Classroom Practices:  Research on the Web

NCTE's ReadWriteThink site offers a number of lessons that illustrate what research  on the Web looks like in the K-12 classroom. The Teacher Resource Collection Literacies in the Ways of the Web provides additional resources on using Internet technologies in your classroom.

Animal Study: From Fact to Fiction

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=286

Animal inquiry is often part of the primary grades curriculum, and the Internet offers opportunities in animal study not found in print text.  However, the challenge is using these resources in developmentally appropriate ways.  Animal Study: From Fact to Fiction offers multiple online tools and resources to model the research process.  Resources are also included for black bears, fish, frogs, toads, penguins and polar bears.

Research Building Blocks:  Examining Electronic Sources

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=149

The quantity of information available on the Internet today is a double-edged sword for the rookie researcher.  This ReadWriteThink lesson teaches elementary students how to use the Internet with a critical eye.

In this lesson plan, middle school students explore a class inquiry project, collecting Web-based resources that can be used for further study during the course of the class or for more in-depth projects. Students use Internet search engines and Web analysis checklists and questions to find and evaluate online resources then write annotations that explain how and why the items they have found will be valuable to the class. This lesson plan can be completed individually or in groups. For demonstration purposes, this lesson plan focuses on researching a specific country or several countries; however, this activity can be completed with any inquiry topic in the classroom.

ReadWriteThink invites high school teachers to submit their teaching ideas for research on the Web. All of the lessons should be of top quality and based on NCTE and IRA's Standards for the English Language Arts. If you are interested in this professionally and personally rewarding project, please fill out the online interest form.