Student Learning and Academic Performance
Digital Literacy
Navigating the Internet for Reliable Resources: Lesson Plan PDF
Grade Level: 6 -12

 

Part I - Introduction

Navigating the Internet can be difficult at times. Understanding how to use Internet search engines will help you find more comprehensive information quickly. Once you find this information it is important to determine that the information is reliable. There are several items listed on a website that will help you determine what information is good and what information might be bias. In this lesson, you will:

  1. Learn how to use special characters in web search engines to narrow your research topic;
  2. Demonstrate proper searching techniques;
  3. Evaluate website information for reliability using the a Quality Information Checklist;
  4. Explain how sites like the Wayback Machine can help check website reliability;

Part II - Class/Advisory Activities

•  Videos

 

Before He Cheats- A Teacher Parody (3:25 minutes) *Note: you may need to refresh the screen. Video could take a few minutes to load.*

•  Discussion Questions

 

 

  1. What internet resources do you use when you conduct research?
  2. Why might Wikipedia NOT be a good resource to use for a research paper?
  3. How can you avoid Plagiarism?

•  Activities

 

1- Using Google
Class Discussion: What internet resources do you use when you conduct research?
Teacher Tips: Visit the Google Search help page. Go over each of the items on the page. Demonstrate the tips using a Google search page.
Activity Suggestion: Searching the Internet Activity and Journal 1.

2- Make it Quick
Watch: Before He Cheats
Class Discussion : Why might Wikipedia NOT be a good resource to use for a research paper?
Teacher Tips : Visit the QUICK: Quality Information Checklist website. Click the link for each of the 8 suggestions and discuss them in class. When you are finished, as a class, take the quiz to check for understanding.
Activity Suggestion : Reliable Resource Worksheet and Writing prompt 1.

3- Take it Wayback
Class Discussion: Visit the Wayback Machine website. As a class, go over Evaluate Sites for Reliability Activity 1 worksheet.
Activity Suggestion: Evaluate Sites for Reliability Activity 2 worksheet .

4- Avoiding Plagiarism
Class Discussion : What is plagiarism?
Teacher Tips : Visit the Plagiarism.org website.
Activity Suggestion : Complete the What is Plagiarism Activity worksheet and writing prompt 1.

Part III - Reflection

•  Writing Prompt(s)  
  1. When I conduct research, the best way for me to verify the information is:
  2. Five things I can do to avoid plagiarism are:

•  Journal Writing

 

Write a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining how one of the Google search suggestions can be helpful during a research project.

Part IV - Extension Activities

•  Class/Advisory - School Activities

 

Have the students conduct research on a topic. In their final product, have them list items they used to verify that their resources are reliable. They can put the “helpful hints” they used in parentheses within their document or list them at the end of the research page.

•  Home Interaction Links  

For Parents & Students: WriteCheck presents users with easy to interpret results showing which sections of a paper appear to be unoriginal and that the writer should verify as properly cited, summarized or paraphrased.

Part V - Resources

Quality checklist

 

http://aam.hct.ac.ae/aam/library/semester%202/org.uk/menu.htm

Google Help

 

http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=134479

Wayback Machine   http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
Plagiarism   http://www.plagiarism.org/index.html