2025-2026
LIBRARY HOURS: Mon., Tues. & Thurs: 7:50am-4:30pm;
Wed: 7:50am-3:25pm (afternoon faculty meeting);
Fri: 7:50am-4pm.
CLOSED on non-class days.
LOGINS & PASSWORDS
C
lick Here for the Passwords List. You'll need to log in as a Catlin Gabel student or employee. Having trouble? Contact your division librarian.
Freshman Foundations: Database Essentials
Class Goals
Useful strategies for searching:
Start with a question or a topic.
Ex: What is the effect of microplastics in drinking water on health?
Brainstorm a list of keywords and phrases relevant to your topic. Be sure to think up some synonyms!
Use quotation marks for exact phrases. Here are some examples:
Use truncation by adding an asterisk (*) to catch all endings of a word:
It is often useful to think of additional keywords or synonyms to help narrow down a search that yields too many results.
Good searches take skill and practice. You'll use these skills all the time in the Upper School and far beyond.
What are Databases?
Many of our databases require a login and password - check the link to the left to get started!
Challenge
You'll receive a card with a letter on it that indicates which topic you'll be researching: A, B, C or D.
***IMPORTANT: Fill out the handout sheet to record your search process. We'll ask you and your partner to present to the group, so you'll need to be ready!***
Let's Search a Database!
Many of our databases require a login and password - check the link to the left to get started!
Note the features in Gale Opposing Viewpoints
Show What You Know
Directions: Work through the Database Essentials handout we've shared with you. Write down your answers, as we'll collect these handouts.
Be ready to present your findings! We'll call on pairs to show us the following:
FOUNDATIONS: Lateral Reading
Class Goals:
Fact Checking Toolbox
Group Challenges
Your task: You have 10 minutes to decide whether the source and information are reliable. Read the directions carefully.
DIRECTIONS
Use lateral reading skills to open at least TWO outside tabs to evaluate the quality and accuracy of the information source.
Prepare to report back to the whole group with your findings.
GROUP 1: AP News (also known as Associated Press)
GROUP 2: NewsMax
GROUP 3: Al Jazeera
GROUP 4: The Hill
GROUP 5: MediaMatters
GROUP 6: Children's Health Defense
GROUP 7: Vox
GROUP 8: Talking Points Memo
GROUP 9: The Onion
MediaBias/Fact Check is a helpful website for evaluating the history, credibility, and accuracy of news outlets. Use the gray box in the upper left corner to enter the name of the news source. Another very helpful use: Click "Bias Categories" on the black menu bar on the page to find alphabetized lists of news outlets with analysis of their accuracy and bias.
This nonprofit organization is affiliated with The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Provides articles that fact check recent events. Use the top bar menu to search by TOPICS or use SEARCH and plug in keywords to search the entire site. Very useful website.
"PolitiFact is a nonpartisan fact-checking website to sort out the truth in American politics. PolitiFact was created by the Tampa Bay Times, a Florida newspaper, in 2007. In 2018, PolitiFact was acquired by the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit school for journalists." --from their website. A highly reliable source.
The site's mission is to "expose people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world — and each other." They examine news stories from various angles of the political spectrum.
AllSides Media Bias Chart
This is the Media Bias Chart maintained by AllSides, an organization that helps readers evaluate the political biases of various news outlets. It's a frequently updated and handy reference tool for quickly estimating the bias of news based on its source.
