Surfing the Internet

 

 

OBJECTIVE:  Students will be able to use different search engines to perform a task.  Students will do research through the Internet in order to answer a specific question.  Students will practice using electronic mail to complete the task.  Students will utilize their research, reading and writing skills throughout this project.

 

INTRODUCTION:  Now that you are in 6th grade, you have had many years of practice using computers and the Internet.  You have a great deal of knowledge about the “in’s and outs” of the Internet.   The Internet is a vast resource tool that offers thousands of sites for one specific topic.  Do you have time to look at thousands of sites to find what you are looking for?  Can you be more specific about the information that you need?  The Internet can be challenging when researching but if you can narrow or be more specific about the information that you are researching then it can be an easy tool to manage. You will know which direction to head towards and will not be lost! 

 

ACTIVITY:  You know the saying, “Practice Makes Perfect” so we are going to practice our Internet surfing skills.  Since we are in baseball season and to give you a better appreciation for the sport, we are going to surf the Internet to answer a few assigned questions.  Now, there are numerous search engines that you can choose from and below I have listed a few that you may use.  I am not assigning a specific search engine that you have to use so you may use any search engine that you feel comfortable with to surf.  I want you to find the answers to the following questions:

1.       Who invented baseball?                                                            

2.     When was baseball invented?                                      

3.     What country did baseball start in?

 

Seems easy right?  Well, if you think that all you have to do is type baseball in the search area, you are going to have thousands of sites to surf through.  Modify your search and be SPECIFIC.  Let the Internet do the work for you.  The more specific that you can be, the better results hit you will receive!  For example, try typing in baseball history or baseball’s founder.

These are a few search engines that you may want to use:

                                                http://www.google.com/

                                                http://www.msn.com/

                                                http://www.aol.com

                                                http://www.yahoo.com

Just click and start!

 

Here are some helpful sites that may aid you in surfing the Internet.

 

http://www.webliminal.com/search-web.html- This site helps you learn about the Internet and get what you need out of it.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/insider/internet/articles/findit.htm- This site is hosted by Microsoft and is a quick tutorial reference about researching on the Internet.

 

  Assignment:  After you have found the answer e-mail the answers to me at melchrant@aol.com  (Please make sure that you include your name because e-mail addresses don’t always include the true author’s name.)  Just type 1. and the answer, 2. and the answer 3. and the answer. Then I want you to write a brief paragraph explaining your journey surfing the Internet to complete the activity.  Include what words that you used to be specific in finding the answers, did you have to surf many sites with your search results or were you specific enough that you completed the task in just a few clicks.  Also, please include all the search engines that you used to help you.  Finally, do you feel comfortable using the Internet as a resource tool or is it a challenging task.

 

Rubric Scoring:

 

 

4

3

2

1

Answers

All three answers to the baseball questions are correct.

Two out three questions to the baseball questions are correct.

One out of three questions to the baseball questions are correct.

Three answers are incorrect but you TRIED.  Remember I always give credit even if it is not completely correct but I can verify that you tried.

E-mail

E-mail includes author’s name, three answers and a complete paragraph as described above.

E-mail includes author’s name, two answers and only three sentences.

E-mail includes author’s name, one answer and less than three sentences.

E-mail includes author’s name, no answers and no sentences.

Paragraph

A paragraph with 4-5 sentences and includes all of the elements that I requested.

Three sentences and only included three out of the four elements that were required in the paragraph.

Less than three sentences that only included 2 out of the 4 elements that were required in the paragraph.

No paragraph but a blank e-mail.