Curriculum
Research and Information Fluency: Grades 4-5
Choosing a Search Site
Download Student Sheet(s) for printout in PDF format.
Read a Letter to Educators about Internet research and information fluency from CyberSmart!
Overview
Through online observations, students record and compare the features of four children's search sites. They then construct a lift-the-flap poster that will guide them in selecting appropriate search sites.
Objectives
- Identify some children's search sites
- Compare and contrast features of specific search sites
- Explain why it is best to utilize two or more sites when searching for information
National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007
Source: International Society for Technology in Education- Research and Information Fluency
- plan strategies to guide inquiry.
- evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
Home Connection
Download the Home Connection sheet related to this lesson.
Site Preview
Materials
- Activity sheets (3)
- Scissors; paste
- Online computer access
- Printer access
Introduce (offline)
- Tell students that they will compare some children's search sites. Explain that each search site has different features and that they may like some more than others.
Teach 1 (online)
- Distribute Activity Sheet 1.
- Take students to www.becybersmart.org or www.cybersmartcurriculum.org, click on Student Links, and then click on the triangle. Find the title of this lesson, and open its links.
- Assign each student or group of students to one of the children's search sites to visit.
- Have students answer the questions by checking the boxes for each question.
Teach 2 (offline/online)
- Have students report their recorded observations to the rest of the class. If there are discrepancies about the features of a site, revisit the site to resolve them.
- Post the printouts of the search results for "kites." Have students compare the results, noticing that each search engine produced a different list of Web pages.
- Explain that by using more than one search engine, students will have a greater number of sites to visit.
- Have students discuss their answers to "What do you like best about this site?" encouraging the class to identify features that distinguish the sites.
Teach 3 (offline)
- Distribute Activity Sheets 2 and 3.
- Have students cut the six flaps on the dotted lines and fold the solid lines on Activity Sheet 2. Then have them align and paste Activity Sheet 2 over Activity Sheet 3 so that when the flaps are lifted, the answers are displayed.
Assess (offline)
The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.
- Ask: What are the names of some children's search sites? (Ask for Kids®, KidsClick!®, and Yahoo! Kids®)
- Ask: In what ways do these search sites differ? (the ways you can search, how they display results, and the other features/activities they offer)
- Ask: Why is it a good idea to use more than one search site when looking for information? (Because different sites will give different results.)
- Ask: How will using the poster you made help you search? (It can help you pick the best search site for your needs.)
Extend (offline)
The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.
- Have students select their own search topic, and use the lift-the-flap poster to choose the best search sites.
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