Curriculum
Research and Information Fluency: Grades 4-5
Rating Web Sites
Download Student Sheet(s) for printout in PDF format.
Read a Letter to Educators about Internet research and information fluency from CyberSmart!
Overview
Students discuss and apply criteria for rating informational Web sites, compare their results, and infer that all Web sites are not equally good sources of research information.
Objectives
- Interpret criteria for evaluating informational sites
- Apply criteria to evaluate informational sites
- Infer that all sites are not of equal quality
National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007
Source: International Society for Technology in Education- Research and Information Fluency
- 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
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Kids' Corner
- Endangered Animals by 5th Grade
- Endangered Earth
- World Endangered Species
- World Wildlife Fund: Species (Age 12 or younger)
- Marilee's Endangered Animals Links
- Specie Profiles and Photos
- The Endangered Animals of the World
Materials
- Activity sheets (2, two copies per student)
- Online computer access
Introduce (offline)
- Have students imagine they are asked to do a report and are going to look for information on the Internet.
- Ask: How will you know which sites are the best to use? Students should share their criteria for recognizing helpful sites.
Teach 1 (online)
- Distribute one copy of the activity sheets.
- 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. Choose a site to explore with the class.
- With students, complete the activity sheet, making sure students understand each criterion and how to select and circle only one score per criterion.
- Together, add up the circled scores in each column and then add the three subtotals to obtain a final score.
Teach 2 (online)
- Distribute a second copy of the activity sheets.
- Assign individuals or groups the remaining sample informational sites to evaluate.
- When finished, have students compare their results.
Teach 3 (offline)
- Ask: What is the highest score a site can receive? (42 points)
- Ask: What is the lowest score a site can receive? (14)
- Have students consider the range of possible scores and discuss what score would constitute a "passing grade" for an informational site.
Assess (offline)
The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.
- Ask: How do you use the activity sheet to rate Web sites? (Each question is answered by circling a score and then the scores are added up. The scores of various sites can then be compared.)
- Ask: Which of the questions for rating sites do you think are most important? Students should support their opinions.
- Ask: Why is it important to compare sites when doing research? (because not all sites are equally useful)
Extend (online)
The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.
- Have students review the content of the lesson and then use the scoring criteria to evaluate an informational site of their choosing.
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