Research skills have been part of my curriculum standards for as long as I’ve been a teacher, but honestly, for years I just let the librarian handle that aspect of my students’ education. I didn’t want to mess with the notes, reports, and works cited pages…

When I look back to my first experience teaching five paragraph essays to fifth graders, I can remember how terribly unprepared I felt. I knew that the five paragraph essay format was what my students needed to help them…