Rebecca Barbusca                                  

SLM521SP03

5/02/03

Online Course Module #1

 

                                   

Kid-Friendly Websites 

 

 


 

 

Objective:  Students will create an annotated bibliography of Web links that are user-friendly and interesting to children.

 

Introduction:  The Web can be a quagmire of information, especially for children. When I searched for “kid sites” on Yahoo, there were over 1,460,000 results!  It’s important that children have access to sites where they can explore safely, learn age-appropriate material, and play age-appropriate games.

 

Activity:  Have some fun exploring the Web!  Search for sites that would be of interest to your students, but that are age-appropriate.  The sites can be ones where the students can play games, learn new skills, or just find fun facts!  Explore the sites listed under Resources to get started.  Feel free to use any that you like in your list.                                                                                            

Assignment:  For this assignment, you will create a list of recommended links for use by your students, their parents, and your colleagues.  The sites should be age-appropriate for the students you teach.  Link to sites that you believe will be of high interest, and will be educational and/or fun!  A minimum of 15 links is required, although more would be of benefit to your students!

 

Each citation should contain the following:

 

Title – The title of the page is usually found at the top of the actual site’s page.  If there is no title, create one that fits the site.  Hot link the title to the page.

 

Annotation – This is a brief description of the site - what it contains, and how it can be used.  The annotation should be interesting and “draw” the student in!

 

Date Visited – Include the date that you visited the site, so the user will have some idea of how recent the link is.

 

URL (Universal Resource Locator) – Copy the Web address from the site and paste it directly into your list.  Include the entire URL, from the http:// through the file name.

 

Sample – Here is what your citation should look like:

 

Algebra Equations – Work your way toward $1,000,000 as you solve these equations, some of which are not so easy!  You may need paper and pencil to keep track of your work.  Watch out – integers, decimals, and fractions are included!  Date visited – 2/17/03

http://www.quia.com/rr/4096.html

 

Finally, post this file to your Web site, and include the link in your Web index.

 

Resources – These kid-friendly sites will get you started!

 

                               

Discovery Kids - http://kids.discovery.com/

                                                                                

Fact Monster - http://www.factmonster.com/

 

National Geographic Kids - http://www.nationalgeographic .com/kids/

 

Yahooligans! - http://www.yahooligans.com/

 

Zeeks - http://www.zeeks.com/

 

Rubric – Your list will be evaluated as follows:

 

 

1

2

3

Annotation

Scant or no summary.

Brief summary; not very interesting to the student audience.

Summary is well written, descriptive, and interesting, and is written for the student audience.

Format

Citations are missing required components; no links are given.

Citations have required components; titles are not linked.

Citations have all required components; links are to title of citation.

Overall Appearance

Page is stark and uninteresting to the student audience.

Some effort given to make page interesting; few graphics or little color included.

Page is colorful, attractive, and includes graphics; page is “kid-friendly.”

 

 

Other Sites – Try these search links to help you on your search.

 

AltaVista - http://www.altavista.com/

 

Ask Jeeves - http://www.ask.com/

 

Dogpile - http://www.dogpile.com/index.gsp

 

Google - http://www.google.com/

 

Yahoo! - http://www.yahoo.com/