2 Learners

Address: http://www.pebblego.com

Although I’ve focused on free Web 2.0 tools on this site, PebbleGo is a subscription database that must be mentioned. It is an animal database designed by Capstone Publishers for grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade. The subscription price per year for a school is $395.

This research website features more than 200 animal articles, animal audio and video, leveled text, educational games and a wonderful read-aloud capability. It is a fun tool for introducing early learners to database and research concepts.

Each animal article has word-by-word highlighting and read-aloud audio of age-appropriate text. After a couple of introductory lessons, young students will be able to easily access the animal articles independently.

21st Century Skills

PebbleGo supports students in learning the research process that develops information literacy skills. Using this age-appropriate environment, early readers can locate, access, gather and record needed information – all important 21st century learning skills.

In the Classroom

Lesson Plans are available on the website which can be viewed with the Trial Version of PebbleGo. The lesson plans include:

1. Animal Classification Chart – Students learn to use a subject directory to locate information about animals. They categorize and sort the animals by classification and complete a table illustrating the classifications of various animals.

2. Bird Research – Students use a subject directory to locate information about a specific bird. They learn to cite an online article in a bibliography.They complete research notes about a bird and compare their bird with other birds using a Venn diagram.

3. Movement Tree Diagram - Students conduct a keyword search to locate information about animals and how they move. They complete a tree diagram comparing how two animals move.

Student assessments are available for the animal articles. Within each article on a specific animal, there are two forms of assessment. One assessment – “Print and Label” - uses diagrams and drawings to check learning. The other is a report template – “Share What You Know” - which encourages the youngest researchers to develop and practice correct research skills.

Tutorial

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