Just Because It's Out There Doesn't Mean It's Good
Summary
Students go on an Internet treasure hunt to find information about a famous world explorer. They compare information from two different sites to come to a conclusion about whether they can trust all Internet sources.
Objectives
After this lesson, students will
- know that some information available on the Internet is not valuable for research.
- understand the need to be familiar with a topic before beginning an Internet search for information.
Materials
Preparation
- Set up computers (1 per pair of students) with selected Hunt pages already loaded and ready for students to work.
- Prepare 1 copy of Treasure Hunt worksheet per pair of students.
- Prepare a sign for each team of 4 researchers (to aid in group formation at end of “Treasure Hunt” portion of lesson.
Activities
Time | Activity |
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5 min | Introduction- Find out how many students have used the Internet before. “What is the Internet?”
- Explain that students will be studying Explorers this year in social studies
- We have a cool activity on the Internet to get started with Explorers
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20 min | Treasure Hunt- Assign students randomly to a team researching one of the explorers (4 students per team, divided into two pairs)
- One pair of students works together at one computer to complete the Hunt on their explorer.
- Students should select and answer all three of the questions.
- Teams reconvene as a group of 4 to compare answers and notes. Discuss and answer the “Big Question.”
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15 min | Group discussion- Whole class discussion of findings and the “Big Question.”
- Key points to bring out:
- Not everything on the Internet is useful
- Be familiar with your topic first by reading books
- Check facts with other sources
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5 min | Preview of future lessons- Introduce culminating activity—the next three lessons will provide students with the tools to correct the mistakes they found at the AllAboutExplorers.com site
- Tools and skills to locate good information
- Ability to evaluate web sites and other Internet sources
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